Art is an experience meant to stimulate the spectator. When viewing art, the purpose is much deeper than what is in front of us. Art is meant to make the artist and the spectator alike to look within themselves, and how the work affects them. To get a better understanding of the art world, I visited two museums; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Broad. Through the ages, museums new and old have managed to curate collections that represent diverse forms of visual expression that encompass contemporary and traditional arts. In this paper, I will be discussing the six different works of art that I saw at both museums, and how those pieces represent the new and old worlds of art. While they are long standing, popular attractions, the LACMA and The Broad have curated very different collections that encompass the introspective purpose of art.
Joan Brown’s Girl in Chair (1962), is an oil on canvas painting that depicts a woman, reclining in a chair fully nude. The piece has a very autobiographical feeling to it. While the figure is nude, she is not nude for the spectator. She looks as if she is simply a woman, who is relaxing for herself. This is similar to the works of art that John Berger considered “exceptional nudes”. Brown has received multiple criticisms for her work that claim she is “self-righteous”. These criticisms, usually from men, reveal an ugly double standard that values the allowed self-righteousness of men while condemning that of women. Women who explore the same emotional complexities as men are labeled as self absorbed. The gaze of the figure is not directly towards the viewer, but to the side, which also detracts from the concept that she is nude for the spectator. The spectator is not relevant to the figure in the piece. What originally drew me to this piece was the amount of texture used in its creation. The brushstrokes are left very tangible, almost as if the figure is more than just what is on the canvas. The piece is also a very large work of art. Seeing a large naked woman almost jumping off of the canvas is unlike any other piece in the museum. The piece feels almost as if it is a combination of traditional and modern styles of painting. The nude form is common of traditional oil paintings, but the exceptional nude to reclaim power for women is a more commonly modern painting style. This same concept can be carried into the abstract worlds of art, as seen through Pablo Picasso.
Pablo Picasso’s Man and Woman (1969) discusses male and female power dynamics while maintaining Picasso’s cubist principles. Looking at Picasso’s paintings can bring you various meaningful subject matters, all in one painting. For example, Man and Woman conveys abstract expressions to the viewer. The background takes place in a wedding ceremony in which there is a groom dressed up like a knight and bride. However, the irony is ambiguously described in the painting. The groom is preparing to stab at the bride with his dagger while staring at the bride’s breasts with an erotic gaze. The woman seems indifferent towards the situation. The contrast of hues is clearly shown in Man and Woman. While the groom is wearing black armor to represent darkness, the bride is wearing a white dress to represents purity. The background is questionable for its yellow color as cover and foliage decoration. I believe the theme of the painting is questioning the virtue of humanity. Everyone is wearing their masks, and the truth hidden behind their faces is left unknown. Created only seven years after Girl in Chair by Joan Brown, this piece shows how the traditional nudes are still created, even in abstract styles. Although this painting clearly shows a difference in Picasso’s painting style, the sexual subject matter and fragmented perspectives are very much in the conventional cubist Picasso style.
The final piece I saw at the LACMA was Victor Brauner’s Suicide at Dawn (1930). Suicide at Dawn represents a double figure that is fatally divided against itself. The image floats against a black void, only bounded by gray at the top and bottom of the piece. Light uncovers the left side of the pale figure, but highlights the red figure to suggest a light source from the right. The picture has no consistent perspective, no up or down, nor a sense of depth. After fleeing to Paris to escape the rise of fascism in his home country, the Romanian artist, Victor Brauner, painted Suicide at Dawn in 1930. I believe it may represent the artist’s conflicted self, or the human struggle between life and death. What drew me to this piece was the similarities is has to the works of Salvador Dali due to the surrealist style. Salvador Dali’s, The Persistence of Memory is one of Salvador Dali’s most recognizable paintings, and there are many references to it in popular culture. What really drew me to this painting was the sequence of melting clocks in a disjointed landscape as the depiction of a dream, with the upside down figure in the middle of the painting represents the dreamer. The melting watches represent the rejection of time as a deterministic influence. It is likely that Dali was using the clocks to symbolize mortality (specifically his own) rather than literal time, and used ants to represent the decay of the world around us. This theme of decay and human existence seems to be a common theme in the world of surrealist paintings. Victor Brauner has adopted the verism of Salvador Dali. Verism is a concept that has been adopted by many surrealist artists from Dali’s works, lending to this overlapping of common depictions in surrealism.
