Museum of Modern Art

When I your first walked into the Museum of Modern Art you are immediately greeted with a piece of art. Although, at first it may not be apparent, the soil and flowers that were encapsulated represent art. The definition of art is wide and almost anything can be perceived as art as long as it represents our surroundings shown in an interpretive form. The plants in the capsules were forms of art because nature is a form of art itself. In nature nothing is symmetrical and everything from the soil to the trees is a unique art form. Different shapes and forms are formed in nature that the human mind is unable to create. This lack of form creates a sense of abstractness that is present in nature.

As you actually begin entering the exhibits the first thing you are presented with two fans blowing at each other and two pieces of circular tape dangling in the air. This was an unusual form of art, but it was art nevertheless. The dangling pieces of tape were effective ways of showing off the power of the mind. It represented a new way of thinking that was not present in current art. This piece defies all standard works of art because this work of art is not a still piece of drawing or sculpture but actually something that was alive and moving. It was very innovative and I definitely would classify that as unconventional art.

As I moved onto the fourth floor I saw a piece of so-called art by Barnett Newman. It is a long vertical piece of wood about one-and-a-half inches wide and that is all it is, just a piece of wood. I do not understand why this “sculpture” was put up as a work of art; it may be natural but it lacks any abstractness nor does it create any unique shape. To call the piece of wood a work of art is like calling the chair I am sitting on a piece of art as well. However, I soon found sculpture that was art. David Smith created “Cubi X” which was a stainless steel sculpture that depicted a human figure. Smith chooses to use something as still as geometric form to create the human form, which is very hard to duplicate. What was most astonishing was the way the steel reflected the lighting of the room further intensifying his work of art.

Finally on the last floor I saw the “On Line” exhibit. People have said that these works of art are controversial, but I saw nothing controversial about it at all. The first thing I saw was a series of strings lined up in the sky. It created something that looked like the night sky. This was the ultimate form of art because the artist took something man made and duplicated nature. There was no stillness in the strings because it created a unique shape. As I walked into the exhibit there were even more strings, each of which created their own shape and took up their own space. Everything on this floor looked like art, until I saw a video. The video was of a naked woman painting the wall by twisting her body in grotesque ways and hanging on a latch. This cannot be art at all, what she made was just a bunch of lines and the way she created her “art” was unconventional. She did nothing too special with her body and simply wormed her way around.

My visit to the Museum of Modern Art was very enlightening and it opened my mind to the creative abilities of many artists. It also made me think about the definition of art. What constituted a piece of art? Was it the message it was trying to send or the way it was made? I believe that the way it was made and the shape of the work counts the most.