Snark the art--My trip to MOMA
Okay, so it's been a while since I've blogged. I never promised I'd do this everyday.
Last weekend, I was in NYC. It was freakin' cold. I was with a group of friends from a Democratic website, and we had a blast! We walked 20 blocks up Fifth Avenue from our hotel to MOMA. There we saw the current collection as well as part of the permanent collection.
Having grown up in the armpit of the country, my exposure to art in general has been rather hit & miss, & contemporary art in particular often leaves me flat. I did find some of the pieces to be quite thought provoking, however.
When you first enter the Contemporary Exhibit on the 2nd floor, you are "greeted" by four naked dolls. Someone apparently thinks that is art; I don't. However, around the corner was an exhibit by a Japanese artist who, in a period of four years, created different guises & personas for herself, including gaining & losing weight. She took pictures of each of these personas. It was absolutely amazing how she was able to transform herself into different personas--student, demure business woman, punk girl, etc. I wish I could remember her name. Such is life. The other exhibit that I really liked in that particular hall was a series of photos taken of the same sisters over a period of 30 years (1975-2005). In another room, an artist had made some late-19th century women's dresses (bustles & all) out of African cloth. It was challenging to see dresses that I recognized made up in different kinds of material & I think that's what the artist was getting at. There was also an exhibit in which the picture kept changing. It was about the violence in South Africa, but some of it reminded us of what happened after Hurricane Katrina. I wish I could explain it better, but it's something you have to see.
In a corner of the next room was a bunch of lightbulbs. On the plaque above it, the artist pontificated about how the owner of the piece should feel free to move the art around & play with it. While other artists would insist on specific measurements & placements for the art, this artist didn't want you to feel "inhibited" this way. Below this plaque is a big sign : DO NOT TOUCH THE ART. So, apparently, MOMA didn't get the memo. ;)
I noticed many people heading over to another area, walking down an incredibly darkened hallway & into, what, a wall? I couldn't tell, because by the time I got to the end of the hall, it was pitch black & I couldn't see. Since I don't like tripping or bumping into people, I left. That, imo, is not art. That is turning out the lights.
We went upstairs to the permanent collection because I just couldn't leave without seeing Van Gogh's "Starry Night." OH, & there were Picassos & Monets & Seurats! OH MY! My opportunities to view works by these artists are few, unless I want to look through books & that's not the same thing. I was able to sneak up on "Starry Night" to get a glimpse of the brushstrokes, which was hard to do because they put it under glass! I was told to "get away" from the picture. I wasn't even that close. This was so unlike European museums in which you can get nose-to-nose with the picture, take photos of it, move it around, & no one cares so long as you don't take the art with you when you leave. I suppose the next time I go there, MOMA will have put up a "PLEASE DO NOT LOOK AT THE ART" sign. Whatever.
Last weekend, I was in NYC. It was freakin' cold. I was with a group of friends from a Democratic website, and we had a blast! We walked 20 blocks up Fifth Avenue from our hotel to MOMA. There we saw the current collection as well as part of the permanent collection.
Having grown up in the armpit of the country, my exposure to art in general has been rather hit & miss, & contemporary art in particular often leaves me flat. I did find some of the pieces to be quite thought provoking, however.
When you first enter the Contemporary Exhibit on the 2nd floor, you are "greeted" by four naked dolls. Someone apparently thinks that is art; I don't. However, around the corner was an exhibit by a Japanese artist who, in a period of four years, created different guises & personas for herself, including gaining & losing weight. She took pictures of each of these personas. It was absolutely amazing how she was able to transform herself into different personas--student, demure business woman, punk girl, etc. I wish I could remember her name. Such is life. The other exhibit that I really liked in that particular hall was a series of photos taken of the same sisters over a period of 30 years (1975-2005). In another room, an artist had made some late-19th century women's dresses (bustles & all) out of African cloth. It was challenging to see dresses that I recognized made up in different kinds of material & I think that's what the artist was getting at. There was also an exhibit in which the picture kept changing. It was about the violence in South Africa, but some of it reminded us of what happened after Hurricane Katrina. I wish I could explain it better, but it's something you have to see.
In a corner of the next room was a bunch of lightbulbs. On the plaque above it, the artist pontificated about how the owner of the piece should feel free to move the art around & play with it. While other artists would insist on specific measurements & placements for the art, this artist didn't want you to feel "inhibited" this way. Below this plaque is a big sign : DO NOT TOUCH THE ART. So, apparently, MOMA didn't get the memo. ;)
I noticed many people heading over to another area, walking down an incredibly darkened hallway & into, what, a wall? I couldn't tell, because by the time I got to the end of the hall, it was pitch black & I couldn't see. Since I don't like tripping or bumping into people, I left. That, imo, is not art. That is turning out the lights.
We went upstairs to the permanent collection because I just couldn't leave without seeing Van Gogh's "Starry Night." OH, & there were Picassos & Monets & Seurats! OH MY! My opportunities to view works by these artists are few, unless I want to look through books & that's not the same thing. I was able to sneak up on "Starry Night" to get a glimpse of the brushstrokes, which was hard to do because they put it under glass! I was told to "get away" from the picture. I wasn't even that close. This was so unlike European museums in which you can get nose-to-nose with the picture, take photos of it, move it around, & no one cares so long as you don't take the art with you when you leave. I suppose the next time I go there, MOMA will have put up a "PLEASE DO NOT LOOK AT THE ART" sign. Whatever.
posted by DG @ 1:06 PM
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