I have to agree with Lawrenzo in that the visit to the Chelsea Galleries were a bit disappointing. Many of the art pieces did not particularly speak to me and they were difficult to understand because they lacked any form of explanation or background. There was, however, one piece in the Matthew Marks Gallery that I understood and could relate to.
This small exhibit of a Dorm Room was in the center room which was dark except for the lights in the furniture. I took a particular interest in this piece because I went to boarding school for three years, so I know how it feels to live in a dorm ( I also live on campus at QC so its still fresh on my mind). I had the opportunity to speak to our tour guide about how the author went to boarding school in Germany and this exhibit evoked a sense of emptiness. Moving in with people you hardly know can be a lonely experience no matter how many roommates you have, so I felt like I had that bit of a connection with the artist. The other galleries did not evoke this sense of connection for me although I do feel like if our tour guide knew more about the artists and their pieces of art, that would have been a lot more helpful. However, I thought her knowledge about the Chelsea neighborhood itself was very interesting.
The Chelsea neighborhood was an amazing and fun art form in itself. Maybe it’s because I find street art more interesting with its ability to capture audiences anywhere and in any stage of life, but walking around the neighborhood evoked much more emotion, excitement and thought then the galleries themselves. The two pictures below were two of my favorite pieces in the street. The portrait on the wall is beautiful and thoughtful, and the gas station is clever and humorous. Even without knowing the purpose or background of these two pieces, we all stopped to look at them and talk about them, something we did not always do in the galleries. To me, this is what art does, it stops people mid sentence, in any part of a neighborhood, and makes them think about something greater, not simply wonder what the artist was trying to get at.
I concur with you In regards to the street art being more interesting than the galleries because the street art also evoked more emotion and excitement in me than the various and contemporary pieces of art. I love your last sentence defining what you think art is and I agree with it: people should think of the art as a whole connecting to bigger themes more than only trying to interpret the artwork based on what they assume to be the artist’s meaning. You did this when you related to the dorm exhibit and discussed how moving in with strangers can be a very lonely experience, the bigger picture rather than what the artist may have meant with the blue lights. I relate to your post.