I had the pleasure of visiting the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Wednesday. It truly is a wonderful museum, albeit a bit expensive. I loved how open it was, it really felt much more modern than many of the other museums I had been to recently. There seemed to be a great balance between paintings, and sculptures like the one pictured here.













The museum was very spacious, you never felt claustrophobic. Like many other museums, they used white or pastels on the walls so as not to distract from the paintings themselves.



















I was impressed with the number of famous paintings found in the MoMA. Everywhere you looked, it seemed like another room dedicated to a famous artist. This painting is Picasso's "Les Demoiselles D'arignon."
















One of my favorite paintings, this is also painted by Picasso. It is "Three Musicians."



















It seems like every museum must have at least one Jackson Pollock painting in order to consider themselves a proper museum! I forgot to write down which one this was, but I believe it is "Number 2." If my memory serves me, "Number 1" was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
























I had never seen an Andy Warhol painting up close, so this was a treat. I loved the strange use of color scheme here.


















Another Andy Warhol painting, each can of soup is a different type. While a bit strange, it certainly didn't help that my girlfriend and I were starving when we saw it! Unfortunately, we didn't want to pay $17 for a bistro sandwich upstairs, so we went hungry for a little while!


















I was extremely surprised when my girlfriend pointed out this painting to me. It is Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night." This painting is without a doubt my favorite work of art... I even have a copy hanging in my room! I was absolutely elated that I got to see it in person, and it made the entry fee completely worthwhile. I would go back to the MoMA just to see this painting again. I will say though, it was much smaller than I thought it would be, only about three feet by two feet.













Amazingly, it seems I just can't get away from George Stubbs! This is a sign I noticed while walking back to the train station. I would have stopped in, but I was rushing to catch my train. It's funny that the artist that I did my first paper on has come back to haunt me so many times!


Overall, the MoMa is a wonderful museum that is worth the time and money to visit, although I'll still take the MET almost every time!

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is probably my all time favorite museum. This impressive building towers over Central Park in New York city. I can easily get lost inside this great place for hours upon hours, and never see the same thing twice. The "Met" was founded in 1870 and contains over two million works of art from around the globe. (Metmuseum.org) It is one of the largest museums in the world.




































The lobby of this wonderful place is nearly as impressive as the facade. The ceiling simply towers over you... it's hard to believe how much work must have gone into building this place!



















For the most part, the Met is an extremely open place. Many times you get the feeling you are outdoors, rather than in a museum. Here for instance, a large skylight and a facade of an Italian town center makes you almost believe you're in Sicily!
















My absolute favorite exhibit of the Met is the Egyptian artwork section. I just love looking at art that is thousands of years old!






















Sometimes its hard to believe the amount of work that has gone into these pieces. Could you imagine someone today slaving over a slab of rock for thousands of hours with primitive tools?




































Sadly, the temple room (my favorite place in the Met) was closed this visit. I certainly hope they aren't replacing it!











































I love the way the Met integrates "action" pieces
with wall exhibits and statues. It gives the whole museum a much more exciting feel!
















Overall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is most certainly my favorite museum. While other galleries may have more famous works, the Met is simply massive. Though I've been there probably eight times over the past 5 years or so, I still found places today that I had never seen before. It is way too easy to be wandering for hours, and not realize how much time has gone by! I will definitely be heading back there in the near future, and I hope you all will be, too!

Earlier this week I was finally able to visit the New Britain Museum of American Art. Admittedly, I wasn't expecting much from this museum, but I was actually pleasantly surprised. The staff was amazingly friendly, and the woman working at the front desk was kind enough to give my girlfriend and me free passes as we were inquiring about a student discount. She was also extremely helpful in laying out the museum for us, as well as explaining where we could and could not take photos. While there was some significant construction going on while we were there, it didn't seem to distract from the museum as a whole.

The New Britain Museum of American Art has a distinctly modern look and feel to it, with bright open interiors and lightly painted walls. Like many of the other museums I have visited, the interior helps accent the paintings themselves, rather than draw attention away from them. I was extremely impressed by the large wall sculpture on display over the stairs to the second floor of the museum. It helped blend the less modern paintings on the first floor to the more contemporary paintings on the second floor.

Overall, I enjoyed the second floor of the museum much more than the first floor. Both of the current exhibits were amazing. California in Connecticut: The Joanne and William Rees Collection had some extremely interesting works, including Joan Brown's “At the Beach” which was almost frightening in its appearance. In the New/Now Exhibition, Christopher Hewat's sculptures, mainly tiny brass books, were being displayed. They were certainly impressive to examine in close detail. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed in either of these two great rooms, so you'll have to use your imagination here!




