The Rose Art Museum certainly has a lot of unique art works. Upon visiting the museum, I saw a lot of designs and objects, such as sponges, that I wouldn’t really expect to be used in art. One piece that I was really drawn to was the “Untitled” (1972) by Joe Overstreet. 

         While it has all the elements of a painting — it uses a canvas and is very colorful — this piece certainly broke away from traditional mounted paintings. The work is made of a few colorful canvases sewn together and suspended by strings. This made the painting expand beyond the confines of the wall and became almost sculpture-like, which made the piece feel free from the constraints of typical art. While it may seem simple, it was a really fun and creative way to form art. 

     Something that really made me notice this piece was the shape formed by the canvas. The way this piece was presented looked like a tent. It brought back fond summer memories like hanging out with my friends on a warm and clear evening or sitting around a campfire singing, laughing and making s’mores. It amazes me how a lot of art, despite just being simple shapes, can bring back memories for viewers or create stories. A sense of imagination is beautiful. This experience reminded me of the reason why people are so intrigued by art. Each piece can be meaningful for so many people because artistic creations can be interpreted in so many different ways. It is what makes art so sensational. 

    Joe Overstreet is a painter who was born in Mississippi and moved to New York. He is considered an abstract expressionist; he employs his emotions in the creation of his work. This piece completely fits into this style because, as I previously mentioned, it is both unique in design and evokes feelings in the viewers.  

   The careful consideration of color in this work was very interesting to me. The piece involved different squares of blue, green, red and brown — all very earthy colors. The colors worked nicely together; none were too vibrant or loud as they all involved darker tones. This really contributed to that camp-like feeling that this piece reminded me of and made me feel relaxed as I gazed at it.