So I went to the Metropolitan Museum instead. After seeing all the Muslim art in Andalusia, I wanted to look at the Islamic collection at the Met, hoping to get some historical perspective. (The Met actually entitles its collection "Art of the Arab Lands".) And, indeed, I got a broader historical perspective, which was very enlightening. But what you don't get from the museum is the sense of how the small scale decorative elements look when massed, and juxtaposed with other massed decorative elements. A few small tiles look very different when there are many, many of them covering a wall. (I have started reading Ernst Gombrich's book " A Sense of Order", which is a study of decorative art, and a kind of counterpoint to his more famous "Art and Illusion". Hopefully I will become more enlightened.) But what got me very excited at the Met were the Persian miniature paintings, particularly those from the Shahnama (the Book of Kings) from 16th century Persia. The Met has set up ideal circumstances for viewing these small paintings. They are enclosed in glass cases, with small benches in front of them, so you can sit and quietly look at them. The detail and color are amazing, and the notions of representation are quite different from our Western ones. You can see the images online in great detail, but the digital reproductions fail to catch the vividness of the colors. They are amazing well preserved, considering their age.
Here is "The Besotted Iranian Camp Attacked By Night"
Met photo:
Mine in detail, but not all in focus:
I also made a trip to MOMA on a different day. Making my way past the Bjork-bound crowds, I went to the newly re-installed galleries for contemporary art at MOMA on the second floor. (They managed to repair the holes they made on the floor for the Robert Gober exhibit. Too bad, I liked them.) The works on display for the most part were seriously depressing, and seriously rant-inducing. I'm not going to go there.
Well, here is their own description:
Made under a diverse range of geographic, political, social, and aesthetic circumstances, the works in the exhibition propose one perspective on the Museum’s collection; seen alongside one another, they allow for a reflection not only on their discrepancies, differences, and contradictions, but also on their shared concerns.
Very specific and very enlightening.
Have a nice day.
Upstairs, I visited old friends (paintings) in the Galleries for Non-Didactic Art. I ended up at Monet's "Water Lilies", which I usually don't visit because of the crowds. Newly trained to read the captions on the walls, I learned that "Water Lilies" is a "balm for the modern soul". So now I know why Monet painted it. And I was so sure that he was commenting on the use of garden images in contemporary French society.
