Ami's Art Writing

The following was written on July 14th, 2011 by Ami Richardson, a summer art appreciation student at MSSU:

The work of art pictured above, has caught the attention of many people. It portrays unity among a town that has suffered loss and tragedy. Although the artist is unknown to me, it doesn’t take away the meaningful message it portrays. As we talk about the piece of art, one can see it was painted on the side of a building, centered in the middle. The jagged lines of the letters give the piece a unique three-dimensional affect, and the dark red heart accents the cool pastel colors of the letters perfectly. Look at the brick wall behind the painting, the brick gives the painting just enough texture to avoid it having a flat matte appearance. And look at the heart in the center of the painting, shading in light contrast is be seen, it gives the piece visual depth. Furthermore, the line curvature of the flag gives it the appearance as if it is waving. The artist also personalized the piece by leaving an inspirational message, wrote to the bottom left of the painting. It tells the significance of the painting. All the pieces accent the painting and make it extraordinary.

I like the painting immensely. Is it because it is sentimental? Probably so, but that’s not the only reason. It is an inspirational selfless gift. Furthermore, the designs complement each other and send meaningful messages. Joplin went through an F-5 tornado, many lives, homes, and businesses were lost. The painting above sends a message, even though hearts are broken, they will mend. The flag is significant to Joplin because the people stand united and strong, not only just in Joplin, people all over the US came together to help one small city most of them have not ever heard of till it was almost wiped of the map. Again, the flag portrays unity among all of us. The compassion of others has been shown, not only through the love of one another, through art as well.