My experience “teaching” an artwork

          

                

                     I went to MOMA last Wednesday morning. Before I go to the museum, I usually check the museum’s website to know what exhibitions they have now. I have heard about the exhibition of Degas from my friend, and seen the advertisement in the station. I saw the video about how Degas made artworks using monotype of printmaking. Therefore, that helped me to get good start to visit MOMA. The Degas’s exhibition is amazing, especially the printing and painting of ballet dancers. I felt the movement of the girl jumping in the painting. Even though I have visited MOMA many times, every time is different. The museum never makes me bored. Nevertheless it was the Wednesday morning, many people were visiting. Also, there were many students bringing sketchbooks. The class of elementary school students was taught about artworks.

               I chose Marc Chagall’s painting for my experience of “teaching” an artwork. I asked my friend, John, to listen to my explanation. We sat down in the cafe and talked about this painting. The title of the painting is “I and the Village,” which he painted in 1911. It was painted during the cubism period. It is oil painting. The type is abstract. The form is painting. I think the style is the genre painting. There are primary colors. The complementary colors of red and green are used. There are shapes of circles, triangles. There are thin outlines.

                Then, I asked what he thinks about this painting. He told me that the way he uses colors make it feel multi-dimensional. Also, it makes the painting peaceful and beautiful. It looks powdery. The painting feels alive. It is dreamy, imagery and scenery. It is blended together well. He told me that the scene might be from a dream. He was the one of artists who can communicate their dreams. He started to paint, and it comes from his unconscious mind. It is personal because it is subconscious. You can’t see his intention. He said he likes the blue color of the animal. He feels it is like the sky. The animal has more emotion. The eye is like human’s eye. The green man has white color eye. There are thin threads between their eyes. He states that probably, Chagall made the circle of the center first.

                The question he had is why there is a church and the guy with the cross in the painting because he knows that Chagall was Jewish. Therefore, we looked at Wikipedia about Chagall. It says that in his childhood, he grew up in religious family and felt like an outsider from the Christian city. But, he liked including all the humanity in his work not any specific religion. What I felt “easy” to communicate to my listener is that he likes art and Chagall is one of his favorite artists. I was happy to talk about art with him. The challenges I faced while I was teaching is that Chagall’s works are difficult to describe styles and technical concepts because Chagall has such a personal style. I found that it is also difficult to simplify the paintings into a discussion of technical concepts.

                Every time, this painting looks different. I think the abstract and cubism are like poetry. I was trying to “teach” the artwork, but eventually I learned many things from my friend and this experience. I think having discussion about art with somebody else is good way to know art, and realize that there are various interpretations. Even though I have seen this painting many times, I still question why the woman and houses are upside down. I felt something connection between human and nature from this painting.