“Ugly, vulgar, crude, monstrous, brutal, savage,  hideous,  grotesque” are only some of the words art critics of the 1900’s used to describe the 1913 art exhibit now on display at the New York Armory. The exhibition began in New York City’s 69th Regiment Armory and lasted from from February 17 until March 15, 1913. Being the first exhibition of modern art in the United States, the reaction was to be expected. At the time the nation was moving towards the end of the Progressive Era; an Era The New York Historical Society website explains “was an era of change and New York was the capital of the new; drawing the latest movements in politics, social reform, progressive thought, developments in communication, and modern architecture.” Although critics of the past such as Kenyon Cox viewed the art shown as “the total destruction of the art of painting”, critics now view the paintings as remarkable pieces.

http://armory.nyhistory.org/category/artworks/

One art piece that immediately caught my attention was Vampire by expressionist Edvard Munch. Although originally named Love and Pain many at the time only saw the scene that would be repulsive to many people of the time; a woman sucking a mans blood. Vampires usually represent evil, blood, sin, and even a bit of chaos. The choice of using black for a background adds to this evil mood. The idea of such a monstrous creature being a female I’m sure also added to critic’s disgust.  The idea of a woman possibly having this type of control over a man would have been such a foreign idea to New Yorkers at the time. However while I look at the painting I see more thank just a vampire and a man. I see two lovers showing how painful love can really be. I see a man who sacrifices himself for his lover. He gives her what she needs to stay alive because it’s the only option she has. The painting shows how love can be both pure and evil; a truth many New Yorkers in the 1900’s wouldn’t have accepted.

http://armory.nyhistory.org/category/artworks/

Another piece I also found myself fascinated by is Madonna by Edvard Munch. In this painting, Munch focuses on a woman which he shows by using such a light color against a dark background. The woman in the painting seems to have her arms up to her ears possibly silencing her from the darkness surrounding her. Her facial expression reminds me of when I try to be oblivious to everything around me so that I can find peace. As Sarah Hussain wrote in her blog post, “the portrayal of the victimized woman could relate to how women were feeling around [the time]”. At the time women still had little to no rights so Munch may have been trying to portray that through his painting.

Whatever it be that the artists were trying to portray through the Armory Show, they definitely made an impression. All of the art works brought something new into the art world and who knows what art would be now without the Armory Show.

Out of all the galleries and the artwork displayed in these galleries the piece of art that stood out to me the most was the Aerial view of Diepsloot by Pieter Hugo whose work was on display.

The photo which is shown to the left, is the view of Diepsloot a settlement in South Africa. Through the picture you can see the living conditions that the inhabitants withstand; no proper roads, shacks made of any material found. This picture was the object of my fascination particularly because of the strong resemblance it has to the Dominican Republic, where my parents were born and raised. My initial thought was actually of whether or not it was DR. Regardless of the place pictured, looking at Hugo’s piece of art caused me to reminisce about all the times I’ve traveled to visit my family and how similar the living conditions are between the two places that are on nearly opposite sides of the globe.

Although the galleries were fairly entertaining , I found the artwork spread around the neighborhood captivated my attention more. One artwork that caught my attention was the one pictured to the right. I almost walked right by it because of how used to the emergency boxes I am but thankfully I noticed it. One street artist took an old, out of service red fire alarm box and made it his own art piece. He added a figurine of a hooded man holding a boom box and even added some tiny details to the inside of the box. Another art piece that grabbed my attention was graffiti that was done to a truck. Although graffiti being an art is a very controversial topic, I believe that this was in fact a piece of art. The artist used such a varied combination of colors and shapes that it would be nearly impossible to not notice the truck as you were walking by.