Category: Blog Post 2 (Page 2 of 2)

       Located in the Fine Art Gallery on Coney Island is a small framed painting. This piece of artwork was not only located on a shelf but with many paintings but had many paintings hanging above and below it as well. The gallery was nothing like I’d imagined, completely filled with paintings, it was hard to focus on a painting as whole. Unlike my experience in the MOMA where the art was spread out, The Fine Art Gallery of Coney Island was overflowing with artwork and didn’t have much empty white space behind it.  

       The artwork is composed of the three primary colors, highlighting the simplicity of the piece.The left side is red, the middle is yellow, and the right is blue. All three of these colors are a light shade: light red, light yellow, and light blue. The colors all sort of blend together, creating a light orange and grey background. There is small moon in the top center. The bottom of the painting appears to be green, it looks like a floor and there is a couple skating through the center of the artwork (the yellow) which appears to be a doorway. One the left side, there is a figure which appears as a woman. Though it is just a lightly painted body, she appears to have a breast. She is painted with pinks and yellows which blend into a greyish purple as yell. She is roller skating, one foot in front of the other. Her skates are a peachy light pink and her hand extends to the center of the painting holding hands with another figure on the other side of the painting. This figure is painted of a variety of shades of blue. Unlike the woman on roller skates, this figure is on a bicycle. The two figures represent two separate ideas, the figure on the left is painted with warm colors and the figure on the right is painted with cool colors. The left side which is a reddish orange contrasts with the bluish green on the other side as the artists chose complimentary colors to draw this couple.Though the two sides of the painting are very much different, the artist chooses the yellow space in the middle to he symbolize unity and the joining of the two hands. There is very simple landscape without much detail evoking a feeling of peace and serenity.

      Growing up in Brooklyn, I have longed for trips to the small Carvel located on Coney Island and Avenue V. The wide selection would make my mouth water as I would hop between “Rocky Road Crunch’ to “Blueberry Pie.” Every trip to carvel was a different experience and I never got the same thing twice, no matter how delicious. What made the experience so amazing was the parking lot where I would eat my ice cream. The parking lot is filled with people sitting, I can hardly get a table. People are walking in and out holding huge cones of ice cream, each one with two or three scoops. A couple sits to my left sharing an oreo milkshake. A family sits behind us opening a package of flying saucers, “I called the chocolate sprinkles!” a little boy shouts at his sister. Everyone is smiling.  

      Spray painted across the wall of carvel is what I like to think of as a candy land. The scenery of the painting is the bright blue sky , the shade of blue getting lighter as it goes down the painting. The bottom of the wall is spray-painted with clouds and amidst the clouds are ice cream scoops. The clouds are as white as snow and outlined in a light blue. Starting from the left is a large yellow scoop of ice cream perhaps French Vanilla or Cake Batter; the rounded top of the scoop is covered lightly in faded sprinkles and cherry dip on top. The dip is bright red and has drips going down the scoop. Slightly behind it is a light orange scoop of ice cream which appears to be creamsicle or butter pecan. The top of it is covered in chocolate fudge and though the ice cream scoop is slanted, a cherry is placed perfectly on top. To the right of it is a light pink scoop, clearly strawberry and it has chocolate sprinkles splattered on it. The three scoops appear to be floating amongst the clouds as if one could just jump over them. Behind the ice cream scoops are two large ice cream cones. One is a waffle cone filled with vanilla and chocolate twist. The top of the cone is covered in chocolate fudge with nuts. The cone appears to be leaning against another cone, this one is filled with plain vanilla ice cream and covered in rainbow sprinkles. Behind the cones are three flying oreos! Flying oreos!

      The background of the artwork contains a variety of different ice cream scoops. The light colors of the ice cream (orange and pink) blend into the background creating a peaceful sunset. Located in the center of the art is a flowing chocolate river, painted dark brown with streaks of black that appear like waves. There are small cherries and white swirls which appear to be whipped cream floating across the river. Over the chocolate fudge river is a round semi- circle bridge made out of a waffle cone. It is light brown with a dark brown outline. It caves over the river as a though it is a walkway.

