Makenna Rekstis is currently a senior in the Honors College majoring in Marketing at Florida International University. She was born and raised in Ohio and is in Miami just for college. She enjoys being outside, staying active, and being with friends.
Art Encounter as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, January 17, 2024
The Cleveland Museum of Art
My relationship with art is not necessarily good or bad. Yeah, art is fun to look at, but I have never taken it deeper. I have been to quite a few art museums for fun on days off with nothing else to do. It would just be a normal day but insead of going to the mall for example, I would go to an art museum with some friends. Art museums are always fun to walk around. They are a nice peaceful place with beautiful paintings and structures around you, they are like a place where you can go to escape and relax.
When I say my relationship with art is neither good or bad, I mean that I do enjoy art. I think it is amazing to see somebody’s creativity. I especially favor painting of nature- seeing how somebody, the artist, intereprates something differently than you. I enjoy the nature painting because you can see the movements the artist was creating within the piece, and it is always interesting to see what type of layout and colors the artist may use for something we all commonly see everyday.
My trip to Miami art week definitely benefitted my relationship with art. I did not know how much hard work outside of creating an art piece artists would go through just to get a chance to have a little stand here in Miami for a week. It showed their dedications and it showed how committed and passionate artists are for their work. Art week showed me that that is the one thing every artist has in common- passion. They pour their heart and soul out on a canvas or with tools to create a piece of art for the world to see. Every creation they make is a piece of them and that is why it is so important to understand the deeper reason of a piece of art.
What I have not really done with art is see it and interpret the meaning of it. I am hoping that in this class I am able to see the deeper meaning behind paintings. It is one thing to have creativity, but there is something different when you dig deeper. Every piece of art and sculpture always has an underlying meaning and I am ready to open my mind up to it and learn about that in this class. Art week was the first step of me being able to interpret art in my own way and really the first step of opening my mind to the world of art. I am taking this class because I want a look in through the art of the artists and see why they create what they create. I want to be able to understand the thoughts and feelings an artist is trying to portray as they create their work. I believe that similarly to how my mind was opened from the Miami in Miami class that my mind will be opened with this class too.
Norton as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, January 23, 2024
The Norton Art Museum was a fun little adventure. It allowed me to open my mind to art and I genuinely enjoyed not only the art but the class as well. Starting the day, we looked at the oldest thing I have ever seen. That thing was the tip of a spear carved out of stone. Within the same enclosure are similar old things such as arrowheads and axe heads. The most interesting part about seeing this was how old and preserved everything was, and how much attention they paid to detail. There were beautiful designs on each and every one of the pieces. The artist who would have created these would not have been a hunter these thousands of years ago. People liked and cherished their art, so creating these pieces for months on end was their job, which I find fascinating.
Another thing that has really stuck with me was the lack of blue in early pieces of art and the reasoning behind it. Apparently, India was hogging all the indigo and flaunting it in their art. Since indigo is from India, they were the only ones who possessed the color unless it was traded with other countries. I think that that is an interesting fact that I did not know before.
Another piece of information that stuck with me was about the religious paintings. I had no idea the bible was against painting religious figures. That is why you do not see any art really outside of Christianity. The Catholics knew the Bible spoke about not creating religious figures, but tried to go around it. First, they would create these images, which we say were of baby Jesus and the Virgin Mary, totally distorted. I mean the figures of these two religious figures were unrecognizable and it was done intentionally, as it was what the Bible said. But as time went on, the religious art got more personable and accurate. After many many years, it seems that they did not necessarily give up on this part of the Bible, but they did not necessarily follow it and I think it is ironic and just a fun fact.
It was extremely cool going to the Norton Museum and being able to see all the famous art pieces by famous artists as well. There were the Cambell’s Soup Cans by Andrew Warhol, Water Lillies by Monet, paintings by Van Gogh, and so many pieces by Picasso. We learned that Van Gogh went behind his friend’s back to invent collages even though they were planning on it together. We say many pieces that looked like they could have been created by a five year old but were created by Van Gogh, the only difference is that Van Gogh invented it. There were many controversial pieces and overall it was very fun. I did not expect to have as much fun as I did or learn as much as I did at the Norton Art Museum. I am excited to see what the rest of the semester has to give for this class.
Margulies/Bakehouse as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, February 10, 2024
Margulies Collection.
The last class with Art in Miami was a fun one. We went to the Margulies Collection and the Bakehouse in Wynwood. The Margulies Collection is an art college that is owned by Mr. Margulies. It is full of any art you can think of from minimalist to maximalistic art with sculptures and paintings and just about anything you could think of. The variety was impressive.
