Grey Gallery at NYU
I was very disappointed to have to view these pieces of artwork online as oppose to having viewed them firsthand. The further I looked into these vibrant pieces, the more upset I became that I could not actually attend the tour and witness them in person. Both Modern Iranian Art and Radical Presence had pieces that were very exquisite as well as eye opening. I especially enjoyed looking through the different pieces in Radical Presence because they were all commenting on the larger social issue of racism. One of the most raw and interesting pieces I thought was Pretending to be Rock by Sherman Fleming. When I watched the video portraying Fleming and the woman hanging in front of him, I was in awe. Questions like “how could this be art?” started swirling around in my head but our in class conversation later that day helped me to realize just how profound this piece of work was.
Fleming was trying to convey the torture and agony of slaves that found themselves going through this type of torture on a daily basis. Fleming’s female collaborator was used to represent the superiority of whites during the time of racism. Although this display of self harm may seem very grotesque at first glance, it has so much meaning that it evolved into one of my favorite works in Radical Presence.
In the Modern Iranian Art exhibit, one of my favorite pieces was that of Sohrab Sepehri. A noted printmaker, poet and artist, Sepehri depicts a scene from his hometown in his piece labeled Trees with Figure. This piece automatically captured my attention. The juxtaposition between the colorful fruits and leaves located at the top of the tree with the somber and arid looking atmosphere was very perplexing to me. I stared at longer and longer and I began to come to a conclusion about what Sepehri was trying to show. He was trying to indicate to viewers that something, in and of itself, may seem very ravaged but every person finds beauty in a unique way. Sepehri finds beauty in his hometown in a way that no one else might and that symbolizes the animated fruit and leaves at the top of the tree. This painting really supports the cliché “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Someone may not even find a moment of beauty in that which you find absolutely mesmerizing. Sepehri’s painting was one of my favorites in the Modern Iranian Art exhibit because it fused elements of Iranian art with modern art that many viewers would find relatable. I wish I had been able to see many of these pieces in person because viewing them electronically does not do justice to the meticulous attention to every detail and every brushstroke.