Contrary to the works seen at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Broad takes a much more contemporary approach. One main attraction point for spectators of The Broad, is the amount of interactive work housed inside. One particular installation that I got the chance to experience was Yayoi Kusama’s Longing For Eternity (2017). This piece is one of two mirrored infinity rooms at The Broad. Born in Japan, Kusama came to name as an artist during the Vietnam Era, but continues to make her works popular and known across the globe. Characterized by the hallucinations she experienced as a child, Kusama has translated her experiences into interactional experiences of art. The specific piece at The Broad, Longing for Eternity, is an experience in which spectators can view a room filled with mirrors through porthole-like openings. Inside is an LED-light filled room which results in a memorable visual immersion. Kusama’s infinity rooms create a feeling of boundlessness and transcendence; however, unlike other experiences created by Kusama, Longing for Eternity is not a room that fully envelopes the viewer. This peering-in-type of feeling is where I believe the piece gets its name. The spectator is merely longing for the fully enveloped feeling of eternity that is seen inside of the room. This theme of longing for what one cannot have is a very common theme in both traditional art and contemporary art. The Broad is an example of how contemporary art carries the themes of traditional arts even though the medium may be different.
Another iteration in which traditional themes come to light in contemporary art would be Jordan Wolfson’s (Female Figure) (2014). The piece is an immersive environment in which a robotic sculpture is the center. For several minutes, the spectator views the robot reciting monologues, and dancing along to pop songs. The jarring and unnerving nature of the exhibit exposes the spectator to the misogyny and faults of pop culture. Female representation is challenged, as well as the ways women are consumed. The robot is reminiscent of a hypersexualized female, but in actuality is so much more. The experience takes place in an otherwise empty area where the robot is attached by a rod in the torso to a mirror on the wall. Covered in black smudges, and wearing a witch mask that resembles the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, the robot uses facial recognition software to follow the faces of the spectator. Traditionally, art is a unilateral experience. One in which the spectator views the art. However, Wolfson has undone that concept, and now the artwork can observe you as well. I, personally, found this installation very interesting. The robot looked as if she was struggling on the mirror to stay afloat in a society that only objectifies her. I think the piece is a very important commentary on the current political climate, and on society in general. It is widely known that women are viewed as objects, which is especially evident in traditional oil paintings such as Mr. and Mrs. Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough. This portrait was common of the time in which men would be painted with all of their possessions. For Mr. Andrews, this included his land and wife. While women in society are treated like objects, Wolfson creates an experience in which the spectator is the object. (Female Figure) challenges preconceived notions of gender, sexuality, and the human experience.
The final installation I experienced at The Broad was a video installation by Ragnar Kjartansson called The Visitors (2012). Filmed at the Rokeby Farm in upstate New York, Icelandic artist, Ragnar Kjartansson, has created a nine-screen video experience. The piece is titled after the Swedish pop-band ABBA’s final album. Produced in one take, The Visitors records different musicians’ performances in different rooms of a mansion. All musicians are playing the same song in unison through different mediums such as voice, instrument, and movement. The piece elicits feelings through the length and repetitive nature of the video. It is seen in the video that each performer has their own routine or ritual, but there are slight variations in each performance. Each artist repeats the same line dozens and dozens of times. There is an inconsistent lull in their voice that creates an emotional response from the spectator. There is an emotional range and intensity to each of the performances that is so simple yet so vast. Many are moved to tears by the level of simplicity and complexity of this installation. Kjartansson’s installation reminded me of the works of Ann Hamilton showcased in the Spirituality episode of Art21. Ann Hamilton’s installations often combine evocative soundtracks with cloth, filmed footage, organic material, and objects such as tables. She is as interested in verbal and written language as she is in the visual, and sees the two as related and interchangeable. I feel this level of tangible spirituality in The Visitors. The passion of the artists is palpable.
Art is an experience meant to stimulate the spectator. When viewing art, the purpose is much deeper than what is in front of us. Art is meant to make the artist and the spectator alike to look within themselves, and how the work affects them. The spectator is able to truly experience the introspective abilities of art whether it be from small scale works like Victor Brauner’s Suicide at Dawn or Ragnar Kjartansson’s fully immersive installation The Visitors. Themes set by the classic artists centuries ago are still prevalent in traditional and contemporary arts alike. Through my visits to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Broad, I was able to experience the knowledge garnered through art history, but also the truly introspective abilities of art on the human experience.