Japanese Avant-Garde Art at the MoMA

This past weekend, I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) with my mom. I'll be honest, I wasn't too excited about going, but being a dutiful daughter, I tagged along. Why was I not looking forward to visiting the MoMA? To be honest, and I am sorry if I offend or upset anyone, but frankly I really don't like modern art. I find it pretentious and confusing and must of the time I'm left scratching my head thinking "Huh? How is this art?" Perhaps I need to visit the MoMA with someone knowledgeable about modern art or perhaps I am just not sophisticated enough for it? I don't all. What I do know is...I have never really enjoyed a trip to the MoMA, except for the Tim Burton exhibit a few years back...that was really fascinating.
So, what brought us to the MoMA? There is currently an exhibition on modern Japanese avant-garde art from the 1950s ~ 1970s going on. My mom, being Japanese, really wanted to see the exhibit.
An explanation of the exhibition
One of the walls outside of the exhibition hall
A famous Japanese architect assessing his plans for a futuristic building compound
About to enter the exhibition

I will give you all my honest opinion. I thought this was totally bizarre. I mean like...left me scratching my head and wondering whether I had entered the "Twilight Zone" bizarre. The paintings were so distorted, the sculptures were not impressive, the visual media was creepy...I mean...I don't know, this exhibition didn't do it for me (I'm not surprised.)
Some examples of the art on display.
(I wasn't allowed to take photographs in the exhibition hall, however, these four framed posters were in the gift shop, so I figured that they were fair game. )

One thing that always bothers me about modern art is the display or use of an everyday object and calling it art. A suit hanging on a coat hanger or a piece of string laying on some wood IS NOT ART. At least, not to me it's not. It's something that either I find in a closet or something my cat has left on the kitchen floor. I think that's what I find most pretentious. This exhibition had a lot of that nonsense. Rope in coke bottle, giant burned pieces of wood, plaster of paris penises..I mean...come on. Also, I was really infuriated with a piece of art contributed by Yoko Ono. Ono's contribution was a 30 second audio clip of her coughing? HOW IS THAT ART? If I want to hear coughing, I will just go to class or sit in the ER of a hospital. 

The last room was filled with Japanese pop art, which was of course, bizarre. Generally, I like pop art. I like Andy Warhol and I think pop art's use of color is pretty cool. Not all of the painting were bad, but there was a set of three pop art silk screens that depicted a woman being tortured...that left a very bad taste in my mouth. There was also a very strange cartoon, clearly inspired by the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine", that I could not figure out. In fact, this cartoon made "Yellow Submarine"look like a straightforward coherent film...which if you have seen it, you will know that it really isn't. From what I gathered: James Bond (Sean Connery), murders Elizabeth Taylor in her sleep and then is chased by Richard Burton and the Beatles, all of whom are seeking vengeance. It was totally weird.

I will say, there was one painting that I really liked. It depicts a samurai on a cliff, keeping a watchful eye on approaching enemies. The enemies are the Chinese Communists and the Klu Klux Klan. Why the KKK? I have no idea.
Overall, I still think this was a totally bizarre exhibit. If you like modern art and/or Japanese art, you may like this...but if you are like me and don't care for modern art...this may not be the right place for you.

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