Monday, May 18, 2009

You call that art?

Enjoying life on a budget, I'm pretty good at finding free or nearly free things to do/eat/see. It's like being an art student again when my friends and I would go to every art reception within walking distance for 'dinner,' order McD happy meals without shame, and make large coffees last all day. I once made dinner for a friend of mine while working on a project together, beef and vegetable stir fry, salad, and berries and cream for dessert. I thought he was just being gracious when he kept thanking me over and over again, - wow, I'm a better cook than I thought! - but I found out later he'd been living off nothing but white bread for weeks, with maybe a squirt of mustard here and there. Not that he didn't have money. He, like the rest of us, just spent it on art supplies.

So when the SF MOMA opened it's new rooftop garden recently, and let visitors see it for free (normally it's $13 to get in), L. and I were there. I like how some forms of modern art challenge my classically trained assumptions and expectations. They are like Rorschach tests, revealing more about myself than the creator. Maybe that's the point. Maybe not and I still have to learn a new art vocabulary. So I try to look without reacting (oh come on! You call that art? My two year old niece can do that!). I try, but don't always succeed...

Look at those people touching that painting! Stop it, people! That's a priceless ugly painting!
Test: do you see a bunch of loyal dogs protecting a cute baby? Or do you see a creepy ring of dogs ominously surrounding a helpless baby? I admit I saw the latter. I see dogs preventing me from getting close to a baby for no good reason. Would a man react the same way? What compulsion, I wonder, drove the artist to create this? Why are the dogs all the same? Does the black and white mean anything? Definitely not living room art. Neither is this. Yikes! Imagine stumbling into your kitchen in the middle of the night and catching a glimpse of this on your wall.
I like this kid (and the painting behind him). I bet his father made him pose in front of every work of art in the museum. Along with every famous landmark in the city. That's what I would do. Hmmm...colorful, messy, interesting,...an allegory on the wonderful uncertainty of life? I walked by here twice before noticing these boxes. When I did I felt frustrated and annoyed. I wanted to move them around, jiggle them to see if there was anything inside. I also felt hope. Hey, if these boring boxes can make it into the MOMA then, darn it!, my work can too!

The rooftop garden, seen through glass.Models of brains. Stacked high. Makes me feel....nothing. Well, actually the words fragile, balanced, divided and precarious come to mind. Ha!
Pink, gauzy thing. With guard making sure no one touches it. I thought this was pretty, but pointless. Or maybe its point was lost on me because I just wondered how they kept it clean, and how long an artwork made from this material could last. Maybe, because most art is placed on walls or in corners, the point is to experience a work of art, a fragile one at that, which a person has to navigate around. Maybe not.

I'll end with my niece, Vivienne, a few months ago, at the Hirschorn. I was only half kidding when I said I'd make a kid of mine pose in front of every work of art in a museum, poor kid. At least I rewarded her with a lollipop afterwards.

38 comments:

  1. don't shoot me, but i love contemporary art. LOVE IT! it doesn't always work for me, but it certainly garners a reaction. i have been to sfmoma many a time, and i love it. kind of a weird building, but i can always find art that i would kill for. :)

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  2. Hi drollgirl, Oh I don't hate it by any means. I just react to it differently than I do traditional forms of art, which I think is a very good thing. I don't see any particular form of art as superior to any other because they're all expressions of human creativity. And different people will be drawn to different things. I love going to the MOMA too even if I don't like everything in it. More so now that they've expanded their collection.

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  3. Last thing first... what was Vivienne's reaction to that last guy? My interpretation is that she was afraid to take her eyes off of him to face the camera for fear he'd sneak up on her. Ugh!
    I remember visiting the SF MOMA like it was yesterday, although it was 11 years ago... I still have the magnet-mounted pic of it on my fridge. You know what's pathetic?... I have more vivid memories of a nearby park than what was in the MOMA because (get this) I'd seen it in a recent episode of Nash Bridges. hah!

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  4. Hi David, hee, hee, you guessed right! I tried showing her he was a harmless statue by going up to him and waving my hands in front of his eyes, but she wouldn't get any closer than where she is in the photo. And though I kept calling her name she wouldn't turn around. But I think it's better this way, amusing, with statue and living child eyeing each other like that, but rather poignant too. It's easy to forget how mysterious the world is to a small child.

    You must have seen the MOMA when it first opened? I was still in school then and I thought it was pretty boring (only two floors of artwork spaced very far apart) which might be why you'd remember a nearby park more vividly. It's got a lot more in it now, some of which I actually like, though not in the same way I like a Sargent or Vermeer.

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  5. I see the baby as art( new birth/creativity/life) and the dogs as people who react to the art. The dogs can be loving and respond to the work with affection or they can be destructive and/or vicious. The dogs stand at a distance judging the work in silence waiting for an Alpha to tell them what it means. Well, that's this dogs take on it.;-)

    I do love conceptual art and MOMA seems to have a nice collection.

