The saying goes "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Never was that truer than when I visited the Museum of Modern Art, not even a block from the American Folk Art Museum. After being astounded at the Paula Nadelstern show at the Folk Art Museum, I walked down and went to the Museum of Modern Art, otherwise known as MOMA.
My first impression was that it was big and empty. The courtyard was nice. I wandered through the exhibits, becoming less and less interested and more and more convinced that "modern" art is not my preference. A display of prints of Marilyn Monroe's face, each a different color. Some sculptures, some drawings, all stark and graphic. And then I came into a room that had some of the work of Robert Rauschenberg.
Remember I have just come from a quilt display that was breathtaking. Now I am standing in front of a hanging that consists of an antique quilt mounted in a wooden frame with a pillow, as if it was a partially made bed, with paint poured over the entire thing. It looked like an accident I would have when I am painting in the house, but to have someone voluntarily take a hand made antique quilt and do that to it......I was incensed. Another piece by this artist was a big painting of slashed colors with a worn tire hanging off of it. I was quite horrified.
When I discussed this with a friend of mine here on the island, she instantly knew it was Robert Rauschenberg and had this to say about him: "He was an odd character but he did art a service by waking us up to the artistic possibilities of assembling odd objects and found objects. Remember in the 1950’s they were mostly painting stuff and doing traditional sculpture. It would have been a very exciting time to be in New York with that particular group of modern artists." Here is a link which discusses the work that so angered me! Copy and paste this into your browser address bar
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-rauschenberg14-2008may14,1,3534489.story
I guess modern art just isn't my cup of tea! But, it takes all kinds and it has certainly given me something to think about when I'm dreaming up new projects!