       The right half is filled with more ice cream cones. In the front is a cone filled with strawberry and french vanilla twist. Along the back is a row of coes, all upside down. They are large waffle cones painted light brown with a beige grid. Each one appears to have the large part of the cone dipped in a different type of chocolate. The first is covered in a rich dark chocolate with small beige nuts. The second is also a dark chocolate but this one has sprinkles which are made out of small black lines. The third has a colorful sprinkle and the fourth has a faded light brown sprinkle. In the bottom right corner are another three scoops, again chocolate light pink, and light orange respectively.  On the right side of the artwork is a flying ice cream cone filled with vanilla ice cream and two white angel wings coming out, one from each side. The cone is once again light brown and has a golden sash floating in front of it, saying,

”Don’t tell me. Show me.

Forever in our hearts”

      I have never noticed this before as the artwork appears to be painted in memory of a group of people. On top of the artwork are three floating cherries. They are round and appear to be flying, they have wings coming out and each one has a different name spray painted inside of it. I think this art can be the artists view of the after life as he/she hopes the three people who passed are in a better place. He/she envisions a world of no evil, no harm, no stress just the happy feeling one gets from ice cream.

       By having this artwork outside an ice cream store, it enhances the experience one has while eating his/her ice cream. The painting feeds off of the viewers imagination, creating a world that is filled with ice cream and chocolate. It removes any worries one may have about health or weight since it portrays ice cream in such a friendly and pleasant environment. The wall is designed using only light and friendly colors, welcoming. Anyone who sees this art will immediately want to indulge in their ice cream as it appears to welcome one into this world, above the heavens, a world of happiness, pleasure, and ice cream.

As a new resident of New York City, I love to take advantage of all that Manhattan has to offer. On every third block of the city is a piece of public art that grabs my attention and catches my eye, but Keith Haring’s statue located at 51 Astor Place was one that literally stopped me in my tracks when I passed by it. What Haring designed is a sculpture called “Self Portrait.” It is a 3-dimensional, green, dancing stick-figure with the dimensions of 48 x 27 1/2 x 33 inches, so it cannot be missed when walking down the street. The stick figure is standing on one foot, looking as though it is mid-jump. One of the statue’s hands is on its waist, while the other one is in the air. Lastly, it is a 360 degree work of art, so it can be viewed and taken in from all sides.

Perhaps this sculpture is extremely intriguing because of its strategic placement. Since it is downtown on Third Avenue, one of the busiest streets in New York City, thousands of people walk by it every day. After observing it for a few minutes, I feel that this statue has true potential to bring joy to anyone who passes by it, like it did for me. It looks as though this green stick-figure is just another person who finds himself in this bustling part of the city. However unlike all the other active participants of the area, this person looks like he is taking a second to truly enjoy the moment, encouraging others to do the same. Therefore this environment truly enhances the work of art because it fits perfectly as a piece of street art, rather than in a museum or gallery. It has the real ability to bring smiles to many busy people’s faces.

After I finished at 51 Astor Place, I continued down Third Avenue and found myself at the Sperone Westwater art gallery located at 257 Bowery Street where there was a group of paintings by Malcolm Morley. When I walked in, directly across from me hung a vibrant painting with all different shades of pink, green, and yellow. I came closer and was able to make out two soldiers with spears riding beautiful horses in battle. With a green and yellow sunset, gold mountains in the background, yellow flags on a grey and pink monument, and figures dressed in garments with many abstract shapes on them, the painting gives off a strong sense of royalty, courage and honor. It is a stunning work of art.

Like many art galleries, each piece of work in this exhibit had its own large and bare white wall to itself. When I immediately stepped in, there was a narrow hallway with an archway that I walked through. Then all of a sudden the room completely opened up, with one very large painting on the right wall, and one on the left wall. Then came another narrow hallway and archway. Directly through this, and across from the first entrance, hung the painting that I chose to take a closer look at. Like the other paintings in the  gallery, this painting too was extremely large and had the entire wall to itself. I found that the completely bare wall simply served as a background to the painting, and did not add much to the art itself. What I did notice however was that the white wall did make all the colors pop and jump off the canvas, due to the obvious and apparent contrast it created. I believe this environment definitely affected the way I viewed this art because it forced me to focus my attention strictly on the painting. Had there been more paintings on the wall competing with this unique and intricate work of art, it would have shown that sometimes more is less. However, I would be interested in seeing what it would like with a wall designed as a field, forest, or even a town square, since those sceneries would contribute to the sense of fighting and war that the art depicts. I truly enjoyed seeing both of these works of art, and look forward to seeing what I’m drawn to next.

