Friday, August 26, 2016

What Do You See in Art? Nearly 50 People Told Us




What Do You See in Art?
Nearly 50 People Told Us

We wanted to better understand the
modern museumgoer. So we went to the
Met Breuer exhibition “Unfinished:
Thoughts Left Visible” and talked to visitors.
By ALEX VADUKUL


MARTIN R. ANDERSON, 65, squints to appreciate the geometry of paintings at the museum. Kate Davis, 24, says the sunlight that bounces off museum walls and onto the art can’t be reproduced. Stan Kaplan, 65, flies across the country just to see a Leonardo da Vinci drawing “more beautiful” than the Mona Lisa. And an elderly woman posts to Facebook a selfie of herself beside a masterwork, presumably commencing an avalanche of social-media approval.
These were observations collected during a summer at New York City’s “newest” museum, the Met Breuer, an outpost of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that opened in March in the former home of the Whitney Museum of American Art. There’s not much theatrical about the scenes — unlike, say, the one that featured two teenagers in San Francisco who placed eyeglasses on the floor of an art museum so they could watch tourists gather around their “installation” with fascination. But taken together, they are a gauge — imperfect and impressionistic — of what draws people to museums and what they see when they get there. They are reflections of the times, too, reminders that art is digested in ways it wasn’t. Art rewards internalization, but distractions surround us. Cultural critique is instant, impulsive, and travels virally.
We tried to find out what goes on in the mind of the modern museumgoer, unscientifically, by staking out the Met Breuer and interviewing nearly 50 art gazers over the course of two months, their pensive moments pierced by our questions as they peered at works. The setting was the Breuer’s big inaugural exhibition “Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible,” as provocative a springboard for opinions as any. It focuses on the notion of “unfinished” art and does so broadly, displaying works that were never finished, works that are intentionally incomplete (non finito), and art that prompts conceptual discussion about what is complete, like a Jackson Pollock drip painting. The two-floor exhibition — which ends its six-month run next weekend — spans the 1400s to today and features artists as varied as Titian, Andy Warhol and a teenage Pablo Picasso.
As for those interviewed, they included students who said museums were like “eating your vegetables” and romantics who cherish their lunch breaks, when they can hop in a cab to go steal a few quiet minutes in front of a beloved painting they have already gazed at dozens of times before.
A handful of works in particular generated the most comment (a deathbed portrait of an artist’s mistress, a painting of someone being skinned alive) and common themes emerged over time (the ubiquity of technology, people’s short attention spans).
Here’s what museumgoers said.

Martin R. Anderson, 65, Boston, body work therapist and artist

The artwork: “James Hunter Black Draftee” (1965) by Alice Neel


Martin R. Anderson and Alice Neel’s “James Hunter Black Draftee” (1965). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; COMMA Foundation, Belgium, The Estate of Alice Neel, via David Zwiner, New York/London
Mr. Anderson’s take: “He probably did get killed because his family would have heard about this painting and said something by now.”
Another perspective: “When I saw this image in the advertisements, I saw it as contemporary, like an album cover.” — Steve Wolkwitz, 25, a student

Debi Kops, 69, New York, tour guide

The artwork: “Self-Portrait With Wig” (1898-1900) by Pablo Picasso


Debi Kops and Pablo Picasso’s “Self-Portrait With Wig” (1898-1900). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; Estate of Pablo Picasso; Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Museu Picasso, Barcelona
Ms. Kops’ take: “He was probably drunk.”
Another perspective: “I didn’t know it was a Picasso. And then like, whoa. It’s a Picasso.” — Normandie Syken, 20, an illustrator

William Meyerhofer, 50, New York, psychotherapist

The artwork: “Untitled I-VI (Green Paintings)” (circa 1986) by Cy Twombly


William Meyerhofer with Cy Twombly’s “Untitled I-VI (Green Paintings)” (circa 1986). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Mr. Meyerhofer’s take: “I want to hate it, but it’s so good.”
“It’s awful algae green. But you can’t deny it. It grabs you. But part of me thinks it is so crude.”
The artwork: “The Flaying of Marsyas” (probably 1570s) by Titian


