Keep an Open Mind

My trip to the Museum of Modern Art was eye opening, to say the least.

Definitions of art on the Web:

• the products of human creativity; works of art collectively; “an art exhibition”; “a fine collection of art”
• the creation of beautiful or significant things; “art does not need to be innovative to be good”; “I was never any good at art”; “he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully”
• a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation; “the art of conversation”; “it’s quite an art”
• artwork: photographs or other visual representations in a printed publication; “the publisher was responsible for all the artwork in the book”
  wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

I was told that the “Abstract Expressionist New York” exhibit that we would be seeing did not conform to that standard definition of what art is. I cleared my mind of all prejudices against modern art before entering the museum, and was prepared for what I was about to bear witness to – or so I thought.

The first work of art that we saw was what, at first, looked like my high school research project on pressurization and fluids. Two fans, opposing each other, kept two thin metallic rings suspended in the air. I was amused. At first, I thought about how this could be classified as art, but then it dawned on me that it was inspiring, intellectually stimulating, and beautiful. It had to be art.

The two fans served as a precursor to what lie ahead. As we walked through the lower levels of the MoMA, I thought to myself “this isn’t too bad…” You see, in my pre-teen years, my parents tried to force me to like museums and art, and that inevitably led to my hatred of them. As a mature adult, however, my views changed. Even the abstract art had something in it that I could think about and appreciate. Sometimes, the work of art would be as simple as a white square, but upon close examination, the brush strokes, different shades of white, and artistic talent could be seen. It took some effort, and creative thinking, but most of what was on the first few floors of the MoMA was artistically inspiring.

Moving to higher floors in the museum means that you are moving towards more abstract art. The sixth floor had works that were still in the midst of debate – can they be considered art or not? Much of this floor had to do with physics – my favorite subject. Naturally, it appealed to me. Even if it is not considered art by some, it was certainly fascinating. From rooms filled with vector art, to videos of people scaling down buildings, and ending with digital maps of demographics, the exhibits made me feel like I was taking a tour of a truly modern museum.

When we talk about art, we usually associate it with oil painting, or some other sort of drawing. My definition of art was shattered when I was introduced to modern art. “The end-result may not be as important as the road taken to get to it” –Susanna Akopova. My mother’s words lingered in my head as I toured the museum. What we were viewing was the result of countless hours of work, effort, imagination, creativity, thinking, and talent. When you pour so many resources into one work, it is considered art. Keep an open mind, and you can appreciate that.