The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles holds treasures that are priceless. The Museum is located at 250 South Grand Avenue. The exhibit in the museum does not just contain aesthetic grandeur, but it also embeds the history and expression of humanity throughout time. The MOCA stands out on its own in the way it reveals the works of art of various artists. Upon exploring the interiors of the spacious museum, it can be seen that the arts contain modernist artworks. There are works from John Pollock, Mark Rothko, Barbara Kasten, Harry Callahan, Elizabeth Murray, and many more. Significantly, despite the multiple and diverse works that can be seen, each work is a feast to digest. The process of displaying the grand works of arts at the same time and at the same place is a challenging task as each work holds significant beauty on its own while contributing to the era of modern art at the same time.
The Chief Curator of the museum is Helen Molesworth. Visiting the museum in Los Angeles is not just about fun and beauty. It is also about walking through the history of art and man. The exhibitions are not just about displaying the beautiful works of artists in the past. Rather, it emphasizes the affinities of the artworks and their respective artists. The arrangements are more than conventional as the connections between artworks and the artists are explored. The inside of the museum seem more like a walk-in-closet, where miniscule arts are found on tabletops, paintings are found along the walls, and various photographs are arranged like puzzles. Molesworth is concerned with the context of the arts and has a vision of the museum at a rare juncture. As for her, “On the one hand, you have this great, rigorous collection, one of the best exhibition histories in the countryOn the other hand, it’s total blank slate. We’re rebuilding, and you can make it all up”.1
Figure 1. Number 1, 1949 by John Pollock (MOCA)
I have encountered John Pollock’s Number1, 1949. As seen on his work, the modern outbursts through colors splattered on canvass where paints are poured out from cans and brushed with tips of sticks. Evidently, the way it was done required action and physical dynamics with the canvass. Pollock’s technique of “arena for action” belongs to abstract expressionism that garnered him global attention.2 The action painting is a method of abstract art by smearing and
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1 Vankin, D. “Helen Molesworth, MOCA’s new chief curator, relishes the possibilities”, Los
Angeles Times. 12 December, 2014.
2 MOCA. “Number 1, 1949 by John Pollock ”. The Museum of Contemporary Art. Los Angeles.
(nd).
dripping paints on the canvass and sweep dramatically. Pollock uses sticks and knives while flinging paints on the canvass lying on the floor. He walks around the painting and becomes part of the actual painting process. He is one of the modern day artists that rejects the use of easel and other traditional methods of painting.3 His influence in the modern day art is evident in the various styles and graphics that is used by various artists today.
Figure 2. Lee Krasner’s Primeval Resurgence (MOCA)
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3 Visual Arts Cork. “Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)”. Encyclopedia of Visual Arts. (nd).
Another significant artwork that cannot be missed is Lee Krasner’s “Primeval Resurgence (1961)”. She is the wife of John Pollock and is also one of the famous American abstract expressionists during the 20th century. Most of the works of Krasner includes cut outs of her own paintings and drawings and she makes a collage out of them. Due to this process, there are works that have been discarded resulting to a minimal arts works collected from her. Her known works only lists of about 599 pieces according to the list of Abrams in 1995.4 As seen in her works, it is evident that there are similarities with the works of John Pollock and Lee Krusner. It is mostly likely possible since the two have been together in the same organization and has explored art together. Although her work is different from that of Pollocks, there are connections that relate these paintings as they both display the techniques of modern abstract arts.
Figure 4. Mark Rothko (Dark Over Light Earth) (MOCA)
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4 Women in Art. “Krasner, Lee*1908-1984. USA”. Women in art. (2013).
The work and style of Mark Rothko is further exemplified in his other painting “Purple Brown”. Expectedly, the color combination in his work is the primary subject where he evokes emotions through transition of two colors. Similarly, his works are playing with colors with high accuracy to achieve its effect. “Purple Brown” is a demonstration of his correlations of the visual lightness. The cross modal associations in generated distinctively in his work as he incorporates the element of pitch in the perception of his paintings. “Rothko’s compositions do not rely on color tone alone to communicate. Saturation and volume are essential to the emotional force of his work”. 7 The work of Rothko embeds contrasts of dark shades of purple and brown, where their dim level is displayed.
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5 Mark Rothko. “No. 9 (Dark Over Light Earth), 1954 by Mark Rothko”. MarkRothko.org. (2014).
6 May, S. “Rothko: Emotion in the abstract”. The world & I. 13.7 (1998). Pp 110-117
7 Sarno, A. “Mark Rothko: A Cross-Modal Approach”. Elements. (2006). Pp 61-70
Figure 5. Mark Rothko’s Purple Brown (MOCA)
The exhibit at MOCA holds special characteristics. My interest is peaked by the uniqueness and awesome of every work, much more when they are held together in one setting. The modern expressionist’s works are unique at their own merit. Their collaboration is more than one can fathom all at one glance. It takes more than just a stare at each paintings in order to comprehend their existence. The complexity of every painting is something to behold. It is a great challenge for the curators to reveal each one’s unique beauty in one setting. Indeed, the exhibit is exhilaratingly complex and deep.
References:
May, S. “Rothko: Emotion in the abstract”. The world & I. 13.7 (1998). Pp 110-117
Mark Rothko. “No. 9 (Dark Over Light Earth), 1954 by Mark Rothko”. MarkRothko.org. (2014).
MOCA. “Number 1, 1949 by John Pollock ”. The Museum of Contemporary Art. Los Angeles.
(nd).
Sarno, A. “Mark Rothko: A Cross-Modal Approach”. Elements. (2006). Pp 61-70
Vankin, D. “Helen Molesworth, MOCA’s new chief curator, relishes the possibilities”, Los
Angeles Times. 12 December, 2014.
Visual Arts Cork. “Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)”. Encyclopedia of Visual Arts. (nd).
Women in Art. “Krasner, Lee*1908-1984. USA”. Women in art. (2013).
