Oh, to be an artist.

Disclaimer: I’m aware of how subjective art and beauty is and only claim the following as my opinions, not facts.           

It amazes me what some people are willing to call “art”. I admit that defining something as “art” is completely subjective but sometimes I think “artists” are really trying to see just how far people will take it.

According to dictionary.com, art can be defined in the following ways: 1. The production of something beautiful or extraordinary 2. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc. 3. Skill; ability

As I was looking around the Modern Art Museum, I saw things that fit the first, second, and third definitions of art and also some things that only fit the second definition. If it were not for that second definition of it being any painting, drawing, or sculpture, there are some pieces I would argue were not at all art. I really would like to look up the definition of those as well but I will refrain for now.

There were two pieces in particular that made me want to throw my hands in the air and say “REALLY?!” I regret that I didn’t write down the artist’s names and names of the pieces but if you have been to the museum recently, you’ll probably remember them.

One was a large square canvas and it was split down the middle forming two rectangles. My memory is fuzzy, but I think the top rectangle was orange and the bottom one was gray. I was completely and utterly puzzled as to why that would be art. It was not beautiful. It was not skillful. I saw no depth. I mean there are some paintings I could easily replicate but at least those have the credit of being too original for me to have thought of them in the first place. This painting consisted of two rectangles of color. Nothing more, nothing less.

The second was a canvas that had a more unique shape to it with curves and such but it was all painted the same blue/gray color. That literally made me consider going out, making a diamond shaped canvas, painting it some purple/plum color, and selling it to the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art. I mean, maybe I have life all wrong, forget being a lawyer or a doctor or teacher, I should just be an artist!

Paintings such as these do make me wish I could go inside the mind of an artist. I would love to know what the artists were thinking when they created their works because maybe then I could understand them. Now that I have had my fun mocking some of the “art” I saw, I will spend some time praising the beautiful and creative work. I am glad that there was infinitely more inspiring art than boring, bland art.

My hands-down favorite part of the museum was the Robert Lazzarini exhibit. The illusionistic distortion of the guns and the metal safe caused me to spend the largest portion of my time. I loved that you could stare at them from almost any angle and they seemed two-dimensional. It was only once you got about a foot away that you realized they were three-dimensional objects. This to me is the epitome of art. It is mysterious and thought provoking, not to mention unbelievably creative. I didn’t even need to know the depth of his thinking to be intrigued because what it says on the surface speaks to me.

There are other pieces of art that confuse me greatly but I enjoy them simply because they are aesthetically pleasing, such as Jackson Pollock’s Masqued Image. I don’t understand it but the colors and shapes draw me in. I also very much enjoyed Richard Hamilton’s Swingeing London, mainly because I could not for the life of me figure out what technique he used to get the black shadowing the way he did. I was completely in love with the painting in the great room (the room with the book with wings). It was the painting that had a giant sunflower going down the middle of it; a real sunflower that had been dried out. Something about it was totally awe-inspiring. I was glad it was one of the few rooms with a bench because all I wanted to do was sit there and contemplate that painting. It also really meant something to me that it was made with earth. It said under the description that it was made with earth. I felt something very symbolic in that though I can’t quite pinpoint what.

Overall, going to the Museum of Modern Art was great fun. It is a unique experience for every person because the feelings art evokes are individual, not collective and that is special to me.