The Time – Cherry Blossoms on a Moonlit Night

I had the opportunity to visit some of the many amazing art galleries in Chelsea the other day. Out of all them, my favorite had to be the Japanese themed Sato Sakura Gallery. This work pictured above depicting a moonlit night stood out to me the most. Branches of cherry blossoms dangle in the foreground, with bright pink petals drifting off into the wind as they journey their way to the ground. In the background stands a silhouette of what appears to be some sort of tower. The structure stands tall with a long  spire on top. The Moon lurks directly behind the building, illuminating the nighttime sky. The Moon’s strikingly pale image contrasts with the rest of the primarily dark blue color scheme. Its design is highly detailed as well, with craters scattered all over its surface. The rest of the background consists of a clear dark blue sky, with the tops of trees being visible towards the bottom.

The gallery itself comprises a relatively large space, with plenty of room in between most of the works. Half the gallery space features a dark colored background while the other half a white colored background. I noticed most of the pieces shared a common theme revolving around nature. Trees and other plant life were common in most of the paintings. All of the works collectively established a peaceful environment in the gallery. The environment ultimately enhances our perception of the work, with the dark nighttime atmosphere contrasting with the white background. This contrast effectively grants the piece a sense of identity. While it could be anytime on the outside, it is perpetually nighttime in the painting. The art itself also alters the environment, with it making the time of day to be more perceivable to nighttime. Gazing into the piece could be comparable to looking out a window, in which case viewing the moonlit scene can influence our awareness of time in the gallery. The moonlit night is depicted as the perfect moment in time. Its perfection stems from its beauty, and this beauty supersedes that of any potential moment of time on the outside. Not only does the work alter our perception of time, but also presents to us how time is an essential ingredient to beauty.

Drum Totem

Before my time at the gallery, I visited Staten Island’s very own Tompkinsville Park. As a native of the borough, I thoroughly enjoyed this experience. This is Alassane Drabo’s Drum Totem, a West African inspired work. Standing 16′ tall, the artwork comprises one drum situated atop the main structure, and two others attached to the sides. The main structure consists of two stacked black oil drums surrounded by light brown timber driftwood. One wooden drum can be found sticking out of the lower left side of the driftwood while another can be found attached directly to the top oil drum to the upper right side. There is a noticeable hole in the top of the drum attached to the right of the main structure, a likely indicator of age and usage. The drum based at the top is the most embellished of the three, with it being largest in size, perfectly carved, and mostly undamaged. It has a dark brown wooden shell and a grayish drumhead, with what appears to be streamers draping from the sides.

The park environment was definitely an appropriate setting for the piece. The work is situated in an expansive grass area, occupying the space alongside a number of trees with leaves sprawled across the ground. Drum Totem is a central feature in the space, along with a fountain in the park center and a statue honoring Spanish-American War soldiers titled The Hiker.  From behind, the oil drums are completely blocked by the driftwood. As I entered the park from that direction, I mistook the piece for remnants of a tree. Nevertheless, the park environment contributes to the work’s display. The surrounding nature provides an ideal platform for the piece. Anyone passing through can sit and enjoy the art’s excellence. The work’s placement in a park effectively integrates African culture into an everyday setting. The park, a common public location, grants us an opportunity to appreciate an entire culture honored by the art. The space and the piece thus compliment each other through this. The art benefits from being integrated into a serene environment, while the space benefits from having an element of culture added to it.

Sato Sakura Gallery

Wandering around the streets of Chelsea, I stopped to take a quick breath when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a gallery of paintings to my right. I decided to take a chance and enter the unusual space. Initially, I expected to see the standard exhibit of four white walls, but to my surprise this was a very different take on such a traditional display.

