Sooyean Kim
Prof. Arthur Simms
HUA195
March 15, 2008
A new magic therapy in 21st Century
A provocative painting
An Ocean in MOMA
When people pass by the huge hall filed with lots of master pieces of paintings in
20 Century in the Museum of Modern Art, there is a space with a small window, big
stairs and a long and black sofa. As soon as people enter the room, they automatically see
a painting of Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park115, on the wall. It is situateded as though
it is a paint of the interior decorations in a perfect space as if the painting is one of
decorations in MOMA. In the quiet place, people freshen up their minds and thoughts
while they are looking at the painting at the same time.
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The work, Ocean Park 115, was completed in the late 60’s. It was one of the
series, Ocean Park, for which he became famous as an abstract painter. Compared to his
earlier works, it has bright colors, and sensible and thin painted lines between various
squares and other forms. In the opposite of his earlier works, the colors closely reflect
one another and represent the atmosphere of an Ocean.
Abstract painting became very popular in the USA in the late 1950’s between
American painters. Like other painters, he got to be interested in abstract painting. As
time went by, dark colors, such as gray and black which covered a whole canvas more
than half of it disappeared from his canvases. In the late 60’s, he created the famous
series, Ocean Park, which were composed of geometrical elements. As Diebenkorn
mentioned about them, they had exactly all factors of silent Ocean. He easily simplified
Ocean, one of the biggest parts of the world, with several figures and colors. People do
not need to fly to Miami or Florida to see the sea, but just need to take a subway to come
to MOMA.
Before seeing the title of this abstract painting on the wall, one would understand
why it would be named Ocean Park. The use of colors represent when it is still. While
one is looking at the picture and relaxing on the sofa, one could have an illusion that one
is in front of a sea and white sand, and hears sounds of waves. The White sky far away, a
dark horizon at the end of the sea, and emerald green and bright blue sea are in front of
them. The biggest square is dancing with the emerald green colored squares together. The
form of the boring squares and lines, and simple designed colors do not hurt any elements
of the atmosphere of Ocean on the canvas. As far as my eyes come to the horizon, the
colors of the sea became flat out and were changed into the warm beige.
The museum visitors walk from the left and in the right side, and then they sit
down and begin talking to others in the space. Yet, these actions are so natural in front of
the Richard Diebenkorn’s painting, and they do not disrupt other visitors’ views.