An Afternoon in the Museum
The past week I have visited MoMA for the second time in my life, after a year or two long “break”. Back then, as a high school student, I was practically forced into going by my parents and their friends who were visiting NYC from Canada. I remember feeling confused while looking at the randomly splattered paintings which people refer to as “works of art”, a confusion that essentially led to frustration: “Am I stupid for not getting this???”
Two years later, after discussing in class and reading upon abstract art, as well as learning more about artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko, I felt more willing, and possibly a tad bit more excited about seeing their art up close, and perhaps trying to gain a better understanding of their art, as well as seeing if it is true that abstract paintings are “felt” better in person.
I convinced my friend to go with me, and in order to save him $25, I agreed to go on the “Free Friday” (we went around 6pm so there were not even that many people, nor did we need to stand in a line to get in!). I told him that I just want to focus on finding Pollock, de Kooning, and Rothko paintings, so we rushed up to the fourth floor…
When I finally found what I was looking for, I began taking pictures, reading what was on the plaques next to the paintings, and started closely examining and trying to “feel” each work of art. When my friend came up to me to see what exactly got me so intrigued, he began saying things like, “What is this? I can draw this for you if you want” and “I don’t get this. Why don’t I get this? Am I too stupid?” which made me laugh quite a bit. He reminded me of what we said in class, how this is a reaction people typically have, and to be honest, it’s the reaction I had the first time I saw abstract paintings, such as the ones with splattered paint.
After discussing abstract works of art, and after gaining a better understanding about how paintings made using techniques such as splattering colors all over the canvas are made, I had a slightly different experience looking at it all up close, almost like a different perspective. It might not have moved me to the point of crying, like some artists aim to achieve, but I tried imagining how the artist might have felt while making certain moves with the brush that were reflected in the painting; I also tried seeing how their choice of colors might reflect their emotions. In abstract works of art, I believe it is not the shapes and objects that the viewer is supposed to focus on, but rather the colors and the strokes of brush (or the way the paint was dripped on the canvas, in the case of Pollock). Abstract expressionism allows artists to literally portray their emotional state on canvas, in the way they imagine it looks like. This would explain why people say certain artists use darker colors towards the end of their lives/careers, because they might feel themselves getting darker, older, melancholic on the inside. I think this is what I was able to realize better after visiting MoMA, though I could not explain it verbally (to my friend in particular) until I sat down home and started writing my thoughts down.
It was a very interesting experience, as I never imagined going to a museum would actually be, somewhat, fun. I guess what I found entertaining more than anything was seeing people’s reactions to certain paintings – some would seem more sophisticated and entranced, discussing certain parts of the work, while others (mostly younger people, such as my peers) would have a different outlook on it, and seemed to have had a instilled attitude of “I can do this, it’s so simple, how is this art?” Art definitely brings forth a different outlook on life, and has a mind of its own; inside NYC yet completely otherworldly.
Posted: September 19th, 2012 under MoMA.
Tags: MoMA
