Casey Brewe

In Jin’s introductory lecture she pointed out the differences and correlations, referenced by Stephen Greenblatt, between wonder and resonance. Wonder, being the feelings of amazement, elation, and that of being moved by the art and resonance being moved by how the art was made and who made it. I feel that the Museum of Modern Art in New York captures both wonder and resonance. I also feel that wonder is most likely in every art museum. I’m always questioning art on what it means, what the artist’s intent was and what I’m taking away from it. While at the MoMA, especially in the painting and sculpture exhibits, I took a lot of wonder away with me. I especially wondered and was amazed at the Jackson Pollack and the van Gogh pieces. Resonance was also a big part of what I took from the art I viewed. To me, there is no wonder surrounding art without resonance. Resonance is everywhere in artwork. Resonance, to me, is why there are art museums and why certain artists are better known than others. New techniques, styles and forms of expression evolve and grow due to how the art was made and in due time that is how artists become well known. How else would cubism, per say, be known without knowing Picasso was the force and mind behind it?

Also in our introduction lecture Julian Spalding’s ideas between a poetic museum and a theme park museum was brought up. While the MoMA most definitely sides more with the poetic museum more so than a theme park museum, it doesn’t share every idea that Spalding refers to as being an absolute poetic museum. There isn’t a clear pacing in the MoMA and there isn’t a careful usage of noise, as everything isn’t laid out in a natural progression and the museum tends to be quite noisy. However, I did find the MoMA to use careful use of lighting and clear narratives in their panels and labeling. The MoMA doesn’t focus on just one subject in depth in the galleries and exhibits. The floors are laid out in one-focus categories, however. I definitely feel that the MoMA captures a sense of wonder, as Spalding attributes to a poetic museum.