As a new employee of the Nelson-Atkins, much of my time in these first few weeks has been spent meeting other employees and becoming familiar with the inner workings of the Museum itself. This task has been a fairly smooth one as I seldom have to go far to find a friendly face or useful resource.
My position as Assistant Educator of Interpretive Media and Resources also places me in contact with people from departments across the Museum, and I look forward to those continued relationships. My position will have me spending much time examining didactic material for rotations, new exhibitions and perhaps even material for promotional purposes. In the process of addressing these tasks, I have found myself with impressive access to digital images of the Museum’s art objects and am daily amazed by the great diversity of art available at my fingertips. I continually discover new artists and media that I had not considered previously, but I am also able to experience long-time favorites in a personal way.
I have been drawn to the work of Claude Monet for some time, and my gallery excursions find me returning again and again to Monet’s Water Lilies. This version of his pond at Giverny seems to have been produced later in his life, when his vision was failing and becoming more blurred, but that “blurriness” adds a bit of romance to the painting, in my opinion. I like sitting in front of the Monet here because, though perhaps this is just a reaction to staring too long, there are moments when I am convinced I can see the water moving and the light (always shades of purple or pink) changing and glinting.
As with many Impressionist paintings I have seen, the closer I get to Water Lilies (though far enough to respect Museum rules!), the more blurred the content. At a closer vantage point the brush strokes become clear, abrupt and the paint thick. Yet as I move away from the painting, the lilies take shape and the green of foliage above and below the surface of the water begins to reflect. To me, Water Lilies is about movement and daydreams.
I look forward to sharing my ever-expanding knowledge of the Museum with others and assist in the promotion of visitor engagement with works of art. Perhaps I will even be able to help someone else see the dream-like qualities of Water Lilies.