The Vaudeville Act by Everett Shinn. Oil on Canvas, 1902

An oily canvas with covered in shades of reds, greens, and grays depicts an early 20th century theatre where two performers are on stage with an orchestra pit directly beneath where 3 men sit. They appear to be discussing the music that they will play in upcoming scene. The last character depicted in this piece is a man who appears to be apart of the audience, he is turned away from the stage positioning his body and his eyes directly at the viewer of the piece.

I found this piece to be rhetorically interesting for many reasons. Firstly the pure amazing artistic skill is amazing in and of itself. The use of dull gray with the sharper and vibrant reds and greens make for a fantastic visual display. The next thing i found to be interesting was one of the performers on stage. There appears to be a male and a female character however male character seems to be played by another woman. One with red hair very similar to her female counterpart. This could possibly speak to lack of women's rights or it could simply be the style of theatre in this era. If any political statement is being made i would say Shinn is talking more about the entire culture of theatre goers because he depicts not only the stage but the pit and part of the audience. Possibly that these people are less important than they fancy themselves. 

The pathos appeal of this piece is quite interesting. First off this piece makes me very intrigued and wanting to know more. It makes the viewer feel as though you just walked into the performance with no prior knowledge about what is happening on stage. The view of the painting makes it seem as though the viewer is standing in aisle rather than sitting is a seat. The setting appears to be high class as if the artist wants the viewer to feel out of place in this theatre. 

I believe that the first thing that gives Shinn credibility is this piece is simply the artistic skill that he exhibits. There are so few people that can create such amazing pieces of art such as this one. After some quick research i can see that he has many other famous pieces that depict similar scenes in New York, his home. He also was apart of group of artists called "The Eight" who worked to depict real life as they saw it. 

If believe the claim being made by Shinn in The Vaudeville Act is the life of luxury that some people are living is not as grand as somebody poorer than them may think. In my opinion the viewer is supposed to feel as though he or she just barged into something they were not supposed to see and has now discovered that the life of the privileged is much more dull than it appeared. 

My overall experience at the Palmer was very positive. I really enjoyed all the wonderful pieces and feel that i need more exposure to art in my life. I certainly can imagine myself going back because it was just an enjoyable experience. As somebody with merely no artistic ability i become so fascinated with those who have so much talent.