From the day the paper was assigned I had planned on doing it on “Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations” which was featured in the first textbook reading.  Never before in my life have been more impressed with a piece of art.  When I read on and saw how the art was created and under what circumstances James Hampton constructed it I was immediately gung ho on doing it.  I was amazed on how such beautiful art could be created with such common materials in such secrecy in a garage.  It was perfect too because I had planned to go to the Washington D.C. area over my spring break.  However, my plans fell through and I put into a precarious predicament, so I went to the place where art was the easiest to access being that I do not own an automobile.  I went to the University Art Museum on April 4, 2008 to examine a piece of art.
            Only one piece in the museum really inspired me and gravitated me towards it. It is a simple pen on paper drawing called “Achievements.”  It is a simple drawing but a drawing that I feel contains a great amount of emotion.  At first glance the drawing looks like your typical pile of garbage, not something somebody would see as art, yet again this drawing proves that art can be anything.  A drawing does not have to be a flower to be beautiful, it can be the most unattractive thing, just as long as the beholder sees something in it.  The artist uses numerous simple line strokes in order to make this piece of art pleasing to the eye.  The artist does not try to do too much to overwhelm the person who is admiring the art.
            Once I took a second look at the picture, I realized that the garbage was more than garbage.  It is not the typical large hefty bags, banana peels, broken down material etc., that one would picture at a typical garbage dump.  In this garbage dump there were cars, boats, limousines, grills, boats and pools.  I found this interesting because I felt that upon further examination this was not much of a garbage dump at all, I felt that it was a collection place of memories.  Each piece of “garbage” is something at one point or another was something of value, somewhere where memories were made.  For instance, there were numerous cars thrown away.  One may not realize the hours upon hours one spends in a car, and what happens when either the car is worn down or the lease is up, the owner merely gives it away without a second thought the memories in the car.  Everything seems dissipated in a second; all the family vacations, monotonous trips to work, leisure drives and amazing adventures have an everlasting impression on the car, however once it becomes obsolete it is nothing.  This same can be said of any of the objects; the limousines, the boats, the pools and the grills all have unique characteristics that leave a mark on a human being.
            The title of the piece of art is called “Achievements” and I think it is fitting.  Everything in the garbage dump is an achievement, I believe that this drawing shows the power of the working man because none of the garbage is exuberant or flashy.  I believe that this drawing symbolizes the progression of human life because we all start off new and in the end we all end up lifeless.  The fate of death does not exempt anyone or anything on this Earth, in due time everything goes.  I also noticed that some of the objects were old and some were rather new, this shows that some things whether it is due to luck or superior care certain things just last longer.  I believe that the artist is trying to show that some people in life just aren’t meant to live long.
            This drawing also shows that technology is not permanent.  Each year marketers spend millions upon millions of dollars promoting and advertising new products.  However after time progresses these products are not paid attention to and become mainstream, even obsolete technology.  And once something becomes obsolete, even though it may function it is often discarded.  I believe the artist is trying to portray the message to let go of materialism, to let go of living life to impress others with the top of the line products and fashions.  Through this powerful drawing I believe that the author is able to portray how life should be in a perfect utopian society where everybody is not clawing over each other to look better.     
            The drawing starts small with a single stereo and starts growing proportionally larger until it reaches its peak.  Then in greater proportions becomes smaller ending with an antenna.  I believe that choice of the beginning and end of the mountain is very symbolic.  I feel that the stereo is symbolic because when you are born you are always born crying, always with sound like a stereo.  The last piece is a broken antenna which symbolizes that the signal of your life has faded into nothing.   This shows the beauty of life progressions with its many ups and downs.  The drawing is also not symmetrical which I think is perfect because life is not symmetrical, nobody lives a life with a perfect beginning, middle and end.  If this piece was symmetrical I feel that it would have taken away from the integrity of the piece. 
            There is much white on the piece of paper, much of the drawing is concentrated on the bottom of the paper.  I believe that white can show that everyone in life is born with a blank slate and it is up to them to fill it with the colors of the life they want to lead.  Along the way you will find get things and you will discard them, even though they may have sentimental value to you.  This painting shows that discarding things is a part of life and that people may discard but never forget the things that make them who they are.
            I was very happy to do this piece for many reasons.  If I did James Hampton’s piece I would have used much biographical information, with this picture I have absolutely no background knowledge.  All the information in this paper is from me studying the art.  I am happy because I was able to interpret this art very well because it had so many hidden meanings.  At first I did not see them, but once I looked and internalized what the artist was thinking I was able to truly embrace and understand this descriptively complex piece of art.  It was a true pleasure examining this art and learning from it, I will defiantly visit the Art Museum again to further examine it because it really is a piece of great power.