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| Meet Amanda! (photo courtesy: Kyubo Yun) |
Tell us a little bit about yourself—school, background,
major, reasons for taking this trip, anything else interesting you want to
share.
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| Amanda enjoys sketching in a Parisian rose garden. (photo courtesy: Dorothy Barenscott) |
Bonjour! My name is Amanda Powell. I am a third year student
currently doing a French major at Simon Fraser University. After completing the
coursework for this class, I am now considering doing a Fine Arts minor! In my
spare time I enjoy listening to live music, spending time with my family, and
watching films. I am one of the few non-studio students on this trip, but I am
definitely an art enthusiast. I enjoyed participating in the sketchbook
activities given each day; it was a new experience for me to sketch en plein
air like the Impressionists we studied! I wanted to take this trip because:
1. I am interested in art and art history.
2. I had never been to Europe (and was keen to see it under
an artistic lens with like-minded individuals.)
3. I wanted to practice speaking french.
This trip has been an absolute whirlwind for me; I've
learned a lot and I've thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Europe.
What has met or exceeded your expectations or surprised you
about Kassel (Germany) so far?
The difference between Paris and Kassel is astounding. We
went from being in a busy city with lots of people to a smaller town with lots
of greenery. The one thing I really notice here is the language barrier. In
Paris, I had little to no trouble communicating with the locals because I can speak,
read, write, and understand French. In Kassel, however, the majority of people
speak German, a language of which I know very few useful phrases other than:
"My name is Amanda," and "Hurry up!" Most of the young
people are proficient in English, and the others try very hard to understand
you with a giant grin on their faces. Because of this language barrier, Kassel
feels a lot more foreign to me than Paris, even though all of the trees and friendly
folk remind me of home. In terms of Documenta, the whole exhibition has far
exceeded my expectations. I was surprised at how much there is to see! I
pictured it being in one big museum, similar to what they have in Paris. I was
pleasantly surprised to find out that the exhibitions were scattered around the
city (especially in the park!)
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| Erin, Tessa, and Kyubo sort through an interactive installation of "Occupy Kassel" featured at Documenta. |
Give us some insight into your assigned art work from the
Musee d’ Orsay. After seeing the work in person, what struck you most about it
and/or how did the art work’s form, content, and context shift for you when
seeing it?
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| Georges Seurat, Landscape with Puvis de Chavannes' Fisherman (1881) |
When I saw my assigned work in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, I
felt a little blasé about it. My piece was entitled "Paysage avec "lepauvre pecheur" de Puvis de Chavannes." I think my reaction was
mostly due to the small scale of the work (for some reason I expected it to be
larger!). The colours of the piece were more vibrant than the dull pixelated
image I had studied online all semester, so that was a highlight. The room it
was displayed in was very dark, but the lights they had pointing at each
artwork made the paint shine, which was a nice touch. I think just the fact
that Seurat touched and painted the exact work I was looking at was what made
the experience better for me, also, being able to see the work Seurat was
inspired by (Puvis de Chavannes' Poor Fisherman) and know that Seurat was once
in my shoes, looking at this particular work of art.
Today’s activity was located around Documenta. What were
your impressions? What will you take away of the experience? What,
if any are the memorable moments for you?
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| Documenta is one of the most important international art exhibitions, held every five years in Kassel Germany. (photo courtesy: Dorothy Barenscott) |
Today I ventured out into town with a few others to find
some of the many Documenta exhibits. We got lost trying to find the main
building, but we stumbled across some smaller venues along the way. My
favourite ‘accidental’ Documenta discovery was a tent made of blankets in a
corner of a park. They invited us into their space, we took off our shoes, and
we sat on small benches and were offered tea. A nice volunteer informed us of
the plight of the people living in the Western Sahara and the work of Robin
Kahn, who made a cookbook of recipes on behalf of the women living there. I
left the tent feeling enlightened, and mentioned the tent to a few others along
the way, insisting they also go and visit the oasis in the corner of the park.
Around noon, we met some locals, who insisted we try the German dish called döner.
At only three Euros, it was filling and absolutely delicious (with vegetarian
options to boot!). We spent the rest of the day looking at art with our new
German friends, as they were also here for Documenta, and ended the day at the
local biergarten, Fiasko, with our peers and teachers. What a lovely day it
was!
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| Many nights were spent as a group at the Fiasko beer garden in Kassel-- excellent schnitzel! (photo courtesy: Dorothy Barenscott) |