Museum of Modern Art

For my first event this semester I decided to go to a Museum. After looking at the list of possible museums I could visit I chose to go to the museum located on West 53rd street, between 5th and 6th avenue in Manhattan; also known as The Museum of Modern Art. Right away I knew I would not be seeing the works of Rembrandt, El Greco, or Rubens. I did not know whether I would like it or not, the only time I came in close contact with modern art before in my life was in Chelsea. The 23rd street is well known for its galleries, especially the far west side (10th avenue – West Side Highway), and personally I was not fascinated by the works on display there. I gave modern art one more chance and now I can say that it was totally worth it. The two different works of art that I found very intriguing were: American Born Ethiopia 1970 by Julie Mehretu and British Born 1965 by Tacita Dean.

The work by Julie Mehretu was the painting that right away I knew I would write about in my paper. It was simply extraordinary and one of a kind. It was a huge painting. The picture itself was a sketch that looked like an outline of a city, tall buildings – many of them. The sketch was done in a dark color, pretty thin, but visible. In the center of the painting there was something that looked like an explosion, it exploded in many different colors, in a way bringing life onto the scene. The city was black and white until the explosion of colors appeared there, the colors were transparent and at the very top I noticed that it had the colors of the American flag (red, white, and blue) and it made me question whether it was done on purpose, or whether it was just a pure coincidence. When I looked at it from far away, the explosion appeared in the shape of a tree of life, but that could have been just any tree. At the lower end of the painting, closer to the right side there was a lotus flower; lotus symbolizes “rebirth” or “eternal life.” In general the painting was exciting to look at; it was chaotic, but very beautiful. According to the information tablet located next to the painting, it was done in ink and synthetic polymer paint on canvas. The size of the work made an impression; it was definitely not something that you could overlook.

Another painting that I was fascinated by during my visit at the museum was British Born 1965 by Tacita Dean. The painting consisted of four separate panels. The picture shows us an enormous size tree, it was very thick and it is said to be over four thousand years old (according to the information on the wall in the museum). From the information provided in the museum I found out that the tree is located on the grounds of a 12th century church in England. The painting itself I would describe as “ghostly.” Other than the tree on the painting we can easily notice the cemetery in the background. There are also other trees there, but unlike the “Crowhurst” (the name of the tree) they don’t stand out, they are all in Silverstone. To the left and right of the tree there are two thick poles, they are also painted in a very dark color so they are easily spotted. The first observation that I made was questioning why are the two poles there? Are they there for any specific reason? The grass on the bottom of the picture is overexposed. Despite its age the tree looks very much alive. From the tour guide in the museum I discovered that the painting is a gouache on gelatin silver print. I found that to be very fascinating.

The works by Tacita Dean and Julie Mehretu were very different from any other work of art that I saw in the Museum of Modern Art on Friday. It was my first visit to the famous “MoMA” and it was a great experience. I was very impressed with what the museum has to offer and I am sure I will go visit it again in the future. It was a time free of stress and full of relaxation, it was like a journey away from my day-to-day problems and challenges.