We got our own tour by Mr. Margulies himself and he is a very interesting person. He explained his background and what he has done with his life and explained why he does what he does now. He seems to really enjoy the world of art. His collection at the warehouse is seasonal so a lot of it is switched out. I do not have a favorite piece from the collection, but the most interesting one to me was the stack of paintings. It showed the process of art, many trashed canvases that were never finished, or weren’t good enough for the artist itself. The stack was full of canvases, dead sunflowers, and rocks- it was a representation of life and was beautiful. There were very eye-opening exhibits, one by a famous European artist that was about World War II. Two giant structures represented the gas chambers in the concentration camps in World War II, the feelings that you experience from seeing it and thinking about it is something you cannot explain. There was also an exhibit of 21 backs in the collection. My favorite part about this piece was that the feelings were big and it was open to interpretation. You can view it as if they were empty, or if they were praying. It was made for an open interpretation and was unbelievable. Another piece that really stuck out to me was the older superheroes piece which represented life. Those superheroes were old and on the edge of life and were another piece with great emotion, but put out in a humorous way. Overall, I really enjoyed learning from Mr. Margulies and the collection he has to offer.
For the second half of the class, we went to the Bakehouse in Wynwood. The Bakehouse is a former bread factory that was given to the art community in Wynwood and they bought the property for only $10 which is unbelievable. The Bakehouse is not a place for art studios for many, many artists. It was really fun going through it and seeing art from the other side. Seeing the process of these artists and how they do their work and why they do what they do. We walked throughout the place and got to see two studios and hear from the artists themselves. It was very interesting learning from them and hearing about their passions in such a strong way. When you first walk into the Bakehouse, you will see a piece that an artist made there called Scramble. Scramble is like Scrabble but can be played using three different languages which I thought was so fun and creative. In the end, we wanted the Bakehouse tour at their library and got to choose a free book. It was amazing to see the art community there give back with what little they have.
Overall, my experience last week in Wynwood was super fun and eye-opening. I got to see art from artists’ points of view and got to open my mind to new works of art.
Art Wynwood as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, March 1, 2024
Art Wynwood was a fun and interesting experience. Getting to Wynwood on a Wednesday morning was a disaster, but I’d say it was worth it for the class. Art Wynwood is an art festival where artists apply to get in to showcase their art. It is like Miami Art Week but on a different scale, a smaller scale. Like Miami Art Week, Art Wynwood had many artists from around the world and people showcasing other artists art from around the world. Most, if not all, of the art that was there was contemporary art. Contemporary art is the name for today’s modern art. This essentially means that if the artist is alive today, their art is contemporary. The interesting thing is that todays modern art/contemporary art will no longer be contemporary art in the future. For example, in the time of the renaissance, their art to them was modern. The renaissance art was not called the renaissance until the modern art of that time started to change and they needed a specific category for it.
I enjoyed Art Wynwood specifically because you can see the creativity these artists have in order to create contemporary art. I feel like with modern art you either love it or hate it, but it is good to embrace it either way. My favorite piece at Art Wynwood was the interactive pieces. There was a piece that has sequence where one side was one color and the other was a different. It was programmed to a camera and would display the image of what was in front of the camera on the piece. It was extremely unique and fun to interact with, but I can see how some people would not like it since it is not the “traditional” art, but that’s why contemporary art is contemporary art. There were some pieces there that felt “edgy” with how they look, like a painting of a chicken wearing air forces or a painting of a person that seems to be falling through the piece.
Another one of my favorite pieces from Art Wynwood was by an artist who reuses and recycles all of her pieces of art. I just love the idea of being sustainable and reusing everyday items that people would regularly throw away in the trash and creating art with it. It opens your mind to the world and makes us look at what we do with our waste and how we can better improve our actions with what we do with it.
Overall, Art Wynwood was a fun experience. I enjoyed viewing all of the contemporary art and learning about the history of art in the past at the same time. Art Wynwood showed me how to look at art from a new perspective and look through to see the creativity of the artists and their meaning for their pieces. Of course, most art has meaning behind it, but there something different when you see modern art and hear the artists’ point of views on the world and why they create what they create.
Rubell Museum/Emerson Dorsch Art Gallery As Text by: Makenna Rekstis, March 12, 2024
Rubell Museum
This last class was what I would say one of the more interactive classes that we have had so far. We started out at the Rubell Museum then spent some time at the Emerson Dorsch Art Gallery. The Rubell Museum was the common museum with contemporary art in it. It had many cool sculptures and art that breaks tradition. The Emerson Dorsch Art Gallery is an art gallery that also has contemporary art. Both places commonly switch out their art pieces throughout the year.
