Upon visiting the Fresno Art Museum, I was pleasantly greeted with several local as well as world renowned paintings, sculptures, pottery, and murals. There were numerous exhibits dedicated to art, Latin American pottery, and even one fully devoted to Gary Soto, a Fresno native, whose children’s books were displayed in the museum along with paintings from the illustrations of his several acclaimed books. The overall environment was filled with great artistic works displayed in a nicely organized gallery.
One of which, Hua Gang, which translates to Flower Ridge, by Hung Liu stood out to me the most. This 2005 painting inspired by a photograph of surviving Chinese slave laborers in a Japanese work camp at the end of World War II had the largest impact on me during my visit. The painting depicts eight starving and fragile looking men with their ribs, and almost every other bone in their body, protruding which reflects the harsh immoral conditions and treatment they endured. The painting also incorporates the words “Flower Ridge” written in Chinese characters in two red resin boxes. Random pink cherry blossoms …show more content…
There are some bursts of colors in this portrait added by Liu that differentiate from the original photograph. For instance, the words “Flower Ridge” written in Chinese characters on two red resin boxes offer a surge of vibrant color. The yellow background offers an oxymoronic sense of happiness in a miserable setting, perhaps included because of the fact that they are in terrible conditions, but were fortunate enough to have survived. Pink cherry blossoms are among the renditions and colors added to the painting creating irony by offering the aesthetic of Japanese flowers in a melancholic