It was such a beautiful day I decided to walk the 40 or so blocks up 5th Avenue to the Met. It was almost the perfect spring day and the walk by central park was enjoyable.
I finally got the museum and it was more crowded than I expected it to be on a weekday afternoon. I waited in line and walked in to the Greek and Roman Art exhibit. I felt like I got lost in this exhibit no matter how many people I asked for directions or how many times I looked at my map. I know I have probably mentioned it a few times in previous papers but I love looking at the Greek and Roman paintings and artifacts. I was really impressed with the rebuilt roman chariot they had on display.
They also had armor and weapons. I really amazes me how far back these artifacts date. Some of these items date as far back as 9th century B.C.
While passing through some of the other areas of the museum there were a number of paintings that caught my eye. This one called The Crucifixion by the Workshop of Francisco Zurbaran. Which is a very large painting of The crucifixion of Jesus.
It was when I made my way into the modern art exhibit is where I found the painting that intrigued me the most. It was very exciting to see some of these works from Jackson Pollock. The painting I chose is called Pasiphae by Jackson Pollock. I find the painting very difficult to read but can be looked at for an extended amount of time.
According to http://www.bama.ua.edu/~labra001/pollock.htm The painting was a symbol of the struggle with the dark animal nature of human beings. The story of Pasiphae restates the struggle with the physical union of a Cretan queen and a large powerful bull that leads to the creation of the Minotaur, half human, half animal. Although the painting and the story of Pasiphae are not exactly the same they both address the same idea from different angles.
I guess knowing the story of passiphe and a highly imaginative way of thinking this result can be seen.
Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912. Pollock was introduced to the use of liquid paint in 1936, at an experimental workshop operated in New York City by the Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. He later used paint pouring as one of several techniques in canvases of the early 1940s, such as "Male and Female" and "Composition with Pouring I." He began painting with his canvases laid out on the studio floor, and developed what was later called his "drip" technique. He used hardened brushes, sticks and even basting syringes as paint applicators. Pollock's technique of pouring and dripping paint is thought to be one of the origins of the term action painting.
"My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock
At the height of his popularity Pollock abandoned the drip technique and started to reintroduce figurative elements.
Jackson Pollock died of an alcohol related accident in August 11, 1956.
During this trip I felt like I had spent so much time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I did not get to see as much as I liked. It was getting late and still had to take in the Museum of Modern Art so I had to get going. Someday I will make the trip back where I will have more time to appreciate more of the exhibits, and try not to get lost.
2 comments:
Tony
I do understand how you can get lost in that place. I think it is too much to try to see in one. I can wait to go back I want to see the new exhibit.
Much better use of quotes and citations here... Trying to get to the Met and the Modern as well as do all that walking is probably too much for any one human to do in a day!
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