Starting out with the Rubell Museum, we got to see a showcase by Kehinde Wiley. Kehinde Wiley is an American artist who focuses on portraits, but the portraits he paints mimic old master paintings, he paints a black individual in the way that old master paintings traditionally had people pose. Seeing these paintings was fun and entertaining. It flexes the idea of traditional art and really shows what contemporary art is about.
The Rubell Museum also has two interactive pieces that you can go into and become part of the art. They are both boxed in mirrors, the first being a pitch black room with little holes in it to let light shine through. With all of the mirrors, the light creates a cool star effect that you can see and it seems to go on for eternity. The second is a bright room with mirrored balls and really makes you become part of the art. Going into these rooms were very fun and a great experience because usually you have to pay, but we were lucky to get to see this art for free.
After a change in class settings, we found ourselves at the Emerson Dorsch Art Gallery. I was not sure what I was expecting from this place, since it was tiny with only two artists’ work being showcased, but in the end it was a great experience, we learned a lot about art from very open and honest people. The process of an art gallery works like this: the art gallery reaches out to an artist who they want to showcase, the gallery then buys the pieces they want, then the art gallery displays these pieces and tries to sell them to visitors. You can really see the passion they had at the Emerson Dorsch Art Gallery for the works that they had. They explained how hard it was to transport the giant ceramic horse sculptures that they had at the time and they gave us insight on that tedious process.
They also explained that the art world could be evil, they explained that once an artist sells their work, they only get the original money they sell it for, if the piece becomes famous and millions of dollars, the artist gets nothing, the sellers get everything. Now this makes sense, but I never really thought of it, it opened my mind into how hard it could be to actually be an artist and how much work they put themselves through just to do something they are passionate about.
Overall, this past class was one of my favorites, it was extremely interactive as I got to become works of art and hear an honest insight into the world of art.
PAMM as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, March 30, 2024
Perez Art Museum Miami
Going to the Perez Art Museum Miami was another surreal experience. I would say that that is what these classes have in common, sureality. I did not know much about the Perez Art Museum Miami going into it, I somewhat figured it would be just like any other art museum with some historical pieces and some contemporary pieces, but I was not ready for what the experience would be like. Going in, we met with someone who walked us through the museum and gave us some background on the pieces that were up.
The first piece that stuck out to me was the first piece that was shown to us. It was called “Construccion con dos mascaras” and was created by Joaquin Torres Garica. Joaquin Torres Garcia is commonly known as “The Father of Latin American Constructivism.” His work is recognizable because he usually always used the primary colors for it, red, yellow, and blue. This piece specifically dug into his Latin American culture and displays common items from his culture. This piece was especially interesting to me because it showed that he embraces his culture and where he came from. He shows it to the world through the art he creates, making it powerful.
The surreal part of the Perez Art Museum Miami was the Gary Simmons exhibit. The exhibit Gary Simmons created was called “Public Enemy.” He had gotten the name from a rap/hip-hop group and went off of it. The Public Enemy exhibit explores the experiences of racism and discrimination against African Americans. He displays stereotypes and struggles and creates an eye-opening surreal experience for the viewer. Starting off, you walk into a piece called “Lineup” which showcases a lineup of shoes on a police height board that is used for a lineup. The shoes are gold and are sneakers and basketball shoes. The piece is open to interpretation and can be viewed in many ways. I believe the most powerful point of view of that piece is that those shoes could be African Americans who were wrongfully convicted.
A kind of exhibit within the exhibit that was displayed in Gary Simmons’s “Public Enemy” exhibit was the series of his eraser drawings. He created large-scale drawings that are partially erased or smudged to gather a sense of a faded memory or obstructed history. He used a technique where he created the pieces and smudged the drawings using his hands in gloves. He used new gloves every time so he could erase the pieces enough to where you could still tell what he was creating. The technique he used served as a metaphor for African Americans and their history. He requested that the pieces be left up on the wall after his exhibit was done and I believe that that adds more to the pieces themselves.
Ending off the day at the PAMM we created zines which are essentially mini magazines of anything we wanted. It was a super fun interactive activity that truly completed the day at the museum. Overall it was a great experience and I would love to go again if possible.
Wolfsonian as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, April 10, 2024
Rock Quarry, Leo Raiken
Wolfsonian Museum
Going to South Beach for our art in Miami class is always questionable. South Beach is a touristy place and as someone who goes to college in Miami, south beach is often avoided. The loud cars, loud music, and loud people all make it a place where you usually do not want to be. Going to the Wolfsonian Museum, however, was great. The Wolfsonian Museum is a museum owned by FIU. It is welcoming.
