Mayumi Oda
HUA101.1103
Professor Espinosa
18 November, 2008
Art Exhibition Review
There are more than ten of thousands of museums all over the world. The character of
each museum is associated with how many or what kinds of works of art it possesses. Moreover,
an exhibition of each gallery or museum varies depending on the sense of the curator. It is not an
exaggeration to say that whether the exhibition is successful or not depends on the curator. A
curator decides on a particular theme or intent to display works of art. This time, I visited the
Museum of Modern Art, New York, to see how the theme or the curator’s intent affected the
display in an exhibition.
When I set foot in the exhibition, I was first aware that there were more children than in
other exhibition. Some children sat on the floor and looked up at a work of art. There was a lot
of colorful and simple art in the space. Most paintings used warm colors, such as red or yellow.
Some art looked like watercolor paintings children draw, such as “Moroccan Garden” by Henri
Matisse, although all the works were painted in oil. Therefore, I felt an atmosphere as if I came
into a room in a kindergarten or an elementary school, so I thought I could figure out the reason
why children were attracted to this space.
The paintings were divided into two: landscapes and pictures which drew the interior of a
room. The placement of works is determined by the color and the kinds of content. One side
included the arts paintings of the inside of a room with mostly red, and landscapes with mostly
yellow and green were displayed in the other side. The wall which has other types of paintings is
adjacent.
I think the theme of the exhibition is that plain paintings possess artists’ tricks that simple
shape or coloring contains ambiguous meanings or effects. Most paintings in the exhibition
seem to be flat, and to belong to modern art. They are not elaborate portrayals or sketches.
However, people can find that artists’ visual tricks are hidden inside of each painting if they look
at them carefully. Some arts succeed to express depth only by coloring or patterns of objects in
the painting without shadow or perspective representation, and other artists put a different
meaning in the possession of simple figures.
I guess the intent of a curator in this exhibition is to make viewers feel or find something
artists have hidden inside their works, not to savor high artistic techniques. Although all people
may not realize it, children may have more talent to find something from the art. Actually, I saw
many children stop in front of the paintings in the exhibition. I also think kids might feel
sympathy towards the paintings because most works of art in the space used monotonous colors
or simple painting, the ways children mostly prefer to use. In addition, at first glance, it is
difficult to figure out how each painting appeals to viewers. Therefore, I think the curator wishes
viewers to take time to select a particular painting with the greatest care by clothing or moving
away from the painting. Most paintings in the exhibition used warm colors, and the colors seem
to have a function to make people comfortable or relaxed. This is also one of the factors to hold
people in the exhibition for a while. Therefore, I think the intent works successfully.
In the exhibition, although there are some
paintings by Henri Matisse, “The Red Studio” was
prominent, and I felt the art met the theme of the
exhibition the most. The size is 71 1/4” × 7’ 2 1/4”, and
it was painted oil on canvas. There is a sort of tricky
setup involved. This picture reduced the walls and floor
to one continuous sheet of red, so the composition of this painting looks casual and simplistic.
Although originally it is not possible to perceive a space if there is no change of coloring to
express depth, this room can be read as a room by the delicate way Matisse set out some
furnishings. The disposition of the furniture is very open, and always returns to the surface of
the image. In this painting, lines are a more important part of this painting than color. This art
does not seem to have tonal pattern in the painting without the lines which get lost in the red.
The red exhumes the whole space, not allowing any contrast between light and dark. Also, I
noticed a painting on the left wall that includes a flower pattern which is the predominant pattern
and repetition in the painting. The pattern is used in the plate design at the bottom left. I think
this repetition of the same patterns may be one of the effective ways to make viewers feel an
impression of depth.
I like this art because of the intense and glowing red or clear coloration, and the cheek of
reducing objects to mere outlines. However, it was not love at first sight. It has grown on me.
At the first glance, I felt this was a plain painting. However, this seems to be a calculated effect.
Therefore, the more people look at it, the more they feel the attraction of its mysterious
composition. Especially I would like to recommend a family with children to see this show.
Children may discover a mysterious point that adults cannot realize. By sharing each
interpretation, they can enjoy their museum time.
If I had the opportunity to curate this space, I would add more exhibits that are able to
grab children’s attention. For example, an interesting and colorful object or sculpture that can
vary the meaning depending on individual perspective sets in the center of the exhibition. I
think children are interested in a three-dimensional object as much as a flat piece, so kids may
start analyzing by being together with other children. Thus, I would like to create a space where
people can share their feeling with others, if I were a curator.
In conclusion, I thought the curator’s elaborate plan is fulfilled with this exhibition, so I
felt the exhibition will succeed as long as curator possesses an abundant knowledge about art.
Moreover, a curator needs the skill to take an objective view of a matter to understand how
viewers react towards works of arts. Therefore, I believe whether an exhibition works
successfully or not depends on the discretion of a curator. I think I will try to focus on how the
theme or the curator’s intent affects the display of the exhibition when I visit another exhibition.