The Art Gallery that I visited was National Gallery Art, which is located in Washington,District of Colombia,USA.

Of all the artwork in the National Gallery Art,  the one that I enjoyed most was The Birmingham Project which was painted by Dawoud Bey. The artwork is   01.6 x 162.56 cm (40 x 64 in.).It’s a two inkjet print that is mounted on dibond. It was created in the year 2012.

This artwork is most favorable to me because it presents national racism,violence against African American and terrorism in churches. This artwork which consists of two pictures was painted following the 16^th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. The two images juxtapose each other in that one of the images represents one of the victims of the bombing, the girl while the other represents the current appearance of the girl, had she survived. What this artwork is telling me is how racism and terrorism cuts off innocent souls and leads to unnecessary deaths.

This artwork is more favorable to me because it caoustions the society, against the vices of racism and terrorism, by presenting a picture of what we lose through terrorism and racism.The specific part of the picture that interests me is the fraud face worn by the girl, indicating her dissatisfaction with how the society is treating marginalized groups and people of color even though they hold American dream, and deserve the very best from the government like any other citizens.

The artwork that I enjoyed least was The Judgment Day, which was painted by Aaron Douglas in the year 1939, more than a decade after he had written the book on which that painting was based;  a poem titled God’s Trombones; Seven Negro Sermons in Verse.

The artwork intends to allude to the biblical narrative of the judgment day, hence remind the viewers that day by presenting it more practically, how the judgment will be done.

The reason why this artwork is my least favorite is that at least connects to the theme that it presents. First the image is tarnished and looks little clear, while the  powerful Black Gabriel is shown standing astride earth and sea holding the tempest call, to summon the living and the dead, the painting does not present the response of the dead to the request but only shows the leaving, contradicting with the biblical narrative it alludes.

The aesthetic theories that are presented by the two artworks are the emotionalism and imitationalism. My favorite artwork can be described by emotionalism while my least favorite artwork can be described by imitationalism. In the favorite artwork, the artist emphasized on vivid communication of moods ideas and feelings to the viewer by juxtaposing the picture of one of the victims of the terrorist attack, with how the girl would be if she survived and now is in her 50’s. The frowning face of the young girl whose life and future has been cut short by the terrorist and racist attack attracts emotional appeal. The unhappy look in the girl suggests how she is disappointed by the society which is so cruel and discriminating to its members, including kids.

On the other hand, my least favorite artwork can be described using imitationalism theory as the artwork uses paintings and lines focusing on creating realistic qualities. The texture and proportions of art reflect real life. From this assignment, I have discovered that my aesthetic preference is based on personal feelings and emotions.