When we first got to the Wolfsonian, we walked into the lobby which had tall ceilings and a huge beautiful water feature. We were met by two women, Molly Channon and Luna Goldberg, who took us up to the second floor to a conference room. They showed us a video of the founder of the Wolfsonian Museum, Mickey Wolfson. The video was him explaining the history, which I thought in particular was super interesting.
The Wolfsonian Museum building itself has been around for many many years in South Beach. It originally was a storage unit for the rich snowbirds who came down for their vacations. They would store furniture and cars and this place because it was one of the only storage units on South Beach that were big enough and had air conditioning to keep the bugs out. Over time, as technology advanced and air conditioning became more common, the storage unit became empty, until there was one last person actively using it. Mickey Wolfson. The owner did not want the storage unit anymore so they told Mickey to either buy the place or get all of this stuff out of it and Mickey decided to buy the place. He worked with an architect to reform the interior and exterior of this building so I would look at “museums” for all of Mickey’s collection of older pieces and sculptures. Over time, Mickey continued to collect and store his collections in the building on his own. When the time came, he decided to lend the Museum to FIU when he was ready to open it up. He still donates to his collection today, but named FIU the owners of the Wolfsonian Museum.
Further along the tour, we met a guy named Frank Luca who told us more about the history of Miami and the Wolfsonian Museum. Frank Luca showed us small pieces of the collection of brochures, menus, and books from everywhere. It was super interesting as it was a history lesson as we looked at the artwork on these pieces he had shown us. It was interesting to see how the brochures for Florida all had women dressed scandalously with bright blue skies in the background. It showed the way that tourism has always been a major part of Florida’s economy and we learn that tourism is what helped Florida out of the Great Depression in the 1920s.
We spend a lot of our time at the Wolfsonian museum on a floor which you’d expect a museum to look like. It had three sections of different themes within the 1900s that were in the collection. Molly Channon had an activity set up for us that made us embrace a specific price of art and feel what we should feel about it. She explained looking at a piece for so long makes you connect with it more and it truly did. For the activity, we split up into groups of four and each wrote one line on a piece of paper to display a story for the piece we chose. We would pass the story along and add on to our groups, it was a fun challenging process. The activity made me grow closer to the piece and allowed me to express my feelings about it.
Overall, the Wolfsonian Museum is one of the most interesting museums I have visited. It holds endless history within its bones and the inside. It showed me more than just art, it showed me the history of Miami, the history of Mickey Wolfson, and the history of art.
Art Final Reflection as Text by: Makenna Rekstis, April 21, 2024
Going into Art in Miami this semester, I had expectations and ideas of what it would be like. Since I took the Miami in Miami class, I knew it would be similar to that where we’d go to different places around Miami and learn about what we could there, but for this class, it would be art rather than the history of Miami. I expected to have a great experience in this Art in Miami class as I did in the Miami in Miami class, and it exceeded my expectations.
Art in Miami has been a wonderful experience. I have met new people who are in my classes and we have all bonded through every class. As the semester is coming to an end, I can only think of good times I have experienced throughout this class and what I have learned.
Starting out with the Norton Museum in Palm Beach, the thing that stuck out to me the most there was the art history within the Church and Christianity. The Bible speaks of never creating real religious figures, but artists and the Catholic Church found their way around it. First, they created abstract like figures so they looked nonhuman, but over time they developed more of a human like look.
Our next class was at the Margulies and the Bakehouse in Wynwood. From that trip, what stuck out to me the most was one exhibit of 21 backs. It stuck with me because it was the back of bodies that looked down and sad. It was open to interpretation and I have never really encountered a piece like that in that way.
At Art Wynwood, I learned about a lot of contemporary art. We spoke to a man who I don’t remember the name of about contemporary art and why it is contemporary. He explained to us that all art created at the time it is created is contemporary, and it is only not contemporary when someone groups them together and calls them a different name, as the age of art is changing.
The next place we went was the Rubell Museum. What sticks with me the most is the interact showcases and exhibits in there. It was the first immersive art I have ever interacted with and it was super cool.
At the PAMM, what stuck out to me the most there was the exhibit that Gary Simmons had created. The exhibit was called “Public Enemy” and was very powerful. It was about racism and the history of African Americans in America. It was a great exhibit to see.
We then went to the Wolfsonian Museum which was one of my favorites. The part I enjoyed the most about the Wolfsonian was the history we learned as we were looking at the pieces of art. We learned the history of Miami within it too.
Finishing off the semester, we went to the Frost Art Museum at FIU. It was a cool experience and was a good way to end the semester- right where we started, at FIU. Overall, this semester with Art in Miami has been a great experience and I would one hundred percent recommend it to anyone else.
Miami in Miami 