The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

I have never professed to understand nor enjoy abstract art. Even after our weekly discussions and biographical recollections of a few of the greater painters of the abstract era, I stil cannot for the life of me appreciate the messages conveyed. Perhaps it is because I will never quite understand the circumstances that warranted the expression of such passion, or perhaps I lack the wherewithal to grasp the abstraction they pursue. Whatever the case may be, my eyes dragged themselves elsewhere despite the obnoxious size of the canvas.

What matters most to me is the meaning beyond the canvas, and a few of the paintings I found in my travels through the halls of the MoMA plucked my heartstrings carelessly and let them violently strike back at my pick guard of a stomach. The first piece I found compelling was called Untitled (You Invest in the Divinity of the Masterpiece) by Barbara Kruger. The piece was a photostat that depicts a black and white tinted “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo with an overlapping of bold and aggressive text. The text read as the title does, with “Divinity” embroidered in the center of the piece. The juxtaposition of the masterpiece and Kruger’s words exemplifies the change in attitudes towards religion and art’s role in bridging the gap between church and public. The usage of black and white not only plainly denotes a sense of antiquity to a modern viewer (thanks be to color photographs) but also a symbolic representation of the religious ideals that Kruger’s words cut through. This resonates within me as an open defiance against the role of modern religion, in addition the value we place on religious artwork. The only question I could muster for myself to answer was, “If it were any other pair of men touching hands on clouds, would the fresco be as renowned?”

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3ADE%3AI%3A5%7CG%3AHI%3AE%3A1&page_number=400&template_id=1&sort_order=2

The next piece that stood out to me was titled Iamb (Blind Smile), an oil painting by artist R.H. Quaytman, a part of her Iamb series. The painting depicts a grizzled man staring into the black with a dim light shining over him.  His hair is thin and hangs loosely off his head, though finely quaffed into a mangled mess atop his head. The white of each hair outshines the dim light above, creating a sense of tension between the light and the dark in the painting. He is not a particularly attractive man; he’s portly, hairy, and wrinkled. His skin appears fragile and papery, his body hair catnapping atop it. The light blurs out his eyes as if to force the viewer to understand his body language. As I mentioned earlier, the stress between the white of the man’s skin and the shadows across the way reveal the intentions, at least as I perceive, of the piece. When compared with the title, the man stares off with an empty smile into the darkness, looking past what shadows would traditionally incite fear and uncertainty. It’s as if to say to enjoy the darkness of life, one must close their eyes to subvert the innate associations we make with darkness.

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A37079%7CA%3AAR%3AE%3A1&page_number=4&template_id=1&sort_order=1

I appreciate art that speaks beyond its canvas; beyond the walls its mounted on. I see it as visualized poetry, words in motion.

-Stephen Elliott