earlier this year the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a free photography contest asking entrants to photograph a small detail of any work of art in the permanent collection,
which moved them and captured their imagination.....the text that follows these images was submitted by the photographers themselves as their personal interpretation
on the meaning of the detail...
these are just two of the many examples from Get Closer
that captured mine...
detail photo by Jia Guo
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| Indian Girl or the Dawn of Christianity |
In the 19th century, an aboriginal girl is fixated on the cross.
In the 21st century, a New Yorker is holding her iPhone in the same pose.
The objects and the times are different, but perhaps there is more than the pose that is space-time invariant?
In the 21st century, a New Yorker is holding her iPhone in the same pose.
The objects and the times are different, but perhaps there is more than the pose that is space-time invariant?
detail photo by Dana Lim Vanderheyden
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| La Nuit by Aristide Maillol |
Aristide Maillol- La Nuit : Is she resting, reflecting, crying or perhaps sleeping? Only by crouching next to the sculpture does one know that the face is fully sculpted and quite serene. When viewing this “hidden” part of the sculpture, one feels as if a secret is being revealed — the secret of the face that Maillol hid from the casual observer
via Tumblr and Metropolitan Museum of Art
via Tumblr and Metropolitan Museum of Art
The man sitting next to the beautiful reclining figure, reading a newspaper, almost seems to be part of the artwork himself.
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever idea for a competition to engage people to look deeper than just a quick superficial glance. I found the Met so huge, with so many artifacts, that it was almost overwhelming to take in the details. So something like this, which makes you focus on just a few things, is a wonderful way to break it down.
And what an observation of social history, to compare the girl gazing intently on the cross with one gazing the same way at an iphone. How the world has changed!
Yes I couldn't agree more...the Met is such a sensory overload and this is a great way to get to the essence of great art and its meaning in a contemporary context...
ReplyDeletethanks as always for your thought provoking comments
J xx