In a lot of ways, my visit to the Museum of Modern Art on Thursday paralleled my thoughts on the 2005 Yankees. In the beginning stages, I was asking, "What the fuck is this bullshit?" Toward the end, I knew my experience was worth the hefty $20 admission charge. I hope to think the same about the Bombers in October.
Twenty bucks, after all, isn't too steep of a price to see works by Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollack, all within walking distance of my apartment.
Let's make this clear: I don't "get" modern art. I love artists, in general, those who create something out of nothing: writers, photographers, musicians, painters. But the slit canvas that looked like a mocha vagina? I could do that. The white whatever square thingee? To quote Derrick Coleman: "Whoop dee damn do." The mirrors in the corner with a couple of home plates on the wall? Someone explain to me how that belongs in one of the most famous museums in the world.
Still, there's something about being in a place that houses about a gazillion dollars worth of art that's cool as shit. When I stood before the Mona Lisa last year in Paris, it was more about just being there, stabbing a flag in the ground before perhaps the most famous work of art in the world.
And so it was at the MoMA. Seeing things like Van Gogh's The Starry Night was stright-up rollin', even if I'm such a blockhead that when I saw a statue of a naked, armless man I wondered, "How the hell does he masturbate?"
(See my gallery of 19 photos. Big ups to the MoMA for letting people take non-flash pics. Same with The Louve. Do you hear that, Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville? Jesus, get over yourselves and your Willie Nelson sneakers.)
I love the MoMA. It is my favorite museum in the world.
I went all the way to Amsterdam to see Starry Night at the Van Gogh Museum (well, it wasn't the only reason I went) . Then I came to a blank wall at the museum with a sign that read: Starry Night is at the MoMa in NYC. Damn. One of my favorite paintings was just miles from my home.
To see real famous works of art in person is amazing. The MoMa has a huge Jackson Pollack and Monet pieces too. Truly beautiful.
Posted by Cass at July 16, 2005 10:45 AM