en excursions, and whaddaya know but the security guard told us the main attraction was off limits to cameras.The main attraction these days at the Yale Art Gallery is Vincent van Gogh's famous "Starry Night" and somewhat less famous "Cypresses." Hopefully you all already are familiar with "Starry Night" — awash in deep blue, village nestled among hills, dagger-like tree in the foreground and yellow and white stars sparkling overhead — since we have no pictures of it to share. (Or, I guess you can click here.) Impressive, as were many of the other paintings in the gallery's modern wing.
Liz has an aversion to some of the more abstract examples of modern art. I'm trying to break her of that, not because I'm a modern art booster, but rath
er because I think folks should approach art with an open mind and then decide for themselves if they like what they see. Sometimes it's hard to break down the barriers of rational, linear thought so that you can truly see modern art or any art in its proper context. For example, you may look at one of Mark Rothko's two-tone color studies and think, "That's lame, just some colored rectangles." And you'd sort of be right — but still missing the point. Some art is merely a study of shape and form and color and texture, and someone like Rothko is known for his instantly recognizable approach to that puzzle.Then there is Jackson Pollock, one of the great devils in Liz's art-going e
xperience. She is right that his wild drizzling on canvas looks like something a child could have done, but this is deceiving. Pollock makes it look easy. He, too, is instantly recognizable because no one else has done what he did and no one else could do it as masterfully. And what has he done? Well, that's open to interpretation, like all great art. Mostly I like it because the fury of lines suggest chaos yet also, splashed against a monochromatic background, seem to follow a mysterious order. Some metaphor for life perhaps.At any rate, Rothko and Pollock are among the rock stars of modern art, so it's cool just to say we've been there and seen it up close.
