No one could notice you in the Museum of Modern Art. It was crowded and noisy, filled mostly with tourists. Be prepared to look online for a map because there are five floors of art with endless rooms. It was a shame there were no physical maps.
Like a tourist, I was most excited to take a picture next to Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. I have always connected with Vincent van Gogh because I enjoyed learning about his paintings in elementary school. To my surprise, Starry Night was much smaller than I imagined, yet seeing it in person was still meaningful. I can finally check seeing it off my bucket list.
Furthermore, it was interesting to see how “basic” some art pieces could be. For instance, Mark Rothko’s paintings often consisted of stacked rectangles of colors. In his painting, No. 10, there is a small rectangle of blue on the top, a large rectangle of yellow in the middle, and a large grey on the bottom. I didn’t really understand it, but I was drawn by its simplicity. In another untitled painting of his, the top half was black, and the bottom was grey. Looking at this painting, I felt cold and dark vibes. After reading a biography of the painting, the dark emotion made more sense because Rothko painted this piece a year before his death by suicide.
The most shocking part of the museum were the modern objects presented. For instance, a pair of post-it notes, Bic Cristal ballpoint pens, and a monobloc chair were on display. I felt it was silly, but I recognize that their impact is timeless.
Overall, I am glad I made the trip to the city and spent the day at the MoMA. I was immersed by the iconic paintings of Vincent van Gogh, Picasso, and Claude Monet, but I was also inspired by the creativity of lesser known artists. Everything in the museum is art and I can’t deny I felt at least something toward every piece, including the monobloc chair.
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