    Thanks for letting us share in your day at the museum.

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  6. Hi La Belette Rouge, that's an awesome take on the dogs/baby work, lol. Wish I'd thought of that! That's why I like looking at modern art. I tend to take things too literally and this kind of art forces me to think outside the usual.

    And thank you for visiting!

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  7. I do indeed think some children’s art is just as worthy of displaying as that of some artists – I have some framed and hanging on the walls. (Whatever brings you pleasure...)
    Love your comments/take on the art you saw!

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  8. I absolutely love your artist eye and commentary of the art exhibits!! And you are hiliarious with your niece and the pictures... is that last work of art going to give her nightmares?? I think it would give ME some bad dreams! heh heh

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  9. what a cool blog!!! i totally dig it!!! thanks for following my blog!! i'm so going to follow you!

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  10. This was such a great post. Thanks for taking us with you. Loved seeing all the different pieces. Especially that old man at the end. Your little niece was the best art, though.

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  11. Hi Beth, thanks and I do too, I love the freedom and spontaneity of children's art. I have work from my nieces and nephews hanging about the studio. And when I was a children's art teacher, I loved letting the kids draw whatever they wanted. They never wasted their time but used every valuable minute to bring their imaginary worlds to life.

    Hi Shanster, thanks I'm just entertaining myself, so I'm really glad you enjoy it too. And my neice...I thought it was funny too. There were a lot more pictures, around the museum and all these DC, Philadephia, NY monuments, etc. but I thought it might be too much to include them all. And gosh I hope my taking her to the Hirschorn and posing her in front of that hideous oversized statue didn't give her nightmares! If it did...oh well, poor thing, she'll get over it, worse stuff on television...

    Hi Awesome Sara, welcome and I look forward to getting to know you!

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  12. Hi Lover of Life, thank you! Hoping I could share the tour through my blog made it all the more enjoyable. My niece, I thought she was the best part too. The artworks are all great in themselves, but much more interesting with the human interaction element.

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  13. Great to visit MOMA through your eyes, especially the abstract art, which you bring to life with your fresh reactions and nicely visual appreciation. So what is avant guard anymore? I confess not all abstract art appeals to me. I like the stuff with a message. Is the abstract artist saying I have to come up with my own meaning? If yes, I'll take your sense of humor. Would I want that on my wall??? Not sure. But some of Frida Khalo's paintings are not easy, and I'd take every one. Thanks for visiting my latest "disconnected.¨

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  14. Hi Beth, thank you for visiting, especially since I know you have to use internet cafes until you get a new computer. Hee, hee, yes, I wouldn't want a lot of abstract art in my house either, but I'm more than happy to visit them elsewhere. I love Frida Khalo too. Her work is a lot like Van Gogh in how it seems she's revealing her soul through paint, which I think is an extremely difficult thing to do.

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  15. :) I love this! Ur in San Fran?! I went there last year and took pics like every three steps, so I laughed out loud when u showed that dad making his kids take the art! :)
    ...and the person or whatever that was on the wall scared the CRAP out of me! Sculptures in houses always scare me at night...
    I saw a modern art exhibit that was a bunch of glass tear drops all over the floor once that I felt moved by, but the same show had these faucets that let out bright orange goo for a few minutes so it made piles of goo- and then a conveyor belt would move it over and a new pile would start...I'm still a little confused about that...If they're gonna try to be symbolic, tell me what they are going for. I mean, I get it- I write and u want people to read into ur work their own message, but that just seemed pretty specific and I was annoyed that it didn't mean anything for me.
    Ur right about the suckiness giving hope to u tho!! I'm motivated by people like Stephanie Meyer and Dan Brown--They're incredibly successful, but if u look at their work--it's cheap, popcorn writing.
    :)

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  16. your neice seems willing to pose for you :] very adorable. thanks for following! & i love your your perspective on art! in other words, i'm following your blog!

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  17. I love your latest post, Cheryl, and I'm sure it will resonate with fellow creatives everywhere - especially the story about making a meal for your artist friend! That touched me greatly.

    Thank you for sharing your gallery visit. I think modern art ignites such a mixed response. It's interesting how some people can find a piece provocative while others are impassive. I guess it just reinforces how subjective art is. I'm definitely intrigued by some of these works. I'm always looking for the narrative in art, possibly because I'm a writer. I usually manage to find something that sends my imagination soaring.

    Sending you much love and light to brighten your day. xx

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  18. I enjoyed visiting the galery with you. I can't say that I liked much of the art there, but I enjoyed your commentary. I think the young boy in front of the picture was the artist!
    Your niece is adorable.

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  19. The baby in the circle of dogs was creepy but I have to admit the fly-like human on the wall- taking your commnetary into consideration- gave me the chills. Great pics!

