For the Steam Project, my IDC class chose any piece of art that appealed to us in baruch and analyzed it to its core. This project taught me that each piece of art has so much meaning behind it. Taking into consideration the art work itself, the artist, and why it was on the baruch campus was all important research in our project. The one piece of art that appealed to my group was Red Groom’s Masters at the Met.
Our audio guide was very detailed and helped viewers analyze the painting to its depth. Before us is a peculiarly insightful painting titled Masters at the Met created in 2002 by artist Red Grooms. Initially, we notice multiple distinct cartoonish figures similarly admiring the artworks within the Metropolitan Museum. However, the crucial element of the patrons is their appearances and inferred stories, highlighting the central theme of the diversity of the people around us.
All of the individuals stand uniquely apart from each other with different apparel ranging from contemporary and rebellious to traditional and conservative. These distinct elements expose how expert analysis in nuanced details doesn’t lie in the artworks of the museum; rather it is in the visitors of the museum. Take a look at this painting from a personal perspective. You are here at this gallery space in New York City surrounded by people of different ages, varied cultures, speaking different languages at one place. The painting depicts thieves, prostitutes, the wealthy, and tourists all analyzing art. In the exhibit today, we are surrounded by college students, teachers, businessmen, and even artists that we can all learn a lot from through interaction.
Grooms is trying to show we try to seek insightful enrichment from art when we can actually gather more information from examining the patrons of the museum rather than staring at the art. Looking into the more precise details of the figures, we see the woman with blonde hair has large earrings while the tall man in the left side of the image with ripped jeans has small studs. In the center background we can see a young adult with his hat backwards next to a woman in formal attire. All these different people are illustrated as vividly as the actual artwork depicted in the background. The same attention to detail and color that is shown in the surrounding paintings is reflected in the viewers themselves. These diverse details demonstrate how the viewer can not only gain insight from the artwork but can benefit from closely analyzing the people around them.
The painting is a perfect representation of the diverse student body at Baruch, where students of all backgrounds gather to express new ideas and celebrate diversity. As Red Grooms shows, there is knowledge and insight to gain from the people around us just as much as artworks themselves.
