Austin, Texas, the home of many starving artists and musicians. Austin is known for its respect of free expression and culture. Due to this well known respect, the city is thriving with art galleries and live music venues. I chose to tour the Blanton Museum of Art, a renowned museum that is right in the heart of the great Texas capitol. The museum is currently hosting an exhibit created by an Austin local, Natalie Grant. I enjoy promoting local artistry and craft, so I was enthused to view her exhibit, Natalie Grant: The Brothers Grimm. The museum itself is welcoming and bright. The skylights and windows found throughout The Blanton breathe life into the viewers, as well as the works themselves. The calm and serene atmosphere is only aided by the deafening silence that can be found in every room you set foot. However, as you enter Natalie Grant’s exhibit, the peaceful voyage you have set upon will abruptly enter the eye of a dark and violent storm. …show more content…
However, the original Brothers Grimm fairytales are a dark counterpart to the more censored and carefree version of the tales we tell children today. The original Grimm tales are known to possess stories of incest, animal cruelty, murder and child abuse. Grant’s paintings deeply convey the twisted and malicious nature of the fairy tales by showing obscene images, and combining it with a color palette of exuberant and cheerful colors best suited to simulate the age of childhood. One of my favorite childhood tales is “Cinderella,” so I have chosen to critique Grant’s “Cinderella” series. Natalie Grant’s first painting in the series is titled, Cinderella I. The work itself is a mixture of a painting and a drawing. Grant utilized pastels, which require the skill of drawing, and gouache, which require the skill of