The MoMA- A Work of Art

During my visit to The Museum of Modern Art, I felt that I was a wealthy upper class citizen who paid a hefty sum to view the paintings, sculptures, and furniture inhabited there. However, I am not that wealthy; it was simply the surroundings and the quality of the work that caused me to think so.

The MoMA is situated in Manhattan and is surrounded by towering skyscrapers. It is pretty large itself; therefore, it does not appear to be any less important than the towers around it.When you enter the museum, you feel a sense of serenity. The walls are painted a simple white, so the entrance itself is incredibly plain. But as you go up the escalators or elevators, whichever you choose, things start to get a little more interesting.

The MoMA has exhibitions that have certain themes attached to them. The first exhibit that I visited centered around mutated animals. These were not your everyday cliché creations, such as a highly intelligent dog with an overly large brain. Instead, they were far more interesting and creepy in a way. There was this one painting showing a grasshopper with its legs removed and replaced with the bottom of a tank. It enticed me and drew me in to take a closer look to prove that my eyes were not faulting me.

In addition to those abnormal paintings that I saw for the first time, there were very famous paintings that I recognized. One of these highly recognizable paintings wasLes Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso. I knew it was a masterpiece once I saw a whole crowd of people standing silently while listening to a tour guide dishing out details on the work of art. I wanted to be part of the art analyzing group so I walked towards them, inching my way closer and closer to the painting. It was done by Picasso in the early 1900’s and has been in the MoMA’s possession since 1939. It was one of the earliest paintings that used cubism and therefore, is an influential work. I noticed that the two women on the right were starkly different from the other three, who were situated on the left of the Picasso work. Apparently, their faces were suppose to be influenced by Picasso’s finding, and eventually fascination, of African masks.

My favorite work of art on display at the MoMA was The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. It consisted of clocks that seem to be melting and droopy looking. The colors were vibrant and the picture was remarkable clear, causing me to be attracted to it. I looked at it for an extensive amount of time to attempt an analysis but I failed to understand the entire meaning of the work.

All in all, the MoMA was a great experience for me and would be for anyone else who visits it in the future. It is vast enough for one to spend the entire day viewing the works of art inhabited there. I highly recommend those who have not went to try it out.