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| General Idea's AIDS wallpaper |
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| Alexandre Singh's "La Critique de l'´Ecole des Objets" |
i have a lot of respect for people who identify contemporary artists among their favorites. when people ask me who my favorite artist is, i always say monet. but, let's face it, it's pretty hard not to like monet. so, when it comes to art, i always try to go outside of my comfort zone and try to be a modern art appreciator. with that goal in mind, i went to the musée d'art moderne and palais de tokyo yesterday. the first exhibit i saw at the musée de l'art moderne was entitled "HAUTE CULTURE: GENERAL IDEA une rétrospective, 1969-1994." this was, by far, the most avant garde art i had ever seen. there was a lot of emphasis on sexuality and the fight against AIDS, with the most notable piece (and my personal favorite) as a play on the LOVE sculpture to make a similar image with "AIDS." the next exhibit i saw was the Van Dongen exhibit, which showcase post-impressionist (art history friends can help me with that time period identification) that were diverse in their subject and style. some painting were very typical scenes of buildings around europe, such as his painting of sacre coeur, whereas others were semi-abstract paintings of nude women with slightly masculine bodies. after looking at the permanent collection, we were off to palais de tokyo. palais de tokyo is housed inside a warehouse-like building, unlike anything i have seen in paris, but very typical of new york. the major work we saw was a light and sound installation by Alexandre Singh, entitled "La Critique de l'École des Objets," which was a conversation between objects about people. It was unique, to say the least, humorous, and an interested way to turn ourselves inward and really gain perspective on human life. art, to me, is something that provokes emotion or thought, so while it certainly didn't make you stop and say, "oh, well now, that's beautiful," it definitely made me think. all in all, my love of art has been broadened.
