Art & Identity- The Museum of Modern Art

During my visit to the Museum of Modern Art and the PS1 exhibit, I seen a lot of great pieces of art work from different painters. I didn't really understand the meaning behind some of the paintings but I found some fascinating ones that I really enjoyed! I seen some paintings that were very meaningful and famous in history from Vincent van Gogh, to Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol .Overall  I chose three paintings that particularly had to with personal identity,cultural identity, and historical identity.

For personal identity, I chose a painting by Vincent van Gogh called "Sorrow". This painting was actually about the young women named Sien that Vincent wanted to marry and save from the streets from being a prostitute to support her mother, brother, and children. Vincent was very expressive with this painting to actually show the sorrow that Vincent and Sien both felt while sharing their last goodbye. Sien eventually drowned herself in a water way, maybe because of things she was going through. This painting is definitely personal identity because you can feel the sorrow of Vincent having to say goodbye to Sien for her leaving. The painting shows hopelessness, and sadness. This painting is very touching because it shows true emotions and you can really tell that Sien is hurting.

For cultural identity, I chose a painting by Andy Warhol called "Gold Marilyn Monroe". Andy created this painting the same year Marilyn Monroe died from a suicide. This painting is cultural to me because Marilyn Monroe was an American cultural icon because she showed women confidence, she set up a new standard for women. She was the blonde bombshell of the fifties and sixties. Even today a lot of actresses and women look up to her, she was also a singer and actor. She was considered a beautiful women and a icon of her era because she showed women that you didn't have to look a certain way to feel beautiful.

For historical identity, I chose Jacob Lawrence "The Migration Series". There are over 60 paintings of this series. Jacob Lawrence is one of the most famous and admirable American artists of the twentieth century. Overall the different panels of the 60 Migration Series represent different themes that six million African Americans from the poor communities of the rural South to the industrial cities of the North had to go through. They represent themes of migrations, including movement, family, labor, segregation, struggle, and hope. All this has to do with slavery and ethnic discrimination  during the 17th-20th century. These paintings represent African Americans in search of greater economic and social justice.

 For personal, cultural, and historical identity there were different types of paintings that represented each category. I see art in a different perspective now that I categorized them in a certain identity. Art has a strong meaning behind it whether it's personal, cultural, or historical.

Vincent van Gogh       

"Sorrow"

Lithograph

1882

Andy Warhol

"Gold Marilyn Monroe"

Silkscreen ink on synthetic polymer on canvas

1962

Jacob Lawrence

"The Migration Series"

Tempera on gesso on composition board

1940-41

60 works