Club 57 was an incredibly unique experience and one of the most engaging exhibits I’ve seen at the MOMA. Immediately stepping into the exhibit, I was struck by the massive array of bright colors and a vibrancy that really embodied the image of the East Village and formed an excellent background to the considerable variety of different pieces. The subject matter of the artwork and the juxtaposition of said artwork with a club environment is significant and intentional. Understanding the culture of the club especially in the context of the LGBT community, counter-culture, and the aids crisis in the 1980’s is crucial to understanding the nuances and messaging of the works that have been posted throughout this exhibit. Many pieces of art came attached with political messages as notions of self-awareness, the LGBT community, and other social issues became deeply politicized.
One piece in particular that really stood out to me is this painting, posted above, of a figure whose face has been painted white and his body has been masked in a brown paint, highlighting his body from the neck-above. The drab mosaic cuts through the vibrancy of the club environment and symbolizes the darkness of the AIDS crisis in a place that is supposed to be marked with happiness and the forgetting of life’s trials. The historical message it imparts is something that I thought about as soon as I saw the artwork. The face of the individual in the painting has also been reduced to a simple, blank, white, and gaunt face, resembling a skull and having an air of “death” around it. This helps establish part of the mood in that time that likely inspired this work. This was a very dark drawing whose meaning was exemplified due to the burst of colors in some of the other works. I think it really called attention to this particular theme of the gallery and was a work of deep intrigue to me.
I too agree that the Club 57 exhibit was one of the most engaging exhibits at MOMA. I found it very eye-catching and vibrant as well. The deep social/political issues were the underlying major factor of the exhibit; I found it interesting how so many social issues and topics were presented in one exhibit, yet they were all somehow connected as they all broke past social norms and were about emotional and creative expression of important issues/topics during the 1970s-80s. I find your choice in painting interesting, it is simple yet portrays immense social significance. The simple yet dark color choices give the painting even more meaning and draw even more attention to it.