MOMA

I'm embarrassed to admit that before today I had never been to the MOMA. Especially majoring in graphic design, which requires you to take mostly art courses, practical, theory and history, it makes little sense that I haven't gone before. I've been to the Met lots of times. I have a weird stubborn problem where I don't like going to places (not just museums) where I don't already know tons of information. But that just makes it all the more amazing when you are standing in front of an amazing piece of art that you've studied and read so much about. I want to be able to appreciate what it is that I'm looking at, because often a piece of art isn't just aesthetically pleasing - there is so much in the painting and the artist, their reason for creating it, the surrounding historical time period, etc. When I went to Europe summer 06 (unbelievable to think it was that many years ago, but it some ways it feels longer...), I went to several museums, not too many, but I regret not fully looking at the pieces, and I mean not merely looking at them but seeing them. When I went to visit Katie in London in March 08, we hit the museum circuit hard, and at that point I was much more educated about art history then my first trip overseas, and I had so much fun exploring the galleries. But I would give anything to be able to go back to the Louvre, and to Venice and Rome and all the other great cities and places I visited, and to spend hours and hours in the museums. Back in my naivety I thought it was touristy to go to museums and whatever, but I was so ignorant to think that.

Another reason that kept me from the MOMA was the fact that I am still in the process of learning, and I do not know of all the artwork that I would see, or at least most of it. I know it sounds silly, because museums are supposed to be places of learning, but as my professor would say, you must take that information with a grain of salt, as it is not always so accurate. Just on Wednesday he told us of numerous instances in which he had to correct the information on display boards, or on the museums audio, because it was wrong, and he is still trying to argue against some information that is on display at the MOMA. Another not so good reason, I know, but today when I was at the museum, I found it frustrating that I was unfamiliar with certain galleries. But I was also pleased with myself when I overheard a tour guide giving a brief lecture on Pablo Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon, and I already knew most of what she was saying.

To give the MOMA one word, I would have to say overwhelming. But I mean overwhelming in the good way, the way in which some much beauty is surrounding you that you don't know where to turn first and are just in awe at the paintings. There were certain paintings that literally made me gasp because I was not expecting to finally see it in person (didn't do my research on what the MOMA held). On several instances I stood in front of a single painting, or sculpture, for quite some time, tracing every little detail. The Henri Matisse room was one of my favorites. His paintings are so large and I just wrote a paper on one of them (it isn't at the MOMA but others from the same period are). I also of course loved Picasso, and Marchel Duchamp was definitely another of my favorites. Paul Cezanne is one of my favorite artists, as is van Gogh, so seeing their work was...beyond words. The exhibition on Polish posters was also very amazing to see, as it laid the foundation for graphic design today. Ah so many great artists, I seriously could've spent all day there but I got tired after a few hours. I think I was so blown away that I became quite exhausted. I wish the price to get in wasn't so high, because although it's not nearly as large as the Met, I want to slowly, very slowly, make my way through each room. I wish I could go back and do just one floor per day. Oh and I found a new favorite artist today, and now that I'm looking at more of his work online, I'm blown away! Robert Rauschenberg (blow is his Factum II). He uses the most intersting mediums and does a lot of collage work, which I am very much loving at the moment. I believe for my next illustration project (for class), I am going to used mixed media in a collage type piece.

I went to the museum by myself, and it was a nice little trip all by my lonesome. I do a lot of things alone. Actually I do more things alone than I do with others. To some that might seem sad, but it shouldn't, because I don't mind.