Titian’s “The Flaying of Marsyas” (probably 1570s). Olomouc Archiepiscopal Palace, Kromiz

Mr. Meyerhofer’s take: “It’s so violent and awful. My husband would say, ‘I wouldn’t want this on the wall of my living room.’ This must have been the equivalent of a horror movie back in the day.”
Another perspective: “You’re imagining what is he going to do with that knife. The bucket: Is it enough to hold? And his eyes — he can see the pain coming.” — Stan Kaplan, 65, Los Angeles

Holly Campbell, 22, Melbourne, Australia, art history student

The artwork: “The Vision of Saint John” (1609-14) by El Greco


Holly Campbell and El Greco’s “The Vision of Saint John” (1609-14). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Ms. Campbell’s take: “It could have been a blue sky, but maybe it was going to be dark and stormy.”
Another perspective: “It’s so modern. And what’s with these crazy babies floating around?” — William Meyerhofer

Michele Miozzo, 50, New York, neuroscientist

The artwork: “Head of a Woman (La Scapigliata)” (1500-5) by Leonardo da Vinci


Michele Miozzo and Leonardo da Vince’s “Head of a Woman (La Scapigliata)” (1500-5). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; Galleria Nazionale di Parma
Mr. Miozzo’s take: “This is unfinished, but you can see the psychology of a character. It forces you to think what is in the mind of this young woman. It makes me think, Who was she? What was she thinking?”
Another perspective: “I think about how much more beautiful she is than the Mona Lisa.” — Stan Kaplan
Another perspective: “You need to see this one with your own eyes. No reproduction I’ve seen comes close to this.” — Martin R. Anderson

Jinny Choi, 21, Seoul, studying English literature at New York University

The artwork: “You or Me” (2005) by Maria Lassnig


Jinny Choi, a New York University student from Seoul, with Maria Lassnig’s “You or Me” (2005). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Ms. Choi’s take: “It made me think about women in Korea, where I read that the suicide rate is [very high]. For some reason, I thought about that.”
Another perspective: “This is brave. She’s old. She’s overweight. Think about how courageous this is.” — Michele Miozzo

Kate Davis, 24, New York, assistant for an art foundation

The artwork: “Cart Full of Action” (1986) by Cady Noland


Kate Davis and Cady Noland’s “Cart Full of Action” (1986). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
Ms. Davis’ take: “I don’t like this. I think the question is not even if it is finished but is this even art? I could see this in a parking lot.”
Another perspective: “This is what the artist is putting into the world. Nothing is a waste of space.” — Tony White, 29, Louisville

Nilza Oliveira, 65, and her daughter Michelle Oliveira, 36, Rio de Janeiro

The artwork: “Gardanne” (1885-86) by Paul Cézanne


Nilza Oliveira with her daughter Michelle Oliveira and Paul Cézanne’s “Gardanne” (1885–86). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Michelle Oliveira’s take: “The curious thing to me is why are these unfinished. What better thing did Picasso or Cézanne feel they needed to go and do? Grab a coffee? Go kiss a girl?”
Nilza Oliveira’s take: “An artist is never finished so their art is never finished. When you finish it, you kill it. Leaving it unfinished, you keep it alive.”

August Scotch, 22, graphic design student at Pratt Institute

The artwork: “Bouquet of Peonies in a Green Jar” (1898) by Paul Cézanne


August Scotch and Paul Cézanne’s “Bouquet of Peonies in a Green Jar” (circa 1898). Tony Cenicola/The New York Times; Private Collection
Mr. Scotch’s take: “Those empty spaces could be light. If you put more there, it’s almost too much information. Like this it is allowed to breathe.”
Another perspective: “There are only a few strokes here. But I can tell the petals feel velvet.” — Michele Miozzo


A version of this article appears in print on August 26, 2016, on page C19 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘Who Has Time for a Blank Canvas?’. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

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