MoMA PS1 is one of the largest institutions in the US dedicated solely to the contemporary art. It was founded by 1976 by Alanna Heiss. Its former name was PS1 Contemporary Art Center, but it changed its name when it formalized its affiliation with the Museum of Modern Art. The partnership has promoted the understanding and the growth of contemporary art to a wide audience. MOMA PS1 has produced a variety of adventurous and creative works of artists since its foundation.

After visiting the MoMA for the first time of my life, I became greatly interested in contemporary art. Although sometimes hard to understand and grab a meaning, contemporary art was a new genre to me and got my attention very easily. Because I ride 7 train every day for school, I always saw the MOMA PS1 building. I wondered what it was, and after a short googling, found out that it was an affiliate of the MOMA. Perfect! This museum fit my interest and it was close to my home. As I was planning to visit MoMA PS1, frankly I was expecting something less than the actual MOMA. After all, it’s “PS1.” However, this museum totally changed my perception. I’d say its value is equivalent, or I even dare to say better, to the MOMA.

I got off the train, and walked for about 5 minutes. I could find it easily, but I couldn’t find the actual entrance that I had to walk around the whole building. You can buy a ticket when you go into the middle of the building (It’s $5 for students by the way). On the right, there is a small bookstore and a cafeteria. As I go further in, I was eager to take pictures but sadly it was prohibited. Still, the vivid images of the arts still remain on my mind.

MOMA PS1 was full of art. It of course had contemporary art in general, most of them by new artists. It was more free and youthful compared to the MOMA. It was also less crowded, so I could actually relax and “enjoy” the arts. There were lots of sections about race and sex. I could see the pieces supported anti-war and pro-gay marriage, like most of all other art centers do.

(MOMA PS1 Bathroom)

This was so much more than I expected. I highly reccommend to those who are interested in contemporary art. It is a MUST-VISIT! They frequently change the exhibitions, so it’s never boring. I even found my new favorite artist in here, whom I will post up later.

Timea Anita Oravecz was born in Budapest in 1975. Her artistic production is based on different mediums like sculptures, objects, installation, public arts, videos, etc.  As I searched through her work, I found an interesting piece.

(“Tetrix wardrobe” Installation, Mixed media, 2006)

Personally, I really like playing tetris. I know I sound like an elementary school kid, but it’s fun! I thought the tetris should only be in blocks, but look at how creative this piece is. I would’ve never imgined a tetris with clothes. They look disorganized yet harmonious. I think her creativity comes from her personal history: in the past ten years she lived in different West European Countries, challenged by the cultural and social diversities.

Not only MOMA PS1 has the paintings, it also has the architectures outside of its building. The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 jointly present the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program (YAP), an annual series of competitions that gives emerging architects the opportunity to build projects conceived for MoMA PS1’s facility in Long Island City, Queens. The objective is to provide visitors with an outdoor recreational area.

(Afterparty model, copyright 2009 MOS)

To get a sense of it, this is a winner of 2009 YAP. Its concept is an “urban shelter,” which provides shading and a cooling breeze created by a series of chimneys, concrete water troughs, and shading of the courtyard’s existing concrete walls.

When I went to MOMA PS1 this time, I encountered with bunch of balls and nets.

This year’s winner title goes to Pole Dance by Idenburg Liu. An open net covering the entire scope of the grid system provides shelter and stabilize the movement of the poles, preventing them from exceeding a predetermined maximum pivot. A generous series of multi-colored balls will move above the net offering mutable shade and the appearance of a communal game. When I saw this, I instantly thought of a playground. It adds a lively feature to a dull neighborhood that the PS1 building is in.

Guy Ben-Ari is a contemporary artist who was born in Israel, in 1984. Even though he is quite young, his artwork is considered as a high quality piece. His work has been shown in New York City at Thierry Goldberg Projects gallery, 6-8 Months Project Space, The Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery and The Neiman Gallery.

Ben-Ari explains his paintings as “referential, figurative, narrative and illustrative.” His work deals with the complex relationship between psychoanalytic theories and the medium of painting, while questioning the larger relationship of philosophy to art. I really love his paintings because it can be analyzed differently depending on the person and I can connect to them in various ways.

(The Narcissistic Seat, oil and acrylic on canvas, 44″x55″, 2010)

This is my favorite painting of him. The title explains the painting clearly.  The person who sits in the chair become obsessed with the self, with mirrors surrounding him in every angle possible. However, it seems like in today’s society that everyone is already sitting in the chair. We are often too concerned about ourselves that we often can’t catch how others feel – or rather, we don’t want to. The girl in the painting looks like she wants to rescue the boy, with her one leg lifted up as if she wants to walk toward him at any moment. The shadow of the mirrors and the branches looks like a bunch of nails that is going to eventually torture the boy. But the shadow is also connected to the shadow of the girl – maybe it means that the narcissism affects the other people around you, making them become less concerned about the others as well.

(The Yoga Class, oil on canvas, 57″x76″, 2010)

This is another painting by Ben-Ari. The painting consists of one yoga teacher and students.  As the teacher is demonstrating, her waist has dissapeared. All students look at her with wide open mouth, thinking this can’t be done, and nobody dares to even follow her. It’s like performing a magic, or rather an impossible task. This reminds me of school, especially my calculus class. My calculus teacher does problems that I can’t understand at all. I can’t do anything but to listen to him and get lost in the middle of the class.

As you can see, Guy Ben-Ari comes up with creative and easy-to-look-at paintings with lucid illustration and color. I am so glad that I found such an artist who produces artworks that make me think and relate to my normal life!