I have never been the type of person to love modern art. Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t see how a couple of wooden blocks or a ball can bring about all these interpretations. I can accept that people like it, but I just can never understand it. At the Anthony Caro exhibit, I was expecting to see at least some sort of an explanation about each piece, as I had seen done at the MOMA. But there wasn’t any reference to the art at all. No one seemed to be paying any attention to the art nor respecting it at all actually. The adults were standing around, drink in hand, merely socializing. Some were on a date while others had brought their children to have a little picnic. But then why was it called an art exhibit if the focus wasn’t the art?
It irked me that no one was giving the art a single glance. This was a museum, a place where art is to be appreciated. I didn’t realize that this was to be more a social event than anything. I was even given a couple of strange glances because I was actively searching the the metal contraptions for an interpretation. I couldn’t help but question: why were these people even here if the art wasn’t the purpose? What would Caro think if he was there and saw that no one was even taking his work into consideration? His biography stressed his credentials and the awards he’d won but still couldn’t see for what. I guess my view of an exhibit is different; these people are used to going to events mainly to socialize, but I would rather see the art.
I worked at trying to find meaning in the sculptures, since I was already there. I questioned why Caro would use steel specifically. It is material usually used for sturdiness, for building, for protection. His message seems to be in the material more than the shapes. The structures themselves were not of anything recognizable, but I thought that the way they were arranged told a story, a timeline of someone’s life. It begins with the yellow piece, which looked like a ramp. A ramp is used to transport something from one place to another, so the journey begins with this step. The story continues in the dark brown piece, which was full of snake-like curves and included a broken metal link. I interpreted it as confusion and betrayal which led to the red piece. This symbolized anger; it was tall so that meant a lot of anger and there were jail-like bars used to say that the anger was stuck inside him. This led to the gray piece, the one with protective curves. Sitting between the two curves could stop the wind from blowing at you, symbolizing a safe place that journeyer went to after all the hurt of life. From there it goes to the light brown piece, a simple, box-like piece similar to the shape of a camera. The experience of the traveler led him to finally see things the right way.
While Caro’s work was interesting, but the view from the roof was the real art in my opinion. Our timing at sunset was perfect, the sun was just setting and the park looked breathtaking so that was enough for me to enjoy it.
