The Comment Section
During my last visit to the Chrysler Museum I found an intriguing dialogue occurring in the comment section. With note cards offered to the visiting public in a variety of colors, the wall becomes filled with drawings, commentary and insight on the works of art housed within the museum. In addition to the usual adolescent replicas of nude sculptures and comments on the prevalence of the male sexual organ, was a correspondence regarding modern, and pop, art.
"Pop Art sucks" - A.
A gives us no further reasons for the distaste inspired by the pop art of the Chrysler, and no arguments as to why this sentiment was provoked. None of pop images included a vacuum, or other sort of suction device, so we must assume the statement was not meant to be taken as a literal evaluation.
Perhaps A had a bad experience with Warhol's work while strolling through the Pop Art section, and since you can't please everyone, I'll allow the words of Andy Warhol to stand for Pop Art:
"Art is what you can get away with" - Warhol.
"I learned that you don't need eyes to be a Modern Artist" - KCC
A pet peeve of mine has long been the public's lack of distinction between Modern art and Contemporary art. As such, KCC's note should have read, "I learned that you didn't need eyes to be a Modern Artist". Modern Art is a period that lasted (approximately) from the 1860s to the 1970s.
Nit picking tenses aside, KCC raises an interesting point. Do you (Did you?) in fact need eyes to be a modern artist? Or is it more relevant to question the lack of sight when viewing modern art?
"Stop Insulting Modern Art"
I was clearly not the only visitor of the museum to object to the insults scrawled on not cards for all to see.
This simple statement summarizes a frustration that had been growing within my artist's soul. My objection to these notes was not to their dislike, but to the idea of dislike due to a lack of understanding. Simply stating that something "sucks" or is easy to do, even without your sight, doesn't raise a legitimate objection to the work, and sparks no exhcange of ideas or debate.
"The public history of modern art is the story of conventional people not knowing what they are dealing with." - Golda Meir
So the Modern section of the Chrysler museum will remain a favorite of mine, as will the comment section. Interestingly enough, I have most likely considered these quickly written comments longer then the authors viewed the modern art in the Chrysler.
