Society as a whole tends to look down on rebels, whether it approves or disproves of the rebel’s actions.  This is the same with the modern art movement exhibited in The Armory Show, or the International Exhibition of Modern Art.  Artists who specialized in modern art, any art that castsaside traditional values for the sake of experimentation, were often looked down upon because they were going against the norm of realism.  Nevertheless, the definition of art is constantly changing and many people started to approve and appreciate the modern art and the freedom of expression that came with it.  

According to Professor Carroll, two pieces that really shook the crowds during this modern art movement were Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp and Blue Nude by Henry Matisse.   Both pieces depict a different view of the human nude.  Duchamp’s piece turns the classic nude into a cubistic find-it game whereas Matisses’s painting broke the social norm of a female figure and distorted the anatomical parts and emphasizing imperfections with a harsh model.

The entire Armory Show helped me confirm my interest in modern art because I enjoy analyzing the different aspects, such as the philosophical one, of the pieces.  One of my favorite pieces in the show was Leopard and Deer by Robert W. Chanler. I thought the image represented an internal struggle between the pressures of one’s dark desires and the urge to do well and maintain one’s morals.  Another interpretation I had was a power clash between the upper class ripping the life out of the lower class.  Beyond my interpretation of the painting though, I loved the folk tale like art in which neither the leopards nor the deer are created hyper-realistically yet there is enough detail to see the agony of the deer getting bitten by the leopard’s many visible teeth.

Another piece that really made me think and appreciate modern art was Interior by Guy Pene du Bois.  Knowing that modernism aims to somewhat disregard social norms, I found it very contradictory since there were two women, seemingly docile, sitting in a room in very common female clothing.  But then I saw the blurred face of the younger female and realized this piece could be showing a revolution away from certain female norms by scratching the identity of the stereotypical female who looks docile in a white dress reading a book.   Maybe this picture foreshadowed a feminist movement.

Fauvism, a subsection of modernism, emphasizes the use of color and painterly qualities.  I really liked the piece Autumn by Alfred Maurer because of the added color on an already colorful season.  There were a variety of colors, but Maurer chose to add many shades of green in the blurry scene.  I enjoyed staring at the middle section where most of the colors are diverse.  That entire section was difficult to interpret because I did not know whether the colors are objects or just representing fall colors.  Overall, I liked the aesthetics of Autumn the most.

The Armory Show, recreated a century later, shows the evolution of art.  In 1913, majority of the population would scold modern artists because they were “unconventional” but in today’s society, modern art has become a norm.  The Armory Show related the pieces to the historical evolution of art with the various art types.  Personally, I enjoy modern art because there of the ambiguity and room for your mind to analyze. 

Personally, I found the Chelsea Galleries a bit disappointing.  The galleries were non-conventional and the art pieces were difficult to understand, if understandable at all.  There were many times when I questioned whether the art even had a meaning.  Nevertheless, I liked the variety of the galleries as well as the fact I had to utilize neural function to analyze the pieces.  For example, in the Matthew Marks Gallery, the Martin Hornet exhibit contained a group of old teachers (sculptures) in the far end of a plain white room.  I thought this represented the long path to a dismal future being plain and dreary.

Despite the difficulty understanding the galleries, I enjoyed walking around the neighborhood and finding art pieces everywhere.  One of my favorites was crushed under unaware NYC residents.  It was on a crosswalk near the High Line.  I found this piece cute and abnormal.  The yellow stood out on the grey road.  I needed a picture of it, which is a bit dangerous considering it is in the middle of the street.

The Lambard Freid gallery had what I thought to be an extremely wasteful exhibit: multiple 18 karat gold chains with 24 karat gold pendents of Lenin of the Communist Revolution.  Knowing that just a couple blocks down there are homeless people who do not know where their next meal will come from, I could not appreciate the exhibit.  Other than that issue, I did appreciate the pictures and paintings in the gallery.  One of the paintings reminded me of a Pokemon.  I am biased because Pokemon was a very important part of my childhood, so when I saw this picture, I was immediately filled with nostalgia.

(Photo on right: http://th01.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2010/336/f/5/mudkip_coloring_by_alltehgoodnamesrgone-d343k49.jpg)

Despite the difficulty understanding the many exhibits, I do not think it was a waste of time.  I was exposed to many new art pieces and as the cliche goes, “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”