I absolutely love creating art, and there is no place better for inspiration than at an art museum. When we visited the PSU Palmer Art Museum as a class, however, we focused on viewing the art as not inspiration for art (although everything was still very inspirational to me) but as a way to see how artwork can reflect historical and social contexts and cultures. This different lens to view artwork through was an extremely eye-opening experience for me, and I really enjoyed looking at the various works of art in this way. I was particularly struck by this sculpture. It depicts a regal-looking woman who is standing tall. This work of art, or cultural artifact, tells viewers a lot about the context and culture of when it was created. For example, she is wearing decorative jewelry and clothing, which suggests that she is of the upper class. She also has tiny feet, suggesting that they were bound, as were those of many young women in this historical period. Her nails are also long. This shows that she was most definitely not a peasant—she had the luxury of keeping her nails long and not working for herself. Additionally, she is wearing yellow, which is the color of the emperor—only the emperor was allowed to wear yellow during his rule. All of these details about this beautiful sculpture paint a portrait of an upper class woman who was most likely a member of the emperor’s family. She might have had servants to carry her and do labor for her, and she was regal or royal enough for a sculptor to create this beautiful piece of artwork for her. Additionally, a large amount of clay was used as a resource to sculpt her, signifying her importance. This specific artifact not only shows the life and context of the woman who is depicted, but also reflects the culture she lived in. Her society was one with both upper and lower classes, and the peasants in this society were often servants for the emperor and his family. Cultural artifacts and pieces of artwork, such as those found in the PSU Palmer Art Museum, are reflective of the culture and society they were created in because of the way that they can depict members of society such as this beautiful woman.

I urge all readers of this blog to take a chance and visit your local art museum and think about how artwork reflects culture—you won’t regret it.