The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

Catching my Eyes

This past Saturday I visited the MoMA with Selina, Mahum and Susu. I originally planned to only stay for a short while and only long enough to see the paintings we had to. That changed after Selina and I got to the second floor and saw the art that was made completely by textiles.

Everything was sewn together, and there was even a piece called “Everything”. This piece actually made me think of abstract expressionism because of the large canvas that took up the entire wall. It also seemed, at first, that the different shapes were all random and ad no real shape but upon closer inspection it becomes obvious each different blotch has a specific shape. There were watering cans, people, animals, plants and various other everyday items. It made sense that the piece was titled “Everything” it basically contained, within it, everything a person could possibly see in a day and more. The idea I got from the tie-dye wall was a sense of chaos. Every color was bright and seemed to share the spotlight equally but it seemed so random and overwhelming. Even the shapes seemed to be sewn on randomly; they didn’t seem to be organized anyway to tell a story, and many of them were upside-down, slanted, backwards and the like. The type of chaos wasn’t bad though; it wasn’t the type that would be associated with destruction or depression, it was the everyday chaos – what is experienced everyday by a regular person. That’s my take on it at least.

Another piece that caught my eye was the piece “Vir Heroicus Sublimis” created by Barnett Newman. I first saw this piece after Selina and I had finally managed to find the abstract expressionism section of the museum, after being given false directions from a guide. I’ve seen this part of the MoMA many times, and honestly none of the paintings really caught my attention until this last trip. This piece was the only one that successfully made me feel any emotion; the instant I saw it I almost gasped. I knew that they weren’t actually there, but upon my first look I saw flames and I was reminded of the dream that used to haunt me in middle school. It was like having a flashback of a nightmare, and in that dream the entire world around me was burning down. What’s weirder is that after looking at it more the whole idea of the painting having any relation to such a depressing thing seemed laughable, because the colors were actually vibrant and warm. It started making me feel satisfied and relaxed unlike my first impression of it.

After that Selina and I parted ways and because I had some time to kill before Mahum and Susu arrived I decided to wander around. I found quite a few interesting places. There was a photography exhibit that I went to, but I didn’t really like the thought of taking pictures of pictures. But there was one other item that really interested me. It was a light, it’s supposed to be pink but my camera changed the color, and behind it the wall was yellow tinted because of the light, even though it was pink.

I also couldn’t visit the MoMA without visiting one of my favorite paintings. 

After Mahum and Susu arrived, I led them to the abstract expressionism area and talked about the works for a little while. After we finished looking around we decided to go to the terrace café and had a light lunch. It was really good and worth the money.  I was surprised about my experience this time. I’ve come to the museum many times, and I’ve never really enjoyed my experiences there, partially because of overcrowding. This time, however, I had a really good time and wouldn’t mid going again at some point, and try out the first floor restaurant and gelato stand.