Playful Carps; Reiji Hiramatsu; Mineral Pigments, Gelatine, Japanese Paper

As I strolled through the gallery, the Playful Carps lay against the set of white walls and caught my eye with its vivid conglomeration of pinks and purples. The plain white environment surrounding the busy and saturated art piece, indefinitely augments the colors and the bloom of the Playful Carps; it enhances the bold features of the two. Initially, it was hard for me to digest all of the spots of color and white on the canvas. It’s a lot on the eyes as the petal-like spots take up 90% of the canvas, and it took my attention away from the two carps placed at the bottom. The two carps of white, orange, and spots of black seem to be swimming in a pool of purple water, as well as pink, white, and purple petals. That’s when I noticed the entire painting was of cool tones except for the carps. The warm orange on the two fish make them stand out against the busy canvas of pinks and purples. It was hard for me to make them out at first, but after taking a closer look, I was able to identify their tiny eyes and whiskers.

Ben Angotti; Mural

Knowing the artistic culture within the streets of New York, I knew it wouldn’t be difficult to find a piece of public art that blew me away. The public art displayed at the World Trade Center is powerful and massive, especially through the mural painted by Ben Angotti.

Looking at it closely, there are waves and ribbons of color, including various shades of blue, red, pink, green, orange, and more. Additionally, there is a youthful and vibrant sun behind the subject, with softer rays of color surrounding it; all of which are laid upon a surface of black throughout. Despite this, the mural is anything but dark and depressing: adjectives in which are associated with the shade of black. The mural is especially lively and energetic because of how exalted the subject is made out to be. Her head is held high with her hair, mixed with shades of black and purple, is flowing free and high behind her head. Shades of white highlight the high points of her face and body, including her chest, neck and the center of her face.

The city scape surrounding the mural really add to it in that the Oculus is an art piece within itself supporting its opposite: the mural. The progressive mural of black and ranges of color, is set in front of a stark white minimalistic structure. Both highlight very different aspects of New York City and its art. This ultimately goes to show how an environment has just as much as an impact on the artwork, whether it be Oculus or the mural, as the artwork does on the city.

As I walked out of Washington Square Park, I was immediately drawn to this piece of art done on a brick wall around the corner from the park. The street was a short, but wide one-way street, with a construction project going on in the middle of the street, which caused traffic to be moving a little slow. My first thoughts when I noticed the mural was that it was truly just a beautiful painting of a bear, but as I looked deeper into it, I noticed many other details. I think what originally drew me to this mural was the fact that it was a painting of an animal, and I have grown up in a household where we strongly admire all types of animals, so I thought it was cute in a way whereas many people might see a bear and associate it with fear. The painting is done on a brown brick wall, surrounded both left and right by red bricks. Because the wall where the painting is done is brown, that means the background of the painting is brown, however the artist offset the darkness with pops of blue and orange tones. On the neck of the bear appears to be a pattern that reminds me of an Aztec styled pattern including blue, red, orange, and yellow in it. The bear has thick, long, fur with 3 strips of color bleeding down and eventually dripping off his front paws. The 3 colors which stem from the Aztec pattern in the neck of the bear and bleed down to the paws are blue, orange, and yellow. The bear’s paw has claws that look more like long fingernails rather than claws, which I found strange because most portrayals of bears’ paws are short and nubby and don’t involve such long claws. Finally, surrounding the bear are triangles coming out from all around, which look more like triangular metal blades protruding out of the perimeter of him. What I loved most about this mural is that it ultimately allowed me to escape being in the confinements of NYC just for a few moments and envision myself in a more rural, natural setting. I really enjoyed this mural because of this, and after all, it’s not every day that you get to experience a bear in NYC!

