54 days... Art for Inspiration, Not for Free

After a quick and crappy swim, an unsuccessful search for a new swimsuit (but got new goggles I'm excited to try!) and a stop into Home Depot for some paint samples, I headed up to MoMA thinking I would seek out that Dali painting with the melted timepieces and see if I could garner some artistic inspiration from the vast collection of modern art, or at least be mildly confused and amused by it.

Friday evenings from 4-8pm are free entry, normally admission is $20, so I figured perfect timing! Oh. My. God. Don't bother even venturing near 53rd and 6th, the frickin' museum was packed! I felt like I was an unwitting participant as a cow in some bizarre art installation entitled "The Human Herd". I gave up the notion of aimlessly wandering almost immediately, and since I had a pretty good idea of where I was going, I made a beeline for the 5th floor. 

Fellow cows gaze at The Persistence of Time.

So you know how tourists in New York are notorious for stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to check their map, change direction or just gawk at something? Each gallery was exactly like that, but on speed! It's ART people - have some respect and take the time to appreciate it! I was absolutely amazed by the volumes of people who would snake their way hurriedly up to a painting, take a picture and then zig zag on to the next well-known piece.

I was so disheartened by the whole experience, and came to the conclusion that inspiration was not going to be found during the cattle drive through the museum. I did get to study the Dali painting, The Persistence of Time. It struck me as simply poignant in a melancholy way and oddly familiar in an uncomfortable way. The gallery label for the painting had a quote from the artist himself that described his work perfectly: "hand painted dream photographs". 

Klimt's Hope, II. and more cow gazing.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a painting by Gustav Klimt, who I've been drawn to ever since seeing his most well-known work The Kiss at the Belvedere in Vienna. Hope, II is just as gorgeous with the use of central focus, color and geometric shape and, of course, the gold leafing but as opposed to the aggressive sensuality of The Kiss, this painting has a melancholy tenderness to it. 

Perhaps it was just my mood, or perhaps it's MoMA's curator, but I find many of the works in the collection evoke some level of melancholy, or distress, even torment. Note to self: not exactly the place to go to brighten your mood!