Even before my flight was confirmed for New York, I was already dreaming of this day. A lot of people would say that when you travel, you shouldn't just be stuck in the confined walls of the buildings and museums, but explore the unknown corners of the place. I'm guilty of this, because whenever I travel to a major city, I make it a point to check the museums and the art galleries. In my long list of things to do in New York, visting the MoMa came in first, but it was actually the last major thing that I did before I went back to Manila. Visiting The MoMa and seeing the artworks in person is close to being able to listen to a Beatles Record in Abbey Road Studios. Perhaps I'm exaggerating but that's exactly how I felt. I was on fan girl mode, to be honest.
Weeeeeee!! Kinikilig agad, entrance pa lang!
The Museum of Modern Art, built in 1929 founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Mary Quinn Sullivan, Lillie P. Bliss, is considered to be one of the most important art institutions that develop and collect modernist art. Aside from contemporary paintings, drawings and sculpture, it also houses different works of design, architecture, photography, film and other media. It was originally located at 57th corner 5th Avenue in Manhattan's Heckscher Building until 1939 when they relocated to 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenue building which was donated by John D. Rockefeller Jr.. The first loan exhibition was held in November 1929 with works by Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaughin, Paul Cezanne and Georges Seurat. The museum underwent renovations and expansions over the years, but still continues to consistently grow and develop to be able to show contemporary art works from all over the world.
I arrived there in the afternoon around 3:30 PM on a Friday, and was lucky enough to get free tickets. The original ticket price is 25 dollars and unlike the pricing system at The Met which was 19 dollars suggested (but you can give a dollar if you're feeling stingy), ticket prices at The MoMa was fixed. Perhaps the art gods were smiling upon me that day, because apparently, they have this promo called Target Friday Nights held between 4:00-8:00 pm where you can get in for free. I had to painstakingly go through an anaconda line and wait for 30 minutes to get tickets, but it was still worth my patience considering that I was about to see works by the rockstars of the modern art world. I was of course excited to see paintings and studies by Klimt (my current and perhaps all time favorite), Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Cezanne, Gaughin, Lichtenstein and featured for early spring, Edvard Munch's The Scream, but I also got to view works of other artists such as Freida Kahlo, Fernand Leger and Jackson Pollock . I finally was able to go inside at around 4 and devised my viewing strategy. Top to bottom was the plan, so that if I run out of time, I can take photos and ogle at the art works while going down. I also thought about the galleries that I could skip--conceptual art, and the strange abstract art weren't really my cup of tea.
Here are my MoMa highlights:
I arrived there in the afternoon around 3:30 PM on a Friday, and was lucky enough to get free tickets. The original ticket price is 25 dollars and unlike the pricing system at The Met which was 19 dollars suggested (but you can give a dollar if you're feeling stingy), ticket prices at The MoMa was fixed. Perhaps the art gods were smiling upon me that day, because apparently, they have this promo called Target Friday Nights held between 4:00-8:00 pm where you can get in for free. I had to painstakingly go through an anaconda line and wait for 30 minutes to get tickets, but it was still worth my patience considering that I was about to see works by the rockstars of the modern art world. I was of course excited to see paintings and studies by Klimt (my current and perhaps all time favorite), Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Cezanne, Gaughin, Lichtenstein and featured for early spring, Edvard Munch's The Scream, but I also got to view works of other artists such as Freida Kahlo, Fernand Leger and Jackson Pollock . I finally was able to go inside at around 4 and devised my viewing strategy. Top to bottom was the plan, so that if I run out of time, I can take photos and ogle at the art works while going down. I also thought about the galleries that I could skip--conceptual art, and the strange abstract art weren't really my cup of tea.
Here are my MoMa highlights:
Pop Art love! The famous Campbell Soup Cans by Andy Warhol, all 32 varieties of the soup completed in 1962. This was displayed at the entrance of the Painting and Sculpture Gallery I on the 5th floor. A LOT of people were having their pictures taken (including me). When I was looking at photos online, I initially thought that this is a single artwork on a single canvas, but they were actually 32 individually framed canvas displayed side by side as you would see in a grocery store.
Silkscreened portrait of Gold Marilyn Monroe, done in 1962, the same year Marilyn committed suicide. The gold background is actually bigger than it looks in this photo.
Starstruck moment with Gustav Klimt's Hope II, painted 1907-1908. This artwork contained gold and platinum and it shimmered! This poor photo doesn't do it justice. I was in front of it for like 15 minutes just admiring the colors and lines. I was especially fascinated at how the painter did the faces of the women at the bottom and the position of their delicate hands.
Paul Cezanne's (above) and Henry Matisse's (below) still life paintings. I don't know why, but I am a huge fan of impressionism. I would've wanted to see Auguste Renoir's paintings, but I wasn't able to come across one.
Fernand Leger's Les Trois Musiciens (The Three Musicians) which was probably the only Leger work that really caught my attention since his early works were mostly Cubist-derived but I was more drawn to more realistic renditions of his work. Obviously the musical theme contributed to pique my interest, but the contrast of the dark suits against the yellow background was also very striking. This was actually located at the far end of the lobby of the 4th floor and not within a specific gallery, but I had to take a closer look. This also reminded me of Jim. Yihee.
Oh Monet Monet, Monet, your water lilies are beautiful! One has to really step back to appreciate his work. Thank you girl with a red bonnet for making my photo more interesting by passing right by me.
Edvard Munch and his paintings of anxiety and melancholy. The photo on the left is actually just a print, but the original painting was also displayed at the Museum. People crowded around The Scream and there was actually a museum personnel that made sure that people didn't touch or go too near the famous painting.
Paintings of Mr. Cubism himself, Pablo Picasso.
Van Gogh's Starry Night -- I had to squeeze my way into the crowd to get a photo thus the angled shot haha.
Amidst the crowd and all the frenzy, I decided to take a break and capture photos of the garden named after Lillie P. Bliss who is one of the founders of the museum. Since it was already spring, people were able to tolerate the weather and get out to breathe some fresh air. I sat on the stairs and read a little excerpts from my souvenir which contained 350 works displayed in the museum. During my trip in the U.S., I had a real penchant for buying books, and this wasn't an exception.
I wish I could post all the photos that I took and share them all here! It was such a remarkable experience to be seeing all the works of these renowned artists up close. Photos do not do them justice, so it's best to visit and check the works for yourself.
The Museum of Modern Art is located at 11 West 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Ave, New York City.
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