Get Inspired by a Museum Exhibit

We're lucky to live in a time and place where there are so many sources of inspiration. We don't have to just read books; we can watch movies, listen to music, go to concerts. One of the ways I get inspired is actually to go to museums. Whether it's the MoMA, the Louvre, the Met, or Boston's MFA, I inevitably find something in an art exhibit that has the power to stop my heart for a moment.

Recently I took a trip both to the MoMA (that's the Museum of Modern Art for you non-New Yorkers) and the Met (the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Both of them are terrific and inspiring in different ways. At the Met, I got a chance to revisit some old paintings that I adored. At the right you can see an all-time favorite of mine, Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypresses." I love the dreamy, swimming quality of the sky, the dynamic, wind-tossed movement of the trees, and the fully textured appearance of the wheat. By seeing it in real life, I got to see how thickly the paint was globbed on to the wheat field, giving it that authentic appearance of texture. The Met also has an impressive ancient art collection, which I also find inspiring. As a scholar of religion, for one, I'm very interested in how ancient art can inform us about early ritual and belief. It's art that tells us how a people sees itself, heaven, gods, and the universe. I love masks, engraved swords, religious statues, and all that; to me they represent the dreams of another time.

Then, of course, there is the MoMA, which is an entirely different experience. You first know you are in a different world when you enter the front door. Unlike the classical architecture of the Met, the MoMA is constructed in the clean, spare white walls and cutout window spaces of modern architectural thought. What you find on the walls here is generally far more abstract and more challenging to my easily befuddled mind. The MoMA can be frustrating at times -- there is actually a square of blank canvas framed on the wall -- but can also be deeply inspiring. There are abstract paintings and sculptures there that still capture the dynamism and movement of the world the way we see it, and paintings and sculptures that challenge that very perception.

These two museums are just examples of very affordable ways we can all get inspired by art. Just about every city has a museum worth visiting, and they're not always the big famous ones. A small city often has small, little-known museums housing gems, so try researching museums in your own town.

Comments

[TatteredSpinner]

Museums really are great inspiration. There are several good ones near us that I wish I could get to more often.