New York Trip 2 : Deanna Lardieri

I didn't think I'd be as enthusiastic about going to New York again after having just been there recently, but I was wrong. It is very evident that its never the same twice there because there is always sooo much going on!

1. What do you think was the most interesting aspect of this presentation?
I really enjoyed the pieces in the MET because they were so old and I kept wondering how many viewers these paintings have seen over the years and years of their life.

2. What was the most unexpected thing seen or discussed?
My answer for this relates to NY more than it does the artwork. On our way we saw a woman in a window of a building who was completely naked. She through a wallet at a man below her. She definitely had our attention! We never expected to see that, although I'm not really surprised since it is New York, which takes all kinds, obviously. :P

3. Can you imagine yourself in this profession?
I'd love to be shown in museums! But I'd also love to curate one. After visiting the MET, I imagine it must be wonderful to work alongside such wonderful historic works!

The first place I visited was the MET which was a wonderful museum and if it were up to me I could have stayed there all day. We had to rush through each gallery which I now regret in retrospect. I found some really beautiful paintings as soon as I walked in however. The first was Jean Marc Nattier's Madame Marsollier and Her Daughter, 1756. Marie and I had a long conversation in front of it about the painterly techniques and how amazing they were. I always have a hard time wrapping my brain around the antiquity of everything I see in museums and how well they still appear today. Unfortunately the camera does not do these works justice.

Another amazing work I saw was The Rape of Namar by Eustache Le Sueur. The content was powerful of course but it was the color in this painting that I thought was amazing. I looked right at it when I entered the gallery. Even though I've seen many of these typical renaissance paintings in all my art books and so on, I was so impressed with these in real life. It really changes the way they we view them. I also give as much credit to the frame makers as I do the artists because the frames were just as gorgeous as the work itself!
Another painting I couldn't walk away from was Sir Thomas Lawrence's The Calmady Children. This was one of the best child portraits I've ever seen. Usually children are a completely different league to depict than adults. But Lawrence flawlessly painted this little girl not only exceptionally well, but she looks beautiful and has a warm invitation in her eyes to her viewers. Even the other girl's profile is very well done. This painting really put me in my place as a (once thought to be pretty good) figure drawing artist! I'm not sure yet if that is a good or bad thing. Marie and I were also very impressed with the architecture of the MET and shot some great photos of the buttresses and staircases and so on.
After spending (not enough) time in the MET, Cailin, Liz, and I snuck over to the Guggenheim for a quick visit. As always, the building itself didn't fail to amaze me. Its structure is wonderful, and convenient for touring (you never miss an exhibit if you follow the spiral!) I was impressed with the Dada art there. One that Liz pointed out which was really unique was a pretty image of drapery which turned out to be made of dust, and breath from the air around it. I wish I had an image of it because it was truly the most mind boggling work of art. (Liz, if you took a pic of it, post it! :))

By the time we got to the Whitney I was very tired and had seen so much art that it was difficult to stay focused there. But I did manage to find some great pieces, or rather, great pieces found me.

The first was Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning. Hopper is my favorite artist and standing in front of his work was humbling and simply incredible, even though this particular one is not my favorite piece of his. I'm still amazed that I got to see one of his works in person and I wish I could have had my photo taken with it!

The next was Paper Bag by Alex Ray, 1968. I enjoyed it because it was very Dada; just a giant paper bag almost as tall as I am.

I also liked, from the biennial show, More Love Hours than Can Ever Be Repaid, and The Wages of Sin, 1987. This piece by Mike Kelly was a very large tapestry made of old dolls sewn together hanging on the wall. Next to it on a table, stood a sculpture of old candles somewhat melted together. This piece was a story teller and made me think of a montage of everything from a childhood bedroom meshed into one piece. It was a cacophony of junk that made a colorful, reminiscent work of art that had a very happy, yet disturbing tone to it.

The next piece I chose was called Untitled (The Year We Make Contact) and Untitled (Red Dwarf) by Piotr Uklanski. This one was a huge piece that took up the whole wall on the fourth floor of The Whitney, right outside the elevator. It was an extremely intricate in design and abstract structure that really stood out because of its size. What I liked about it was its simple colors and organic shapes, yet enormous size and complicated structure. I always love a contradiction. Plus its location, right in front of the elevator forced the visitors to look at it.

The last piece caught my attention in a different way. I first read the sign outside the exhibit that warned parents to mind its content before bringing children in the room and similar warnings for people who didn't like to see graphic photos. The exhibit was called Self Immolation in Afghanistan; A Cry for Help, 2005 by Stephanie Sinclair. This was a shocking series of photos of women overseas who voluntarily burned to themselves out of denial of their gender. Women in hospitals with burn wounds, devastated families hovering over coffins, bloody flesh wounds and so on filled the small room. It was difficult to look at but so captivating. I could feel the emotion in the gallery as viewers slowly and quietly looked
on.