Pictured above: Art? Really, anyone’s guess is as good as mine when it comes to this. (Shaun Fitzpatrick / Arts & Entertainment Editor)
It’s only fair to start off by saying that I have very little appreciation for art. When I look at a painting or sculpture, the extent of my analysis is either “I like this” or “I think this is kind of shitty.” Don’t talk to me about brushstrokes, cubism or whatever else art-folk like to talk about; my only response will be to stare blankly before saying, “I still think this is kind of shitty.” By all accounts I’m a complete Philistine, and proud of it.
That’s not to say that I hate all art. Some of it can be kind of cool-looking. That Van Gough guy? Not bad. I’ve even visited the Philadelphia Art Museum of my own free will on numerous occasions and enjoyed it. However, there is one type of art that I truly do despise to the point that I would happily send all those who create it down to the deepest pit in Tartarus: modern art.
Modern art must have started out as someone’s joke on the art world: “Let’s make literally the worst piece of art ever and see who takes it seriously.” Unfortunately, sarcasm apparently does not exist in the art world, as today some of the most nonsensical and mind-bogglingly awful pieces of art are the most respected. Critics go crazy over them; the more abstract, the better. Surely, if people who actually know about art love them, then I must be missing something.
I decided to educate myself the best way I knew how. I decided to visit the Museum of Modern Art.
It seemed like the perfect plan. I would go to the MOMA and be so totally blown away by all of the amazing, not-at-all-sucky art that my opinion of modern art would be forever changed. I mean, it’s the MOMA, for god’s sake. There’s no way the art there could be bad.
I have rarely ever been so wrong.
The very first thing that I saw was some sort of interactive art piece. Visitors could walk through a maze of white, gauzy curtains and hope that the microphones suspended from the ceiling wouldn’t fall onto their heads. It kind of reminded me of a haunted maze, apart from the fact that it was missing everything that makes a haunted maze enjoyable. Instead, it just kind of felt like I was walking through Florence Welch’s closet. As for the microphones, I’m still unsure of why they were there, as they didn’t seem to be amplifying anything in particular.
So what if I didn’t like the first piece that I saw? Things can only get better, right? I gave myself a mental pep-talk as I headed up the stairs.
Unfortunately, it didn’t get better. I spent the next 45 minutes looking at white squares, a pink plank propped up against a wall and a sculpture that included a dead rabbit. (I prefer to think that the rabbit was fake rather than an actual carcass. It helps me sleep better at night.) My breaking point, however, came when I entered a room that featured a piece that was nothing more than a hanging sculpture of a penis. As I looked up at the ball sack dangling above my head, I knew it was time to give up my quest. I was never going to appreciate modern art.
I spent a total of an hour and a half in the MOMA, which breaks down to less than twenty minutes on each floor. Many would argue that this isn’t nearly enough time to really understand the artists’ intentions and appreciate their work. I would tell these people to shut up. Had I spent another minute there, I would have performed hara-kiri with the sharpest sculpture I could find. It wasn’t even that I hated everything that I saw — I admit, some of the pieces were very well done. The vast majority of the pieces, however, left me baffled and more than a little angry that someone, somewhere, was making money off of a blank piece of canvas. I had hoped that I would leave New York feeling more cultured than I had been before. Instead, I just kind of wished I had gone to a movie.
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Is this a joke? It’s hardly an article, and your A&E editor is admitting she doesn’t appreciate art? What kind of statement is that?
At least she’s honest! I’ll bet there’s a TON of art critics, writers, and probably even artists themselves who don’t understand why some people insist modern art is so great. Besides, the art and entertainment section in the school newspaper (and you’d know this if you’ve been reading it for as many years as I have) covers waay more than the kind of art she is talking about. as a human being, she obviously isn’t going to like every type. besides, it IS a pretty well written article and, which is great because good writing skills are so rare. Sorry, I don’t know why I feel such a strong need to stand up for this girl, but I guess it’s just because your comments don’t seem to be that thought out!
Shaun, I obviously don’t mind when people have an opinion of art. It’s not illegal to hate an artwork, right? And of course, there are plenty of artists I myself am definitely not a crazy fan of! That being said, I want to bring to light some issues in your article; of course, I recognize that some things that you write are in good humor, but I’d like to clarify some aspects of your article, especially because I’m sure there are many people who think like you do.
Firstly, modern art is not simply a dot on the wall. It’s a vast genre that includes your urinal as an art piece (to be explained later), your Picasso painting criticizing the Spanish Civil War, and even the Van Gogh guy you think isn’t so bad. I mean, you probably already know this, but I hope you’re not thinking you hate modern art in general simply because there were some pieces you didn’t like in one museum. It’s like saying you hate American pop music because you hate Bieber, you know?
Secondly, your title “art just ain’t what it used to be” is certainly interesting. When you say you don’t like a certain piece (“I still think this is kind of shitty”), you’re implicitly saying that this artwork fails to live up to a certain standard that you’ve formulated. So I’m curious, what kind of art do you like, Shaun? Are you saying in your title that works from before the modern art period are better? Perhaps then you’re thinking of Classical Greek sculptures as the prime examples of art? Or is it instead Michelangelo’s sculpture, the cave paintings, Japanese prints, or African Yoruban masks?
In other words, you hate an artwork because you judge it and have expectations of what it should look like to be considered good. For example you associate “nonsensical” and “mind-boggling awful” together: do you think good art is more “serious”? As rock music often became a symbol of divergence and break from the past, do you not acknowledge that works can be intentionally silly, purposefully revolutionary, hopefully making you face the assumptions of an institution that you hold (e.g. Duchamp’s urinal “The Fountain”, along with other Dada pieces helped us question the traditional conventions of what constituted as art)? Also, you’ve mentioned that you’ve come away angry because of certain pieces in the MOMA. Can you not also admit that perhaps some works just aren’t meant to elicit happiness, to look beautiful (whatever that is anyway), or even a clear-cut understanding? And if you are frustrated because you don’t understand a piece, is it really because the artwork is bad? If you think that, maybe you have the assumption that artworks should have a clear-cut meaning for any viewer, something that justifiably doesn’t always have to be the case.
There’s also a prevailing phrase when people see some modern art: “I can do that.” But is artwork really bad if an exclusive, elitist group did not make it? Really now, I can learn all the skills of writing and journalism; am i allowed to look down at your profession because I have the capabilities of doing what you do (although I actally didn’t do write your article)? Of course not.
You seem to discourage a response from art-folks like me (can you tell I’m one of them? hehe). But ultimately, I still write this to you because I sincerely want you to examine your own paradigms and not give up on art! Remember, art is not just a painting in a museum. It’s the clothes we wear, the laptops we buy, the posters we hang up, and the ads we’re bombarded with. Art teaches us about people from the past, makes jobs that fuel our economy, and creates a source of inspiration and respite in even our darkest times. Even if you did not like the dead rabbit or hanging penis (haha), I still hope you keep trying to appreciate not only modern art, but art in general!