Os Gemeos by James Rosenquist - 980 Words

James Rosenquist is an influential American artist during the late 20th century. He is considered today to be one of the most well known visual artists in the world. His career began with painting large billboards and commercial signs. Later, he used the techniques he learned from commercial painting, and his inspiration from popular culture imagery, to create large-scale paintings. Because his pieces include references to mass media and popular culture, and his use of vivid color, he is considered a leading artist of the Pop art movement. In 1978 the Florida Legislature commissioned Rosenquist to create two extensive murals that were to be placed in the new state’s capitol building. When I went to visit the murals in the capitol building, my experience was not what I expected. As my two friends and I approached the Capitol, we ascended the large steps to reach the tall structure. I was not anticipating security once I set foot in the building, but there were two guards standing at the entrance. We were instructed to take off our bags, take out anything in our pockets, and put them through the x-ray conveyor belt, then step through the metal detector. While going through the detector, I noticed a gift shop to my left, and on my right was a front desk with multiple stands filled with pamphlets. As soon as we walked passed the security guards, there was a thin hallway in the middle of the room that appeared to lead to a wider space. I had no previous knowledge of where the