However, it wasn't until the very last room in the museum that I saw the painting that I knew would be the subject of this paper. Much like Nevinson's “The Wave” from the Yale Center for British Art, the painting seemed to call to me from the other side of the room. Unlike “The Wave” however, which impressed me with its subtle messages and simplicity, this painting seemed to scream for your attention. I'm referring, of course, to Graydon Parrish's “The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11 2001”




An amazing painting that seems to blend realism with surrealism, “The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11 2001” was commissioned for the New Britain Museum of American Art specifically. Parrish worked on the painting from 2002 – 2006, rejecting many initial designs in order to make his work as perfect as possible. (Placard 1) Rife with powerful symbolism, “The Cycle” seems to resonate with despair. The two central figures, the twins of Tragedy and Terror, stand screaming towards the Heavens, blinded by fate. (Placard 1) In the background, the image of the burning towers clearly stands amongst the smoke. Equally upsetting, the figures in the foreground stand amongst shredded paper that can be identified as the Constitution of the United States of America. This is a painting of a broken country.


















In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, Parrish believes that “the country has moved from inconsolable grief, resolute feelings of optimism, and renewed patriotism toward confusion, indifference and, for some, an unexpected apathy.” Indeed, a major theme of this painting seems to be apathy and an inability to see clearly. Of the figures in the foreground, only five have their eyes uncovered. The first is dead, the second is on his deathbed, and has just lifted the veil from his eyes. The other three (the young women in the center of the painting) appear to be the fates, or Moirai, from Greek mythology. Two appear to be crying, while the third screams up towards the twins, seemingly begging them to remove their blinders and see the world around them clearly.













“The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11 2001” is a painting that is simultaneously incredibly powerful and absolutely terrifying. It seems filled with disturbing images and symbolism. Yet a glimmer of hope flickers in the background. Hidden off in the corner of the painting, a flicker of light glows. Upon closer inspection, the fading shadow of the Statue of Liberty is apparent. And amazingly, even after the tragedy, the torch still glows brightly in the growing darkness.


All work cited from the placard accompanying the painting.

Wadsworth Atheneum

Early last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Wadsworth Atheneum for the first time. Since I had always considered myself somewhat of an art “aficionado” (I've probably been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art about twelve times in the past six years), I couldn't believe that I had never even heard of this magnificent museum before. Towering over the streets of Hartford like an ancient castle, the Wadsworth Atheneum was built in 1842 by Daniel Wadsworth. It is supposedly the oldest public museum in America. (wadsworthatheneum.org) Upon seeing the exterior of the museum, I was expecting the interior to appear dated, if not ancient. I was shocked when I was instead greeted with an extremely modern entrance, complete with an amazing wall mural and a wonderful research library. I was amazed with the sheer size of the library, which claims over 40,000 volumes from around the world. (wadsworthatheneum.org)

Unfortunately, when I went to the security kiosk to get my photo pass, I was told by the guard that my palm pilot was an unacceptable means of taking photos in the museum. While I don't understand why that is the case, I respected the wishes of the security staff and refused to let this little mix up ruin my visit to this wonderful museum.

Upon entering the actual museum itself, I was impressed with the design of the museum interior. The walls were painted in light pastels, which in addition to giving the museum a warm and welcoming feeling, encouraged the visitors' eyes towards the paintings and exhibits themselves, rather than the walls. This is a trait that I wish the Yale Art Gallery would adopt, as some of its rooms are painted in bright burgundy, which seems harsh and distracts from the paintings themselves.

After a leisurely tour of the museum, it was hard to decide onto which painting I would focus. Both Monet's “Water Lillies,” and Dali's “Apparition of a Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach,” were close finalists, but after a long deliberation, I decided to study Jackson Pollock's “Number 9” in closer detail.

Jackson Pollock is an interesting artist to examine in detail. Lauded by many art historians and artists for his abstract expressionism, or “action painting,” (Pollock 1) he is extremely underrated by the community at large. While I stood, examining “Number 9,” I heard one patron scoffing to another that he had seen better paintings from a three year old. This seems to be a common perception from those that are either uneducated in art, or simply haven't examined Pollock's work closely enough. Pollock was simply a master of color, and “Number 9” is no exception. By using complimentary pairs or colors, such as yellow and blue, and contrasting colors, like yellow and black, Pollock is successfully able to force the viewers eyes towards certain areas of the canvas. While the painting may appear completely random to the casual observer, Pollock knew where he wanted each line and drip. By his careful use of color choice, Pollock was able to successfully pull the observers eyes into the painting.

Born in 1912 and painting throughout much of his life, it wasn't until 1947 that Jackson Pollock began
using the process of “action painting” by pouring and dripping paint over a canvas laid on the floor. Usually working in stages, Pollock would sometimes deliberate over a painting for weeks before adding another line of color to the canvas. (Pollock 1) Believing that true art was derived from the unconscious, Pollock believed that he was simply a vessel through which his art could be created, a truly romantic ideal. (Pollock 1)

While Pollock is somewhat of a controversial artist, it is impossible to argue that his paintings have had a dramatic effect on in artistic movements in the past fifty years. Though many believe that his paintings are simply a random smattering of lines and drips, upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Pollock was a genius at successfully using color scheme to pull the viewer's eyes into the painting. To those who may claim that his paintings could be easily replicated by a child with a paintbrush, I pose a question to them: if Pollock's paintings are so easy to replicate, why have so few been successful at it since his death?

Works Cited

www.wadsworthatheneum.org

"Pollock, Jackson." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.