The Highly Anticipated "Art, Part 2"

Because of the vastness of its collection, the National Art Gallery is contained in two separate buildings. The West building (containing the classic art) we saw a couple weeks ago, which left the East building (the modern and contemporary art) for last week. To be honest, a lot of pre-modern art isn't my thing (it's more Kinsey's cup of tea), but the West building's collection really exceeded my expectations. Which set the bar really high for the National Gallery's modern and contemporary art.

The East building was designed by the modernist architect I.M. Pei with a very large central atrium. In this light filled space is one of the largest mobiles constructed by Alexander Calder.

Roof by Andy Goldsworthy - This installation by the nature-inspired artist is constructed by stacking slate into hollowed-out domes. Like all of his works, no adhesives were used.

Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) by Jackson Pollock - This was by far the high point of the trip for me. I am a big Pollock fan. The depth and complexity he is able to convey through simple drips and splatters of paint amazes me.

Pollock often talked about being "in" his paintings and was a believer in serendipity. In the upper right hand corner of this picture there is a raisin that was dropped on the canvas.

Me, in deep thought.

Five Plates, Two Poles by Richard Serra - Serra was minimalist sculptor who worked primarily with steel. These are eight foot tall, two inch thick pieces of steel. The interesting thing to ponder is how Serra arranged these into a totally self supporting form. That's a lot of heavy steel.

No. 8 by Mark Rothko - I had always treated Rothko as a sort of experimenter with color. It turns out his "multiforms" are deeply laden with allegory and sensual revelations. Who'd have known?

Clarinet by Claes Oldenburg - These soft-sculpture pieces are always nice and whimsical.

200 Campbells Soup Cans by Andy Warhol - Everybody's favorite pop artist.

Circle I, Circle II, Circle III by David Smith - Who's that peeking out of that David Smith sculpture? Why, it's McKinsey!

Ghost by Rachel Whiteread - It takes a couple minutes to figure out what this sculpture is, so I'll give you a break to think about it . . . OK, ready? Its a plaster cast of the interior of a room. You can see the imprint of the door at the closest corner of the sculpture.

Walking Man II by Alberto Giacometti - These sculptors by Giacometti have an unsettling quality about them. They feel like they should be in a Tim Burton movie or something.
Jack-in-Pulpit Abstraction, No. 5 by Georgia O'Keeffe - I don't have much to say about Georgia O'Keeffe, but I figured I should put her on here because she is a somewhat famous artist.

La condition humaine by Rene Magritte - This piece provided a nice little bit of laughter at the art gallery. It provokes an interesting thought though. One assumes the scene outside the window is real and the landscape painting on the easel in front of it is a representation. But, in reality, they are both a representation because they are both a painting. Deep thoughts.

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) by Wassily Kandinsky - Kandinsky always interested me in the way his paintings seem to stem from whatever is floating around in his head. Which, if you look at the title of this work, is the reality.

Tableau No. IV; Lozenge Composition with Red, Gray, Blue, Yellow, and Black by Piet Mondrian - Mondrian's composition paintings were an important part of the De Stilj movement of the early 20th century, expressing the universal harmonies presiding in nature.

The Tragedy by Pablo Picasso - Symbolic of Picasso's blue period, which came before he delved into cubism.

Nude Woman by Pablo Picasso - Cubism, the style Picasso is most famous for.

The collection in the East building was a lot smaller than in the West. The high points were the Pollock, which I went back to three times, and the Goldsworthy exhibition. Not nearly as extensive as the West building collection and maybe, dare i say, a little underwhelming. But, overall, the National Art Gallery had a very impressive collection. Kudos.