Norton Simon Museum - Pasadena, CA

Assembly of Sea Forms (White Marbles) - Norton Simon Museum

Living in LA, it’s hard to stay indoors as the weather here is always sooo beautiful and sunny. While LA has been having the Seattle rain as of late, it’s undoubtedly a perfect time to ditch the beach this weekend. In my quest to find inspiration - somewhere other than outdoor activities, I visited the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. The museum features an astonishing array of European, Asian, and American artworks, from paintings to sculptures.

One of the most enchanting exhibitions is the "Matisse/Odalisque", which includes Matisse’s accentuation on the 19^th-century Orientalist theme and Picasso’s abstract reflection of the female sexual slavery - including Matisse's Odalisque with Tambourine (1926) and Picasso's Women of Algiers, Version "I" (1955). Gathering incredibly expressive painting techniques, the artists mingled abstract fantasy and social reality fluidly. During the 19th-century Orientalism art movement, the odalisque symbolized a voyeuristic reflection of white males desiring the sexual subjugation of women of color. These odalisque portraits depicted the undiscussed female sexual slavery during the French colonial period in Algeria. The exhibition creatively portrays the social realities underlying race and sexism, especially of women of color. While the paintings get me to ponder more deeply about the seductive aspect of women within the historical context, they perhaps provoke different interpretations in the contemporary frame as well.

Asides from the exhibition, my favorite wanders are the Renaissance artworks from the most talented Impressionists, including Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Georges-Pierre Seurat. Extremely creative painting techniques, such as Monet’s “en plein-air” (painting outdoor), Degas’ pastels, Van Gogh’s impasto (thickly applied & textured paint), Seurat’s pointillism (placing tiny dots of colors), are all featured in the Impressionist movement. Now I can’t merely describe these exquisite artistic creations with my plain words. Hope you enjoy the virtual tour of resplendent art through my photographs!