After my lovely escape into nature, I visited the Grey Art Gallery at NYU. The current gallery being featured here is a photography gallery called NeoRealismo: The New Image in Italy, 1932-1960. Upon entering the gallery, I wasn’t very familiar with this topic, due to the fact that I had never closely studied it. As I first began walking through the gallery, which was also the first art gallery I have been to, I experienced a spacious room filled with evenly spaced, framed photographs on white walls. Because of the fact that all the photographs in the gallery appealed to the same NeoRealismo theme, I was able to receive the impression through the pictures that the Italians were very hardworking people. Had this not been a gallery completely dedicated to this theme, I probably would not have been able to find as much meaning towards the photographs, especially from the photograph I chose, because the pictures would have made less sense to me. In addition, these photographs altered the space for me because I was surrounded by photographs of the everyday tasks of the working-class Italians in this time period so I was able to get a feel for what their lives consisted of. The reason I got this impression was because most of the photographs in the gallery were pictures of the Italian people working. The picture I chose, called the Il Dopopranzo Delle Mondine, shows two women, one sitting on a sheet with a basket looking tote bag in between her legs, and one standing up handing a glass of what I assume to be water to the woman sitting. Since both women have their hands on the glass, I received a warm feeling, almost like a sense of community from these women. The woman standing has a wrap around her hair and the woman sitting is wearing a sun hat. Behind the woman sitting there is a bike sitting upside down, and beyond the two women appears to be a field. I decided to look further into the name of the photo, and I learned that it translates to “the afternoon of the mondina”. Once again, I had to dig a little deeper because I had never heard of a “mondina” before, but it was also to my discovery that a mondina refers to a rice weeder, specifically in Italy’s Po Valley.  Once I found this out, it explained what these two women were doing in a field. It was of no surprise to find out that the moninda were very hard workers, who worked long hours in the hot sun for very low pay. Overall, I really enjoyed this gallery and being able to learn more about a topic which I was not well informed about before coming.

Painting from The Studio Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn

When I first walked into the art gallery I was overwhelmed by how many paintings I saw. I began looking around until I saw this painting. In the painting there’s a girl standing on a bridge above water. There are swans in the water. The painting, for the most part, is very bright. It’s a sunny day with blue skies, trees, and colorful houses. The girl on the bridge is wearing a bright red dress. My initial thought of the painting was that it was happy and light; that it was just an image of a girl standing on a bridge looking at the water. This thought changed when I glanced over to the right of the girl. I then saw that one piece of the painting is grey and raining. In this grey area there is a man and women running with an umbrella over the bridge. It looked to me that they were running to find shelter from the rain. Even though they were in the rain, to me, they looked happy. If you look closely at the girl in the red dress face she can look a little upset, as though she is longing for something. I found the painting as a whole to be very interesting. Why would the man and woman in the rain be happy, while the girl in the sun is upset? I took this opportunity to form my very own story. I thought to myself that the girl in the red dress was longing for a companion or a friend, and that’s why, although she is in the sun, she is upset. I loved the painting because it gave enough information, but not too much. It offered an image, but allowed me to create the story. I also enjoyed the fact that it was in a gallery, because then there was no information card about the artist or the piece. This created even more of a mystery to the painting.

The gallery was one small cluttered room with a bunch of paintings all over. I entered the door and there was an old man sitting in the room. He didn’t say a word as I entered. There were paintings on the wall, on the floor, everywhere I looked, and stepped. I asked the old man if the paintings were his and he responded with a  simple no.

At first I didn’t like the environment. I was overwhelmed and found it cluttered. I still decided to give it a chance, and began looking around. I noticed that the paintings were each very different from the next and each so unique. I was able to form a story from each one. The environment of the gallery soon began to change. It began to feel more personal. There was only me, another person, and the old man in the gallery, so I was able to analyze the art almost completely alone. In the end I liked the environment of the gallery. In each painting I saw something similar amongst them. They were all personal and had a story. The paintings around the one I chose, and how small and personal the gallery was, definitely affected my perception of the painting. Instead of just thinking that it’s an image of a girl on a bridge and one part of the painting is grey, I knew there had to be more of a story because of the environment around it.

