The exhibition on first floor showed numerous photographs by two pioneering photojournalists, Gerda Taro and Robert Capa. They captured the pictures in Barcelona and Almeria, Spain. The pictures showed the lives of soldiers and civilians, including soldiers loading cannons, agricultural workers loading food into trucks, and war orphans roaming streets. The first photograph that grabbed my attention was titled “Republican Militia Members, Barcelona.” Ironically, it did not show the brutality of the War but a seemingly atypical day of military life. In the picture, a male soldier was sitting in an armchair and a female soldier was sitting next to him, and they were grinning. They seemed like having a conversation on a hilarious subject, and they had a good time. Through their grins, I felt their optimism about the War. I liked this picture because it also showed a random scene of soldiers’ lives. The photographer captured what they were really doing at the moment, thus, the picture showed their genuine feelings.

As I walked further into the room, I saw some gruesome pictures. Several photographs, which were titled “Refugees from Malaga in Almeria,” showed the despair and dread in refugees’ faces as they were running for their lives. Another photographs showed corpses of air raid victim. When I first looked at the pictures, I thought the men were sleeping on the tables. Only from the description next to the frames, I learned they were dead. I took a close-up look at one picture, and discerned a pool of blood on the table. I was a bit little terrified because the lack of variety of color in the picture diminished its effect. Suppose the pool of blood is red, the picture would strike me and evoked lasting horror. Just few minutes later, I found out the black-and-white pictures could also be powerful when I walked into the exhibition, “This Is War! Robert Capa at Work.”

The two photographs that caught my attention were titled “the Falling Soldier.” Looking at them, I thought to myself, “I was so wrong about black-and-white photographs.” Both pictures showed soldiers who was struck with bullets and falling down to the ground. They were very powerful photographs. The pictures were like daggers that stabbed my heart as if I suffered the excruciating pain of being shot and dying. They were also very depressing, and the colors of black and white intensified the degree of depression. The main backgrounds in both pictures were the skies. If the color of sky blue was shown, it would lessen the effect of the pictures because the large area of warm color would greatly diminish a viewer’s feeling of pain, horror and depression.

After my visit, I have come to the conclusion that both color and black-and-white pictures have their own virtues. Although black-and-white picture cannot show rich detail in comparison with color picture, it can intensify the negative feelings and have strong effect on viewers’ minds.

The first things caught my eyes were not the paintings but the spiral-like interior design and the dome. I had never seen this kind of architectural design in my life. The curved corridors form the spiral from the ground level up to the top of the building. I could envision that it would be awesome to look down at the lobby from the top floor. It was exciting to walk along the corridors, but be prepared to deal with the slight dizziness. The domeis made of transparent glass panels. The lobby and the corridors were lit by the warm sunlight. I was so disappointed of being stopped on the third floor due to the restoration. The building itself is a piece of art, let alone the well-known abstract paintings by famous artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso.

The abstract paintings epitomize cubism and abstract expressionism. Most of the paintings were produced in late 19th and early 20th Century. These paintings are quite different from the paintings I had seen in the Frick Collection. Unlike from the painting from 17th and 18th Century, figures were barely discernable from the paintings here. The abstract paintings are more difficult to comprehend. In my opinion, the viewers have to examine the painting with their vivid imagination; perhaps, that was the artist’s intent. I came across many paintings that placed emphasis on geometric form, such as Circular Forms by Robert Delaunay. The one I liked the most was Composition 8 by Vasily Kandinsky because of its integration of different geometric forms. First thing that came into my mind was math. I thought to myself, “Was the artist telling a message about the importance of math or his preference for geometric forms?” The circles with bright color conveyed a sense of calmness; on the other hand, the interaction of triangles, squares and lines conveyed a sense of aggressiveness. I was perplexed by the mixed feeling I received from the painting. Another perplexing painting, Improvisation 28 by Vasily Kandinsky, also captured my eyes. Despite the bright colors, the black paint strokes caught my attention. The black paint strokes formed a striking comparison with the bright colors.

I left the Guggenheim Museum with uncertainty as well as awe for modern art. The modern art is revolutionized to the extent that viewers have to see them with wild imagination. I guess the best way to appreciate modern art or any artwork is to learn about the historical and social context in which they are created.