On May 12 the foreign language classes, French and Spanish, took a trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Three reporters from The Eclipse went on the trip: Aysia Booth, Kayla Smith, and Katie Valley. Each of these reporters has a unique opinion about their experience at the DIA.

Aysia Booth

The Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit was my favorite part of the Institute. In this exhibit no photographs were allowed to be taken.

Frida Kahlo’s paintings showed emotion that I have never seen in any of the other works of art at the DIA.

Kahlo used her experiences and hardships that she went through to put emotion into her work.

My favorite painting was the Henry Ford Hospital painting. This painting showed Kahlo’s pain when she had a miscarriage.

Another strong painting of Kahlo’s is called “A Few Small Nips.”

The painting is about a situation that actually happened. A man had murdered a woman and claimed to have only done “a few small nips.”

I love how Kahlo mocks the man with such a simple painting.

I thought Diego Rivera was great, too.

Rivera’s most famous works of art are showcased in the Rivera Court, part of the DIA building.

Rivera’s panels in the Court show the hardships of the working class and his views on the mending of different races.

My favorite panel of the Rivera Court would be where the women are being watched over by their manager while in an assembly line for making medication.

I think the panel showed that the world of science, technology, and labor was being pushed to its greatest lengths.

All of the panels had a connection in some way.

Rivera found a way to connect the part of the world that was moving forward (science and technology) with the part of the world that chose to stay behind and develop the way it was supposed to (agriculture).

Another painting of Rivera’s that I liked was where there were many hands coming out of the side of a volcano with people sitting on each side.

Each person and each hand were different races, but all were holding a piece of the earth, all a part of this world, and all equal.

Kayla Smith

My favorite parts of the DIA were the contemporary and modern art exhibitions.

I find modern art very interesting and different to look at. My favorite painting in this exhibit was Jean Dubuffet’s 1961 painting, “Shot in the Wing.”

I really enjoyed the incorporation of all the colors and French culture. It may seem random, but I truly find it purposeful, like every color and placing has a meaning.

Another piece of art that I enjoyed was Conrad Marca Relli’s “Bar-T Corral.” I enjoyed the sharp contrast of the black and white splotches of paint.

Another painting that Katie Valley and I both enjoyed was Kehinde Wiley’s “Officer of the Hussars.” We found it very comical, and even decided to recreate the art in a photograph.

There were many interesting pieces of art that I enjoyed, but those were my absolute favorites.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about the DIA was the atmosphere. It was nearly silent in the entire museum, giving visitors the opportunity to focus on the art and soak everything in.

Nobody was disrespectful or rude, which I found very amazing; art can bring people together in quiet appreciation. Even when a crowd of people were all trying to look at the same piece of art, they would move to make sure everyone could see the painting.

I really enjoyed the DIA and think that everyone should go and see all the beautiful art there.

Katie Valley

Having gone to the DIA last year, I was excited to see more of the museum.

Last year, I only got to see some parts of the museum and just looking at everything fascinated me. This year, however, I took more time to take in the art. I came to appreciate it even more.

One of my favorite parts of the museum was the French section. I knew a lot about these artists from the art projects that my French III class did the year before, and that made me look into the art and think about the lives of the artists when they created it.

I enjoyed looking at the works of French artist Paul Cézanne.

In his works, Cézanne depicts both unnerving and beautiful things, such as his 1900 painting “The Three Skulls.” It was pretty cool seeing pictures of the artwork, then getting to see the actual thing in the museum.

Even though I had already seen the Diego Rivera murals, they were my favorite part of the museum. The detail behind the murals coupled with the information I had already learned about Rivera made them images to be marveled at.

I enjoyed going to the museum a second time, and I look forward to being able to come back. I would highly recommend the DIA if you are looking for a place full of mesmerizing, visually-appealing artwork.