I would be lying if I didn’t admit I am on a little bit of an art overload. I never thought that would be possible but after a four day weekend in New York City consisting of non-stop visits to five museums, ten galleries, and numerous perspective graduate Art schools, my mind is on the verge of information meltdown. I will not deny the entire trip was a success from the mere volume of art I was fortunate to see, the amazing and eager-to-learn company of my loving Mother, and the newly developed pet peeved I have developed for (lack of) museum etiquette. As there is a lot to talk about, I thought first I would give a little review of my experience at MOMA, as it was the first museum I went to, and probably one of my favorites.
The Museum of Modern Art is more like an amusement park then an art museum, especially right now with the attracting Tim Burton exhibition and the plethora of performance art pieces by acclaimed Marina Abramovic.
Elinor Carucci, Revlon
The line that wrapped around the building to get in at 11:30 A.M. on a Friday was full of wackily dressed teens and felt more like I was waiting in line for a roller coaster, then the opportunity to view hundreds of the most popular and talked about contemporary pieces of all time. Luckily there was a Starbucks on the corner and the line moved quickly, it was no time before me and my mother were hurrying up the eight escalators wandering among the very crowded galleries the Museum has to offer.
My favorite part of the Museum, was the Photography galleries that displayed many works from their permanent collection. I finally got to see in person a Robert Frank photograph (the first of many I saw over the weekend), but that was only the cherry on top of the double strawberry, sprinkled and chocolate syrup sundae. I
Valerie Belin,
was introduced to many photographers that I got very excited about.
There was a wide range of female photographers, which I was very pleased to see. I was really drawn to Eilnor Carucci’s large photograph titled Revlon as well as Valerie Belin’s life-size and startlingly realistic photographs as mannequins. I love that the title of this series is numbers, referencing how society is beginning to depend on a manufactured beauty. A type of assembly line vanity. These photographs in the same room as two large Cindy Sherman’s unified the room, to celebrate the triumph of female photographers.
Although the crowds were thick, the experience was well worth it. The MOMA draws big crowds, because it deserves them in every way.
