On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the art program organized a trip headed by Professor Bonnie Levinthal to visit the Museum of Modern Art and Chelsea Art Gallery in New York City. Nearly 50 faculty and students were shuttled to the Big Apple to view timeless modern works of art by Van Gogh, Warhol, Banksy, Matisse and Monet, among others.
The MoMA featured several works that many had never dreamed of observing in person. Viewing “Starry Night” by Van Gogh is an art lesson in itself, as one is able to examine each brush stroke and the layered oil paint spread carefully across the canvas.
The scale, simplicity and pop of color of Andre Derain’s “Bathers” is remarkable. Equally breathtaking are the sharp and detailed fantasyscapes of the classic metaphysical artist Giorgio de Chirico.
Trip-goers were exclusively treated to the once-in-a-lifetime Pablo Picasso sculpture exhibit. Best known for co-founding the Cubist movement, Picasso became a master painter in his adolescent years and would later turn much of his artistic expression towards sculpting before his Cubism period.
Picasso’s sculptures were unsurprisingly unique and polarizing. Blending the mediums of painting and sculpting along with understanding the physical third dimension, Picasso was very much a master of space in the abstract. This is unmistakable with his sheet metal works, especially his “Woman With Hat” sculpture.
Most of his early sculptures incorporated everyday items into his art to create interesting yet simplistic abstractions.
Some of Picasso’s most endearing works showcase his ability to exploit natural form and the break conventions of anatomical structure while being able to communicate a recognizable image. This can be observed in much of his Cubist works as well as in his sculptures of the curves of women in the abstract in contrast to his more rigid structure of men.
What is most impressive about Picasso’s work, aside from the exaggeration of physical form and cartoonish features or his style of surrealism
over naturalism, is his ability to express himself simplistically. Picasso said it best, “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
Among the living artists, a large exhibition featured new media works by Lebanese-born artist Walid Raad. According to his MoMA biography, “Raad’s work is informed by his upbringing in Lebanon during the civil war (1975–91), and by the socioeconomic and military policies that have shaped the Middle East in the past few decades.”
New York in itself is a like a modern work of art, with its towering glass buildings, beautiful slabs of brownstones, sirens, horns and language colorizing the streets of the city from Broadway to Chelsea. The privately owned but publicly available art galleries that branch off 10th Avenue are filled with hundreds of artists known and unknown, with their works of modern art fetching high values well above six figures.
Beyond the art galleries, Chelsea offers a unique experience at “The High Line,” an old rail line that was converted into an aerial greenway and walking trail. Along its path the High Line showcases abstract sculptures from commissioned artists. The trail runs from Gansevoort Street, through Chelsea, to the recently added 34th Street section. If you stand on the High Line at 10th Avenue & 23rd Street, there is a great view of the city all the way to Broadway.
Nothing about New York City is understated or simplistic, yet the minimalistic pieces of art and abstract ideas that fill the white rooms around the city give a balance and contrast to the city that never sleeps.
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