Letter to Future Student: Robert Matthiesen

Dear Future Student,

I wanted to travel on an International program because I am a hands-on learner. I thought that being able to learn about art history by experiencing it would work well for me. For me, seeing and touching is much more beneficial than simply reading in an art history book. Normally, travel will push you out of your comfort zone. It will force you to learn and see new things in new light. It ignites new ideas and motivates one to want to know more. Educational travel pushes you even further. It gives direction and structure to the experience. This trip expanded my artistic ideas and strengthened my foundation knowledge for future projects.

My expectations were simple. I wanted to see a lot of famous art and learn a great deal from it. These expectations were not just met. They were exceeded. Using the 6 scales that Chris and Eric taught us, I was about to learn and study the art in a whole new way. With so much exposure to art, my thoughts were jumping with ideas and concepts to explore. I kept a list of these ideas that I plan to work on in the future.

Overall the Paris trip served as a learning point to reflect on the past and to fuel further explorations. Every student is unique with different favorite parts. I really enjoyed that Chris and Eric tried to at least touch on all the art movements as we traveled around Paris.

There was something for everyone. Keeping an open attitude allowed me to enjoyed areas of art and history that I would not have sought out on my own.

Learning is a never-ending process. Everything that I had studied previously became the foundation for this trip. The many group and one-on-one discussions allowed me to expand my base knowledge. Experiencing the art with others allowed us to have shared experiences for these discussions. One of my strengths was talking about Monet. He is one of my favorite painters.  Sharing some little known facts with Eric, I was encouraged to research Monet and Impressionism even further.

This is an once-in-a-lifetime experience. You will see art that you have only talked about in school but then to experience it in person changes everything. You will notice little details you that cannot be captured in a book.

Let me close with these suggestions. Done worry. Relax. Everything is going to be all right. For example, the language was the biggest issue I had while in Paris. Learning some key phrases and being polite worked wonders. Most businesses are more then willing to try and help you. Also, at this time of year, Paris does not get dark until almost 10:30 so plan for long days and little sleep. Go on walks at the end of the day to soak up the culture and reflect on your experiences.

Best wishes,

Robert Matthiesen

Day 12: TECHNOLOGY, (Artful) MACHINES AND PUBLIC SPACE- By: Robert Matthiesen

Fondation Cartier pour lʼart contemporain was a very modern building.  Inside the museum there was an exhibition for Ron Mueck. Ron Mueck is a statue artist that does super real people in larger than life or smaller then life scales.  But back to the building, after we broke up into groups I picked the 2 middle scales, which are exterior and interior. So I looked very closely at the building and the lay out of the building, I even sketched a blue print of the building, which you can learn a lot from. The building is broken up in to equal parts giving it perfect balance. I did many sketches of the building that I really like.  

Day 11: PAST AND PRESENT: Contemporary settings for Art By: Robert Matthiesen

After going to the Bibliotheque Nationale De Richelieu and seeing all of the beautiful photos I wanted to go for a walk around the hostel. While I was walking I came across a live band playing. I took some photos and just sat down to enjoy the music and the sunset. I also started sketching and water coloring. The reaction you get from the French people about art is unbelievable people were standing over my shoulder saying, "Oh wow this is great, we get 2 shows." I am going to bring this experience back to Milwaukee for Gallery Night and Day. 

Day 9 - FROM CUBISM TO PURISM: The Philosophies of Abstraction By: Robert Matthiesen

So today we went to  Centre Georges Pompidou and Brancusi Studio I was only about to see one floor of the Pompidou. Along with how short the lines are it is a great place to start your trip off with. Along with the view from the top floor, it is a beautiful place to go. The art isn't my favorite but the colors were so beautiful and vibrant I liked it. 

Robert Delauny: La Tour Eiffel 1926

Day 8- PRIMITIVISM By: Robert Matthiesen

Walking around the outside of the Musée Quay Branley I really liked the brick coloring. When we got inside the museum  I loved the glass storage unit. I wish that we could see more glass storage units in more museums. Then when we went upstairs the museum displayed there pieces in glass boxes. The displays are just asking you to interact with the  pieces. 

Then when we went to the  Orangerie  I was just moved by the large Monet pieces. I was very upset that we were not able to take photos of the water lilies but I will always remember them. I know Im going to be going back to  the Orangerie to sketch and just soak in more.  

Day 4 - CHURCH AND RADICAL ENLIGHTENMENT: Re-birth of Philosophy

   While we were walking to Ste. Chapelle I saw a sign that looks just like Oakland Gyros. Same color and text in both signs are the same. I laughed and just though that Milwaukee gyros must be just that good.

   So then as we walked down the street I saw building after building that jetted out to form a covering over the shops on the bottom floor. The buildings look very skewed and messed up. If I saw a drawing of the buildings like this I would think that the drawing wasn't drawn to scale.  

   At the end of the day, we finished off with the Pantheon. The beauty is just unbelievable. The details of the whole building are breath taking. But when you go down stairs the roman arches are just beautiful. The curves of the arches let sound carry up and over across the room. I would love to just watch a movie down there.

