Art Gallery Visit #1: MoMA

This past week I had a great opportunity to visit the MoMA in NYC. There were a ton of great paintings and sculptures, it was hard to choose just 3 for each question!

Which artworks would I like to know more about? Why?

 

 This painting by Sergei Jensen was really interesting. It is described as being 'synthetic polymer paint on hemp' it was created in 2008. This was one of the first pieces of art I saw, I was drawn to it simply because it challenges what art 'should' be. I want to know more about what the artist was thinking, and what his intentions were with this painting.

  I would also like to know more about this piece of artwork. This is a piece by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. It is titled Untitled (USA Today). It is made up entirely of wrapped hard candies. It says on the description that is is a 'never ending supply'. I am very curious as to what that means, and what he is trying to say in this piece. I thought he might be commenting on American consumption due to the never ending supply and the comment that the medium is food.

This is a piece that I would also like to know more about. It is by Dorothea Tanning, and it is a painting. It is titled "On Time Off Time". Although the medium is very common, I found this painting to be very uncommon in it's subject matter. It depicts many different things in one painting. I would like to know more about why/how this painting was created, and what the artist was trying to convey with this piece. 

Which art works do I feel a connection with, Why?

I felt a connection with this piece which is titled Meeting of Two Cultures and is by Sandilo Goje. It is made of a linoleum cut. I felt that this piece really speaks to modern culture. It shows the mixing/meeting of two distinctly different cultures. One culture is a traditional hut, while the other is a more modern house. We can all relate to seeing a different culture for the first time. I also like how the two houses are shaking hands showing they are friends.

This is The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. This is my favorite painting. I love the colors and the swirls and how it is up for interpenetration. I love the glowing orbs in the sky and how it seems calm and peaceful. I have a strong connection to this piece, and I always find myself drawn to it whenever I visit MoMA. 

This piece of art is called "You Can't Lay Down Your Memory Chest of Drawers" by Tejo Remy. I thought that this piece was so interesting. We all have a 'memory chest of drawers' where we store our memories and feelings. All the drawers are different and have happy/sad/angry etc emotions stored in them. We carry around all these emotions and we can't lay them down. I felt that this was such a beautiful and special piece, that you just don't come across so often. 

Which art works made an impact or an impression on me, why?

This piece of art by Joseph Kosuth shows the word definition, and then the definition of definition. I thought that this was very interesting and striking. There is no other art around this piece, and it hangs on a large white wall. It makes you really stop and think for a second.

For a second, I thought that this piece of art was someone's walking stick or umbrella. But upon further examination, I came to realize that it is actually art! This piece is called "Psychedelic Soul Stick no. 55" by Jim Lambie. I thought that this piece was so interesting because it is just unassumingly perched up against a wall. Many people just walked past it. I'm also curious to see the other 54 soul sticks. I loved this, I felt that it had a tribal feeling, and it felt powerful. 

This piece by Joseph Cornell entitled "Central Park Carousel in Memorium" is very interesting. It appears to be pieces of a carousel encased in glass. The netting created a trapped feeling to the whole piece. It was also unsettling to look at for too long. I thought it was very interesting to see, and look at how everything was contained inside this small glass case. I would like to know more about this piece, and find out what it has to do with Central Park.