Public Art from the Art Walls in Coney Island

I was right away drawn to this piece. At first I saw a bunch bright, vivid colors which immediately attracted me. As I stepped closer to take a look I saw a lot of different images in this one large image. This piece of art displayed comic book pictures. When I first glanced at it I saw Superman’s arm throwing a punch and the beginning of the word which I believe is “kapow”. Next I saw a teenage girl who also appears to be in a comic book, because of the way she was painted. Next I saw Superman’s logo. Right next to Superman’s logo there is a hot air balloon that says “Summertime 2017.” This made me smile because my birthday is during the summer and it is my favorite season. Next I saw a lightning bolt which looked like the flash’s symbol. Overall this piece was really fun and young. I enjoyed it a lot.

This public art is seen In coney Island next door to Luna Park. Coney Island has such a fun and relaxed environment. There were a bunch people around, so there was a lot of action, but there weren’t that many people where I was standing. The location of the painting, Coney Island, made me like the painting even more. When I think of Coney Island I think of Luna Park and the boardwalk, all very fun places, and the painting displayed that.

My experience was really enjoyable. I liked how there were a lot of people in Coney Island to create noise and action, but I also enjoyed that in the place where I was standing I was almost completely alone. This enhanced my experience; it allowed me to look at and analyze the art by myself, but also in an environment with the public. It was a new experience for me and it was a good one.

My favorite piece of artwork from The Studio Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn.

My first art gallery experience was very different than I had expected. Upon entering the Studio Fine Art Gallery near my house in Brooklyn I was immediately struck by how small and cluttered the space was. There were paintings from ceiling to floor organized in no specific order. At first, it was very overwhelming. I found myself having trouble focusing on specific paintings. However, after my initial confusion came a very comfy and homey feeling. I felt like all the art was hugging me in a sense. I started looking at individual paintings and noticing their beauty. While I couldn’t find names of paintings or identify the names of the artists, and the attendant was no help, I found a particular style of painting very striking  and I assume all the paintings in the gallery with this style were painted by the same artist. My favorite painting in the gallery was painted with this style that had a very creepy and eerie feeling. Most of the painting is comprised of little circle heads with blank lifelike eyes and a small mouth. The painting is almost split into two parts. The left side of the painting has a bunch of these small heads stacked on top of each other from the bottom of the canvas up, each head a varying shade of red. At almost the top of the canvas the heads stop and are covered by a white fedora hat. The hat has a faded red ribbon lining the part of the hat where one places their head and a faded red feather coming out of the ribbon. The right side of the painting is different. The bottom of the painting has about two rows of the creepy heads in green. Until about the middle of the painting there is just a green background. In the middle right of the painting is a box of varying shades of yellow creepy heads and on top of it is yellow top hat. Needless to say, this painting gives a spine-chilling feeling, which has to do in part of the gallery its placed in. The clutter I found it in and the smallness of the gallery contributed to the mysteriousness of the painting. All in all, it’s a painting I will never forget.

After my experience at the art gallery I headed to to the Coney Art Walls to enjoy their famous public art. The walls have a very hipster vibe to them and as a result I was expecting to see art that was cool and edgy. My expectations were verified as soon as I arrived. Unfortunately, the actual area where most of the public art is, was closed because of a labor day event that took place a couple of days before. Fortunately however, there were some pieces of public art outside the gated area that caught my eye.

The piece that struck me the most was a spooky interpretation of everyones favorite childhood characters: Dipsy the Teletubby, Ronald McDonald, Mickey Mouse, and Barney the Dinosaur. The four characters are arranged like an advertisement for a circus sideshow, each on their own but all together.  Instead of his normal face and body, Dipsy, the green teletubby, has an x-ray of his mouth instead of his normal face. The normal white square on his stomach is replaced with an x-ray of his heart. At the bottom bottom of this section there’s a thin banner that reads “Otto Topsy.” Connecting Dipsy and the sinister representation of Ronald McDonald is an orange badge-like circle that says “Alive” in bright red bubble letters. Ronald McDonald is portrayed as petite and chubby with a huge grinning mouth. Ronald has very large noticeable gums and equally big  teeth which are black and white in contrast to the bright yellow and red ensemble that we all know too well. Under McDonald is a banner that says “Grinnin’ Mac.” The next character is Mickey Mouse, who has his hands raised in the air in an exciting way. His face has some black graffiti lines on it which look like scars. Mickey’s mouth is opened to a huge smile which, like Ronald McDonald, has an overly sized gums with smaller teeth. Again, his gums and teeth are black and white as opposed to the classic red Mickey Mouse outfit. Under Mickey is a banner (although quite hidden in the picture because of the police line) that says “Grinnin’ Mouse.” Connecting Mickey with the last character, Barney, is a badge identical to the last one besides for the fact that it has a green background and purple words. Next is a side profile of Barney the dinosaur. His mouth, similar to the other characters, is wide open with  huge x-ray like black and white gums and teeth in contrast to the purple and green coloring of the dinosaur. The banner on the bottom reads, “B-rex.” This piece of public art is in the perfect place for its intended audience and intended perception. It’s in a cool and edgy area which causes viewers to look at it not as something disturbing, but rather as something thought provoking. The fact that this piece of public art is at the Coney Art Walls adds to the statement the artist is trying to make.