Musée Rodin and Musée d'Orsay

Today we went to Musée Rodin and also Musée d'Orsay. While Musée Rodin had some very beautiful pieces I was more excited about seeing the impressionist paintings in Musée d'Orsay. I just fell in love with a couple of the Alfred Sisely's paintings. I am already planning on going back to Musée d'Orsay with my family. On the 5th floor there were these chairs that were like big bean bag chairs. There were tons of people just asleep on these chairs. Those people annoy me. They are in one of the best museum of the world and they are sleeping. I just don't understand it.

But back to the art --- I loved seeing Monet's water lilies but I am more of a fan of the water lilies from Kansas City.  Now I realize that I’ve been spoiled growing up with it. A few years ago, the museum hosted a special exhibition that included the other two paintings of the triptych. It was a wonderful experience because they created a learning center right next to it. It included x-ray photographs and information on Monet’s techniques. At the time, I thought it was interesting but now I have a deeper appreciation of that exhibit. 

I loved seeing all of Monet's other paintings. I am planning on spending a whole day there after the trip.  On the 5th floor, they slowly stepped in to impressionism, getting loser and freer with every painting. It was also more of a timeline as you walked along it got later and later. Very lovely way it was set up. The only thing I would say to change about the place is to add more seating around to be able to sit and appreciate the art. All in all great museum.

First 3 Days: Notre Dame, Versailles, Louvre

Day one Notre Dame

The walk may have been hard but it was worth the effort. So many of the views around Notre Dame were wonderful. While I was talking with Eric about the gargoyles being rain spouts we started to discuss how if it was raining hard enough, the water flow would add even more arches to the building. I liked the look of the building for the most part. The only problem I had was that this center spike was only half clean. One side was a dark gray black and the other was a lighter warm gray. But the dark gray black side really complimented the green copper statues. The bright green against the dark gray just popped. Moving on to the interior. While I was walking around I was amazed by the all of the stained glass. I have seen several buildings with a lot of stained glass but NOT in that amount. The vast amount of stained glass is overwhelming and the details in each window are crazy. Discussing the style of the inside, the main hall has very small points to the arches which are characteristic of a more Romanist style. While the side hall's arches were more Gothic with very sharp points. The pillars in the main hall are larger and more Romanist while the side halls contain multi-pillars with more of a Gothic style.

Day 2 Versailles

The theme I picked was water. So the water has to come from somewhere.  I believe that the water is coming from springs and they are also importing it in. When you are out in the gardens, everywhere you look water plays a part. From the plants and live stock needing water to live and the water in the lake to the statues all around that are getting smaller and smaller every year. Water is also used in all of the buildings for bathrooms, cleaning, etc. Water is needed for everything.

I plan to return with my family, but I am planning to get a golf cart for sure. There just isn't any other way to get around and see all there is to see.

Day 3 the Louvre 

The outside is very beautiful but the inside is very plain for most of the building yet some sections had beautiful ceilings. So when we went inside the size of the pyramid was just unreal. I loved how deep it was. I know when I go back (and I will go back) that I am going to get the passes first so I don't have to wait in the long line. 

So on to the two pieces. I picked the first was Environs de Honfleur. Neige  by Claude-Oscar Monet. This piece was a snow-covered road with a small house in the distance. The second piece that I selected was Fontaine Dans La Compagnie Romaine

by Hubert Robert.  This piece was a summer scene with a women taking her cow and dog to get water. Although these pieces were on opposite walls in the center facing each other, these pieces are so very different. The brush strokes in Monet’s work is wild and free while the brush strokes in Robert's are more neat and detailed. Monet was trying to capture the moment while Robert was trying to make the moment. Hubert Robert was painting in more of an old style while Claude-Oscar Monet was painting more avant garde for the time. In both of the pieces there is a path that draws your eyes back into the space. Monet’s path is straighter then curves off into space while the path in Robert's painting curves back and forth. Monet uses the path to add depth to his piece while Robert just puts it in so the people have somewhere to stand.

I believe that out of these two pieces Monet wins for capturing the moment but Robert wins for most detailed.

Robert Matthiesen- Pretrip

As a visual learner, I’m looking forward to being able to see all of the rich art history Paris has, along with having more of a purpose behind my trip I feel that I will see and learn more then just going on my own.

This trip will be a great way to interpret all of the Art History that Paris has to offer. 

Being with other MIAD students is a bonus since we will be able to discuss our travel activities and bounce ideas back and forth regarding our own art.

So day one of the trip. The first leg of the trip wasn't to bad, But once we got off the plane we learned that we can't go to the gate till 6 hours before the plane is to leave so we must wait. So we both got out our laptops to pass the time. I called my family to let them know I'm here and that I have to wait. I used Google Voice to call them. Google voice is a free online phone that You can call other phones over your computer. I also downloaded a program on my phone called Pinger. Pinger lets you call or text using your phone when you are on wifi. The calling costs some but its not bad, 1000 mins for less then $20s, not bad in my opinion.  

I'm Excited to be in Paris.