Reflection
Research is the process of discovering and gaining new information and knowledge. It is about educating oneself on a specific field of study with different perspectives, and getting a better understanding of the subject matter. Research is fundamental for artists to start a project. Research can be done everywhere. It can be either online or offline. For online research, the websites of galleries and libraries and artists’ own websites are always reliable. There mostly secondary resources. For offline research, there are a lot more options. Typical examples are physical libraries, interviews with people, museums and studios and so on. Useful resources is everywhere depends on what kind of the research is. As for me I use a lot online resources in my practice since it is convenience and quick. I usually go for official websites of organizations as they are more reliable than random google search results. I also do research by observation especially for artwork. I think I could use more offline resources like libraries. I could benefit from finding unexpected information as mentioned in The Craft of Research. Also, I should spend more time on contemplating the subject matter before doing research on other people’s opinion and professional ideas. It would be helpful for having more independent perspective.
MoMA Archive Reflection
Fulang-Chang and I, 1937 by Frida Kahlo
Unfortunately, there is no information about the artist and the artwork in MAID, so I did research online elsewhere.
Search Terms
Fulang-Chang and I
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo and animal
monkey symbolism
I learned about Frida Kahlo’s life story and how she evolved as an artists. Also I learned that Kahlo had a very close relationship with her pets and there are many self-portraits with her pets. In addition, Monkey is a symbol of lust in Mexican mythology. In this painting, many interpret the monkey as the children she and Diego Rivera were unable to conceive.
Since I didn’t do the research in MoMa archive, but I think learning more background story of the artist helps me understand the artwork and the motif better. Nevertheless, I think MoMa archive is more intimate and primary than other forms of online research. The information in an archive is more convincing and reliable.
Toolkit
MOMA(https://www.moma.org)
Tate(https://www.tate.org.uk)
https://www.wikiart.org
https://www.theartstory.org
https://www.blouinartinfo.com
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com
http://www.openculture.com
https://www.rct.uk/collection
https://www.vam.ac.uk