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  20. Hi Pen Pen, welcome! I am in SF - or more specifically, directly across SF on a quiet island town called Alameda. I'm glad you paid us a visit and got to see our local art. The one you described sounded pretty interesting. Won't even make a stab at what it might have meant, though. Speaking of suckiness and Dan Brown, I was just reading him last night! He's definitely not the most poetic writer I've ever read, but he does know how to keep a story going. Though I do find myself saying, oh come on, you call that writing! a lot, he, he.

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  21. Hi Sugar&spice, welcome to you too! Thank you for following and your kind comments. Yeah, my niece is pretty well photo trained. She even knows the difference between photo and movie mode.

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  22. Hi Carol Anne, yes, I was so glad to have fed him his first proper meal in weeks. I'm glad I made him eat seconds too! (or did I make him take some home? Can't fully remember now.) Especially since, whenever went out, he'd insist on paying for me. He's a true gentleman.

    I like the idea of weaving one's own narrative around each piece. I'm hopefully learning to do that too, instead of automatically liking or rejecting a work of art.

    And, as always, sending you lots of gratitude in return, kind friend.

    Hi Dedene, thanks! I enjoyed writing it. And that would be awesome if the boy was the artist!

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  23. HI Lauri, thanks for visiting. Those pieces were pretty disturbing. I'm glad I saw them when there was lots of people around, and lots of natural sunshine too!

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  24. I love this post.
    I feel bad for admitting this, but my first reaction to countless pieces of modern or conceptual art has been"WTF?" But knowing that volumes of passion must have obsessed the artist, I force myself to pause and look. Just look, and be open. Sometimes, really--I just don't connect to it. But more often than not, I find myself seeing something extra there that wasn't apparent at first glance. I come away glad that I spent the time.

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  25. Hi Kirie, thanks! Don't feel bad. I know what you mean. With some modern art, I have to work harder to relate to it. My monkey mind reacts first, but if I can just tell that part of myself to stay quiet, I can view it in a different way. So I can at least appreciate that about modern art, the way it stretches me, even if I might never fill my house with it.

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  26. What a cute post... very humorous. Especially love that end photo with your precious niece! At least you picked the good pieces to stand next to! As for those boxes...I just want to paint them splashes of vividness! I guess they're boxes of anything we want to imagine! ....the world is definately open to the artist!! Thanks for sharing!

    Hugs Giggles

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  27. Hi Giggles, thanks! The boxes...hmmmm, that's a really interesting take on them. Maybe they are meant to symbolize pure imagination. Or the chaos of civilization. Or human materialism. Who knows?

    The photo - the end one is my favourite too. Hilarious, and precious. I should have realized she wouldn't like standing next to that thing. Oh well...

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  28. Awwww, your niece is soooooo cute! :-)

    I never quite got contemporary art, which either tells you something about modern art in general or something about me, take your pick :-) Your comment on the boxes made me smile, it reminded me of my horror on seeing a pile of bricks in the Tate Modern in London. I think my only reaction was "OH MY GOD! BRICKS!"

    Thanks for sharing the pics though. The brains were pretty cool :-)

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  29. i liked the bald naked man in the corner, it reminds me of me, maybe in ten years time, but me none the less. And the dogs were clearly investigating the baby.

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  30. Just stumbled across your blog. It all looks so interesting! But I have to agree with you about some modern art, especially with those boxes, I always find myself thinking the exact same thing.
    Your niece is so cute by the way, especially the final photo!

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  31. I love art and am an artist of a sort, but some things on displays at musuems really bore me. To each their own.

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  32. You know what that man in the final pic is saying? "Cheryl, write another delightful post or else I'll sneak up on you!"

    Looking forward to it...
    David

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  33. Hi Afternoon Tea Break, thanks! She is cute, with that little grin of hers. I admit I think she's more interesting than the art she's standing next too.

    The art piece consisted of just a pile of bricks? Hmmm, no wonder so many people don't like contemporary art.

    Hi Davey Jones, he, he, he! You know, I kind a' pictured you that way, from your writing. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

    Hi Feist, yeah! another stumbler! I wonder if many modern artists don't use materials like that on purpose, hey! let's see what crap I can call art today, and let's see who buys it. Still, as a fellow artist, I feel I owe it to them to give them the benefit of the doubt. But if the boxes had been piled up high, and one had had to maneuver through them is if through a labyrinth, that might have been cool and impressive.

    Hi MilesPerHour, Yeah, I used to find the MOMA boring. (And most of modern art for that matter.) But now, thank goodness, I can usually find few pieces I'm glad I saw. Thanks for stopping by, I love reading your blog!

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  34. Hi David, ha, ha! How funny, I was just working on one entitled, The Cage of Misdirected Longing. I hope it'll be delightful, since I feel like I'm doing nothing but complaining in it. Maybe I'll end it with another cute picture of my niece....

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  35. modern art is anything but art...

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  36. This is such a great post...your observations are so interesting!!!!

    your niece is a cutie pie:)

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  37. Thanks Hanoko, I appreciate it!

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