Outstanding Works in the Brooklyn Museum

Three specific artworks captured my attention.

One: Sanford Biggers’s Blossom. On the 5th floor, in the center of the Cantor Gallery, stood a huge tree with a piano protruding from the trunk and a fallen bench placed in front of the piano. It was captivating. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the keys on the piano were moving by themselves, playing an entrancing music that filled the massive room. This piece grabbed and held onto my attention. This multimedia piece alludes the ideological landscapes of Alfred Bierstadt and Frederic Church. Meanwhile, surrounding pieces refer to a range of things from Lotus representing slavery and Buddhism to Chershire referring to stereotypes of the appearance and behaviors of African-Americans. The arrangement of the works was interesting and eerie at the same time. The way the close-up photo of the clown watched from behind me, the way Chershire smile tauntingly hung above the tree, and the way the sounds from various videos and audio clips clashed with one another, all so haunting! But I enjoyed it. I love the feeling of eeriness.

Two: Thirty Pieces of Silver by Cornelia Parker. This artwork was hidden in one of the corners of the 4th floor Contemporary Gallery. Thirty pieces of flattened silverware attached to metal wire hanging from the ceiling. It was mesmerizing. Part of it had to do with the location of the artwork. This piece was inside a display box of three walls furnished in wood, giving off the vibe of an old, secluded kitchen. The floor was checkered black and white. And in the center was a flat circle of objects that seemed to mysteriously float. The vibe it gave off was serene. Breathtaking. This piece symbolizes betrayal because Parker crushed the objects of their former significance. It also makes an allusion to the biblical tale of Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. I really liked this piece.

Three: Matthew Buckingham’s The Spirit and the Letter. This was also a multimedia artwork, combining sculpture and video. Off to the side from the Dinner Party, in a secluded, dimly lit corner, a video projection of a room with a chandelier hanging played. A woman walked on the ceiling and excerpts from Mary Wollstonecraft’s writing were recited. And in the room, on the floor, was the chandelier in sculpture form, except it wasn’t hanging. It was standing from the ground, backwards from the way presented in the video. And on the opposite wall was a mirror. This piece was eerie and stunning. It questions the role of historical representation in contemporary day of, I am assuming, the fight for women’s rights.

Aside from these intriguing pieces, I also enjoyed the Youth & Beauty exhibition as well as the 19th century modern decorative arts installation.