Tyler Rapp

Julie Hicks

LBST 1105-H72 (Visual Arts)

November 20, 2015

Bechtler Response

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art is such an interesting building and space…

Everything about it is quite remarkable. Mario Botta, the architect that designed the building, did

an amazing job with it. The color of the building, for one, is so unique in a way that makes it

stand out from the array of buildings around it. The single pillar that appears to hold up the top of

the Bechtler—although it does not—is rather peculiar, as well, because of its oddity in the rest of

the design. Outside of the Bechtler resides The Firebird, which is the first art piece seen. This

work, created by Niki de Saint Phalle, is composed of thousands upon thousands of mirror

mosaics that distorts your image when you look into it.

Moving inside, the space in the interior was beautiful: open, negative space combined

with neat furniture and elegance completed the modernized look very well. Looking up, one

could see the geometrical mural that surveyed the wall above. This mural is only destined to be

in the Bechtler for a little over ten years due to a contract, but its presence is very unusual due its

history. This piece, instead of the more typical way of art by having an image and creating it,

does something cool in that it was made as it went along. Mathematics played a huge role in

making the piece one-of-a-kind. Overall, the Bechtler family, whom decided to live in Charlotte

permanently after the establishment of big business in Charlotte, did a spectacular job—in

conjunction with Botta—in creating a great art museum.

Into the art, I loved the differentiating art that the museum held: so much color, meaning,

and technicalities went into the art. One of my favorite components of the art in the Bechtler was

the use of words. Thus, this led me to having a strong connection with one of Walasse Ting’s

untitled works. Unfortunately, a picture of this piece could not be found online and pictures

could not be taken at the museum. However, I still vividly remember the piece because of its

impact on me. The art was comprised of two distinct elements: the drawing of hanging

people and a poem that followed. The shapes of the people—and their limp posture—

made the hanging seem much more real and scary. In addition, the color and value was

that of black and white—connoting a sense of dismay and sorrow as if all of the life in

the picture had been eradicated. Emphasis was placed on the people hanging that created

an odd, saddening sense of unity among the picture. All of the negative space, however,

created a sense of disconnect among each individual in a way that strengthened the

depressing emotions.

Personally, I connected with the poem more so than the picture itself—although

the picture most definitely amplified the poem. Essentially, the poem discussed life and

death; but, the main focus appeared to be on the existence or not of God or a god. In my

life, I have struggled with believing in God or a religion for several years. I grew up

Southern Baptist, but my family stopped regularly going to church when I was in mid-to-

late elementary school. Nonetheless, I, who was all about religion at the time, pressed my

family to go to church. So, as a result, we tried a couple more but never seemed to find

the right fit; therefore, we stopped going altogether when I was in ninth grade. From

there, I got more and more into science and matured a lot more mentally. This eventually,

in conjunction with growing up more secular in comparison to most of my peers, led me

to realize how I do not believe in religion. Science is my passion—and always has been.

Also, the whole idea behind religion and the “faith” one must possess is too abstract for

my mind. Today, I identify as secular humanist/agnostic. I do not identify as atheist

because I believe I can never say there is definitely not a God (although I do find the

possibility to be almost impossible). The poem by Ting reminded me of all of these

emotions and feelings and hardships that come with not only the personal struggle with

religion, but the external as well.

Speaking of external leads me into my next point: society. Society as a whole is

religious, with Christianity and Islam being the two most dominant religions in the world

(followed by unaffiliated—atheist, agnostic, etc.—now being the third largest). Then,

after those, lies thousands of religions with varying amounts of followers. In my harsh

opinion, religion is a social construct necessary for the appeasement of minds in regards

to death. This picture and poem by Ting highlighted this cultural phenomenon because of

the hanging of people (whether it was by murder or suicide) and their destiny. Are they

going to heaven? Hell? No where? The questions are endless and differ among almost

every human in the world with everyone’s differentiating interpretations on religion. I

find religion to be one of the most interesting social questions because of its vast

differences, yet unity, among us as a human race.

The next piece I connected with was that of Sam Francis in his Psychiatrist’s

Notes art. Like Ting’s piece, this one also had words incorporated into the art with

pictures—an element I find so cool. Sam Francis lived a harsh life, with having illnesses,

deaths, and more invade his life from a young age. As a result, he resorted to art as a

helpful hobby; however, this also lead to more sensual, sexual art at times. In

Psychiatrist’s Notes, a lot is going on aesthetically even if it does not seem so. The color

of the red text at times places emphasis on those words—as well as contrast with the

other text—to draw the viewer in. The red words appearing on the bottom of each section

are descriptions of the type of patient each one is, which varies from kind to outright

horrible. There is also contrast on the left and right side of the piece: the left having

strictly words—with more unity, lines, and a pattern—while the right side contains fewer

words and more graphics—of less pattern and lines, but added shape. The pictures

contain much emphasis and connote a sense of connection with the reader and patients.

To me, the artist was trying to convey that people viewed mental health patients as “these

types of people” and even saw them this way physically.

On a personal level, mental health is a vital component of my family and friends. I

know a couple of people who have been admitted into a psychiatric ward for elongated

periods. But, as this art portrays, the societal attitude towards mental health patients is not

appealing. Most people have bad vibes when they know someone struggles with

depression, anxiety, or practically anything psychological. I can distinctly recall visiting

someone close to me in a mental hospital before—on the seventh floor, as it is well

known—and even see the patients feed into this stereotype of being lesser of a person

because of their position. Entering the hospital provoked a weird feeling I had never had

before. Visiting someone for physical illnesses is more “appropriate,” but for mental

reasons is completely different. Going in, you are faced with a new atmosphere and an

extended range of situations—mild people, “strange” people, rampant people, collected

people, sad people. I love how this piece was able to bring these feelings to surface in a

way that I could effectively reflect on.

Culturally and socially, as aforementioned, mental health disorders are not

commonly viewed as “okay” by the average person. Having a condition of some sort

typically has an effect on how someone views you, sad to say. I wish, as society continues

to grow, these issues are brought to light and seen more positively. Suicide, for example,

has such negative connotations—as it should to a degree given the death that follows—

but can almost be taken the wrong way. Many times I have heard from those around me

or seen on television when people call those who have committed suicide as “selfish” or

“weak” because of what they did to those around them. Instead, society should fight

suicide and target why it occurs anyway, not hate on when it does (which is already too

often). Hopefully, as a population, we will grow and become more accepting and helpful

to those who need it in the mental health realm.

All in all, I enjoyed the Bechtler immensely. I felt as if I connected to these two

pieces I just discussed a lot more than some of the art in some of the previous exhibits.

Each and every art excursion has been great and I am sad to see it come to an end with

the Bechtler. Coming into college, I was most excited for this class. Living right outside

of Charlotte, it is sad to say I have hardly been to any of these museums prior to this

class. But now I can honestly say I have been to many and have thoroughly enjoyed it all.