A Rainy Day at the Museum of Modern Art

By Emma Shearburn

This past summer I stepped into the crowded scene of the Museum of Modern Art on a rainy Friday afternoon to see visitors frantically closing umbrellas and drying their shoes, excited to join thousands of artworks lining the walls. I am always fascinated with the sheer number of art fans that descend upon MOMA on any given day. After a few hours of wandering and observing, I picked my five favorite pieces: some well-known to the average museum-goer, others less so. Nevertheless, all five works are undeniably striking and bring pleasure to any viewer like myself.

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ONE

The Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, 29.01 in × 36.26 in.

Vincent Van Gogh’s iconic painting The Starry Night was the first to catch my eye. If not for the emulating emotion and riveting texture, the enormous crowd oohing and aahing was enough to draw me toward the work without hesitation. A large swarm of people surrounded the image, raising their cameras in the hope of capturing the legendary work. Although one can argue the presence of such a large crowd takes something away from the intimacy of witnessing a work of art up close, this experience clearly illustrates the immense impact The Starry Night holds for any museum goer. 

After having cut off some of his ear, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night over a series of days and nights while in an asylum in the south of France. The description of the piece that the museum offers explains that it is both “an exercise in observation and a clear departure from it.” While examining the work in the flesh the image displays a July night with the moon and stars, there are noticeably daytime features involved. After researching the work, I learned Van Gogh drew inspiration from daytime imagery. Additionally, many aspects of the painting were captured from his imagination, like the quaint village below, which did not exist outside of his asylum window. 

After seeing The Starry Night with my own eyes, I now understand why the painting garners so much attention. The magnified moon and stars, the suspended morning light, and the silence found in the silhouette of the village, all reflect Van Gogh’s own mental state. A strange sense of comfort is instilled in the viewer.

TWO

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon Paris

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907. Oil on canvas, 96 in × 92 in.

Next up: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (another prominent piece and fan favorite at MOMA). Upon seeing the work in the museum I was awe-struck. The magnitude, size, and fascinating composition is very moving up-close and in-person. The choice of shapes and motion is inspiring, and a still-life of a lemon can be seen at the bottom of the work. The crowd surrounding Picasso’s piece was almost as large as the one viewing Van Gogh’s A Starry Night.

Les Demoiselles d'AvignonParis is thought to be ahead of its time. In fact, Picasso kept the work in his studio for 20 years after completing it “as if he knew how radically ahead of time it was,” according to the curator. The work depicts geometric looking women with knife-like contours. I found this striking. I later learned that Picasso intended to depict a brothel – a world that he knew very well – in this painting. Being one of the masterworks of 20th century art, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, continues to stun the thousands of viewers that walk past the work at MOMA each day

THREE

The Persistence of Memory

Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory, 1931. Oil on Canvas, 9.5 in × 13 in.

Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory is a wonderful example of Surrealism, an artistic movement that originated after World War I. The movement arose as an attempt to depict the seemingly illogical scenes and events that came with wartime life. As stated by the curator, the arrival of Dali “jolted new life into the [artistic] movement.”

The Persistence of Memory exudes a dream-like quality. While smaller in size than I had expected, the piece drew a large crowd. The painting is full of many small, strange details and illustrates three melted watches contrasted against the still beach behind them. Dali claimed that by using the “tricks of eye-fooling” he aimed “to discredit completely the world of reality.” The juxtaposition of rigid and soft, and simultaneously natural and material, creates a fascinating dynamic that undoubtedly suspends a viewer from reality. I highly recommend adding this to your list of go-to artworks to observe when at MOMA.

four

Girl with Ball 

Roy Lichtenstein, Girl with Ball, 1961. Oil on canvas, 60 in × 36.2 in.

Another favorite artwork of mine is Roy Lichtenstein’s, Girl with Ball. Inspired by a 1960 advertisement for a hotel in the Poconos, the work depicts a girl carrying a red and white volleyball above her head. As one of Lichtenstein’s first pop-art pieces, the work channels the pop art approach through a reference to ordinary and commercialized objects. Subject matter was drastically changing during this time. Abstract Expressionism was on the wane and young artists were experimenting with a new language of painting. Some critiqued this new concept, while others in the art world felt it was fresh and exciting. I find the Pop movement brought a refreshing, new light into the art world. 

The piece holds a simplicity that is inviting. Upon standing in front of the artwork I felt it emulated the carefree feeling associated with a beach vacation – it is the perfect piece to admire during a summer adventure to MOMA.

FIVE

Campbell’s Soup Cans

Andy Warhol, Campbell Soup Cans, 1962. Canvas, synthetic polymer paint, 20 in x 16 in (each).

There are thousands of artworks worth discussing at MOMA.  I love how the museum flows chronologically by year and movement. There are so many great examples, but the last work I have chosen is Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. I think it is a must-see when describing the perfect day trip to the museum. The piece is composed of  32 unique silkscreen images of Campbell’s soup cans stacked in four rows of eight. Installed in a large gallery with plenty of other contemporary pieces, the work more than holds its own and commands the viewer’s attention.

Each painting boasts its own type of soup: Clam Chowder, Cheddar Cheese, or Cream of Celery. Warhol cites his lunch as the inspiration for the piece: “I used to have the same lunch every day, for twenty years, I guess, the same thing over and over again.” He made something as mundane as a daily routine into something beautiful which is a signature characteristic of pop art. Like Lichtenstein’s Girl with Ball, Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans is an early important creation of the art phenomenon that sprouted during the 1960’s. Warhol’s piece is a prime example of the radical switch to make monotonous parts of life into artwork.

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Summer is the perfect time to go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The museum is bustling inside and out with galleries that offer an incredible selection of artworks (and even a cute café on the second floor that sells the best pastries). As an undergraduate majoring in Art History, I had only been able to admire these artworks digitally, but my visit gave me an entirely new perspective on each artwork. 

When in New York, the Museum of Modern Art is a must on any itinerary.