Over the years I've been to New York city many times. I started off hating the city but now it's starting to grow on me. I still wouldn't want to live there but I'm beginning to appreciate what it has to offer. And the latest offering I've been introduced to is the Museum of Modern Art. I really enjoyed my time in that museum; more so than other museums I've visited because of the element of "outrageous" that is in the air.....and some of the art.Never before have I encountered nudity in a museum. Oh, I'm not talking about the paintings or sculptures of nudes. I'm talking about actual naked people...and they were an exhibit. And there were several nude people in various exhibits...all representing various concepts of the artist. For instance the naked woman up on the wall sitting on the bicycle seat..well, she was called Luminosity and represented aloneness..which is different from loneliness (which ones experiences with ones clothes on perhaps?). I joke a bit here but I actually do get what the artist means to a point. It's not as literal as I would make it but it's also not mine.
Another exhibit was of two naked people facing each other, starring straight a head, not reacting to anything in their surroundings. People visiting were expected to walk between the two naked people...and they did. I watched it and didn't understand the meaning at all. I found it interesting and daring but I didn't 'get it' and I felt stupid for that. Eventually a new couple were walked out to take the places of the first pair. Once they were settled into their positions I realized there was a plaque on the wall that might explain the piece.
As it turns out this piece has been done before many years ago in another country. The nude people were set up in a way that anyone entering the museum had to go between them. The artist began this as an experiment of sorts..a study in human nature; human sexuality; and psychology to some degree. People coming through them were watched to see who they would turn to face when they walked through the pair. They were close enough so a person walking between them would be forced to turn to fit through them. And of course when you are about to brush by someone naked you try not to have a lot of contact. (Is this part of being a prudish American?)
Armed with this information now, I watched people walk between the naked people with a different attitude. It wasn't weird now; it wasn't uncomfortable....it was interesting. Most of the women turned to face the woman; one or two faced the young man. (both the naked people were young and had great bodies) The men, without fail turned to the woman and one guy had a grin a mile wide on his face the whole time. I got the distinct impression that the experience had a sexual tone to it for the men...all the men. But the women gave me a different feeling. For the women it seemed like an exercise in trust and they seemed to have more trust in the woman for the most part. Perhaps they felt a camaraderie with the young woman, I don't know.
But the young woman did something that none of the others had done. When someone faced her to pass through, she looked up at them..she looked them in the eye. No expression, just met their eyes. The men appeared slightly confused or embarrassed by this but most of the women looked right back at her...and smiled. A lot of the women smiled at her but not one man did and not one man looked her in the eyes.
What does all this mean? I think it has so many meanings or so many possibilities that I have to think about it for awhile to decide what I think. I liked the display and I really enjoyed the psychological aspect of it...the human study that has so many answers and yet at the same time dredges up more questions too. And lets not forget that each persons own concept of sexuality has a direct impact on what you get from this piece. I loved it. And that's only one tiny part of what I saw at that museum.
The artist is from Yugoslavia and her name is Marina Abramović. I have included a link to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) if you are interested in learning more about her or her art.
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/965
