One of the first pieces of art that I instantly noticed at The Portland Museum of Art’s exhibition, “In The Vanguard,” was a multimedia work that had the look of a stain-glass window. “Screen,” created by Ted Hallman in 1958 was a rectangle made from translucent colored plastic. It consists of a pattern of stripes and circles, almost like a layered cake. String wound between the plastic tiles, almost like a web, connecting the plastic cutouts.
Trude Guermonprez’s Untitled is a beautiful triangular-wind-chime-shaped hanging art. Collection of Forrest L. Merrill. Photo by M. Lee Fatherree
Next, Trude Guermonprez’s “Untitled” caught my eye. At first I assumed the beautiful triangular-wind-chime-shaped hanging art was created from string, but then I discovered it was made from woven metal strands. Guermontrez was born in Germany and taught at an experimental school. “Untitled” looked like a few Doritos stuck together, but incredibly satisfying to look at.
Penultimately, I just had to stop in front of a glass artwork by Dale Chihuly. It’s wavy shape possessed the resemblance of a curvy bagpipe. “The Wine Bottle” – made in 1968 –was a gorgeous glass work that had gold streaks running down the translucent side of the glass. The art almost looked like it was liquid itself, soft curves and twists that flow with the design.
Lastly, I couldn’t resist pausing to stare at the huge dream catcher shaped work that had curly waves of red tumbling from the center of the piece. Scarlet string hanging from the sides of the round base gave it the appearance of a crimson jellyfish. The work “Celibacy,” constructed by Walter Nottingham in 1968, was inspired by nature and consists of four shades of red; cranberry, red, cherry and dark red.
In all, I was astounded by the beautiful multimedia works in the Portland Museum of Art.
Aila Robinson is a 12-year-old from Cumberland.
Editor’s Note: Students who attended the Telling Room’s sixth annual Week in Review summer camp learned to sharpen their writing skills and critique art, music and food. For a final project, several students reviewed the “In the Vanguard” at the Portland Museum of Art and we chose to publish this particularly descriptive review. For a student review of Royale Lunch Bar, see the Food section. The Telling Room is a Portland-based nonprofit that encourages student writing and creativity.
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