Try to imagine a brick wall. The bricks are all cemented together up high. The walls are taller than a person, but nowhere near as tall as a building. But the bricks aren’t the normal crimson red color that my house is built from. The column of bricks is painted in different hues of blues, purples, and blacks. Instead of looking rough, coarse, and ragged like bricks usually do, the wall looks like a galaxy. Dusted with some white paint, you really do feel like you are walking through another cosmos. On the top quarter of the wall, there are yellow dots scattered around. There are about 8 significantly sized polka dots, and on the right side there is a bigger yellow circle, that seems to represent the sun, while the smaller dots are stars. Beneath the “stars” is my favorite part of the mural. 

We all know what the stereotypical heartbeat echo looks like on a doctor’s screen. The red lines going up and down with sharp turns?

So yeah, there are 3 maximums, that mathematically speaking would be described as being concave down, and 2 minimum points, concave up. However, in the first section that goes up and down, instead of having a blank area, the area is shaped like a New York City building, perhaps the Empire State Building. The inner space has 17 yellow squares painted in it. A line of two squares at the uppermost, thinnest part is followed by 5 rows of 3 yellow squares underneath it. Under the “heartbeat monitor” is another yellow illustration. This time, the yellow represents the lines on the street, marking two different lanes. At the very bottom, painted in red, the artist left her instagram account @mapillustrations and a hashtag #BRICKFIT.

This mural is just one of the many murals painted outside of Fashion Institute of Technology on 28th street. Each student was given the same assignment, to paint a mural on a brick wall between 7th and 8th Avenues. Seeing this mural amongst all the others made the project come to life for me. If I just saw one mural I would have still thought it was cool, but seeing the multitude of artwork made it that much more special for me. Every mural is completely different, yet is still insanely beautiful and filled with so much talent. 

Walking into the Studio Fine Art Gallery  in Brooklyn was a completely different experience. The white walls were cluttered and filled with paintings from the floor to the ceiling. There was no room for the paintings to breathe and there was no order to the paintings. The gallery was stressful to look at. While the streets outside of FIT were orderly and each mural was the same size brick panel, the art gallery had paintings of all shapes and sizes, with all different themes too.

The painting that stood out to me the most at the gallery was this image. For starters, the painting is bare. There is no frame around the painting. The next thing I notice was the image of a tree. Imagine a wicked tree with branches coming out of it. The branches envelop the entire painting and the negative space created by the branches is colored in with different shades of blues throughout the leftmost side and the upper right quadrant has hints of yellow and gold leaves in the crevices. The branches loop and create the image of a mosaic window. The image looks like it could be printed on the stained glass window of a church or synagogue. It could symbolize the tree of life. The top of the image is rounded, just like how a window looks. The yellow/gold coloring looks like a glimmer of hope shining through the blue, gloomy, tree. This painting is much colder than the mural painting.

I definitely did not like this image as much as I enjoyed looking at the wall murals. Looking at this made me feel flustered and frustrated, because the room was not in any order. In order for me to enjoy looking at something it must be aesthetically pleasing. A disheveled art gallery does not give me peace of mind and therefore was not enjoyable for me. Had the art been organized, the gallery could’ve been beautiful.