Author Archives: MARVIN GARCIA

The Artist I chose is a French artist named Paul Gaugin, who was born in 1848 and passed away in 1903. He expressed himself through painting, printmaking, and sculpting. As mentioned in an article titled “Paul Gaugin French Painter” his main idea in art was to achieve a “primitive expression of spiritual and emotional states in his work. This work in 1892, two years after the modernism movement took place in visual arts. Gauguin participated in eight impressionist exhibitions by 1886, in which he showed 19 of his works. Gaugin made a term popular during his time titled: “Synthetism,” meaning formal ideas or emotions conveyed in his primitive art.

The Work I selected is titled “The Seed of the Areoi,” Painted in 1892, and shows women of what seems to be of indigenous background sitting down gracefully on a blue matted quilt with symbols laid all across its perimeters. The beautiful lady is completely nude with what appears to be some sort of flowers or beads on the right side of her face, sitting in an upfront manner, holding a sort of fruit in the palm of her hand. This fruit in her hand seems to be holding a healthy stem above it, which is still bright green, with the rest of her surroundings showing its vibrant colors with blue skies in the background and mountains of great dark color cascading behind the almost lime green tree tops. Beautiful pink flowers appear all behind this beautiful women. In the front of the painting, a tray of natural fruits can also be observed in the bottom right corner, showing seven different fruits potentially native to the land, with the eighth fruit seed being on the woman’s hand.

This work reflects the aesthetic preferences associated with modernism by painting the natural beauty of the world the way it was originally intended to be. This means painting a world untouched by the influences of modern man in deemed advanced societies. This rejects technological advancements and current values held by first-world countries and shines a light on a world that is beautiful, free, and unrestrained by society. You can see some symbolism in his work. Perhaps the woman holding the fresh fruit seed in her hand implies a deeper meaning potentially of a caregiving role or protecting figure. You can also see the natural fruits lying undisturbed on their serving plates, ready for consumption, probably implying the abundance of natural goods awaiting in this dreamy world of natural terrain. Also, it can be implied the beauty women could naturally hold when they free with nature.

As I was about to leave the Museum of Modern Art, I stumbled on the unknown section of the museum where I saw more paintings being displayed, and to the far end of the wall, I saw “The Seed of the Areoi” The colors were the first thing I noticed and upon closer inspection, I noticed the beautiful features of the woman, the flowers and seed the lady was holding in her hand I knew there would be a deep meaning to this painting due to how the piece was painted with bright color almost feeling dreamlike and unrealistic.

Hey everyone, my name is Marvin Garcia. I’m a transfer student from The Borough of Manhattan Community College with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Small Business & Entrepreneurship. I am now seeking to obtain a degree in Marketing Management in Advertising and Marketing Communication. I have hobbies, which include free writing, poetry, and photography. I know, it sounds very cliche or maybe boring, but I find joy in these activities. Photography to me means encapsulated memories, Time frozen forever in a single shot that shows the past in present time. I grew up the majority of my life in Queens, New York in an area called Far Rockaway. I currently still reside in this area but living in this part of Queens has introduced me to the many different cultures and people that I now hold close to my heart. Also, A lost hobby of mine would be fishing. Growing up by the Bay waters made it very accessible for a young me to make attempts to catch crabs, clams, and fish but as time went by, I less took part in this hobby due to working demands and busy scheduling. However, these may be excuses too. I currently work and go to school, I work as a porter/Concierge in a condominium located in Long Island which proved to be a great learning experience for me. Working there for 4 years has given me the ability to learn about the Jewish culture and meet very interesting people who have now grown close to me. I’d like to mention that I’m just a simple person really, maybe even boring. I hope my introduction helps inform the public a little about myself. I’m hoping to maybe find new hobbies or clubs to join here in Baruch as I was part of the photography club at my previous college. I also enjoy playing and watching soccer, I’m not very good at playing the sport, but I still enjoy the art of the sport. All I can say is that I never limit myself to just one thing in life. I always try and find new hobbies, places to visit, and ideas to write on paper. I’m a thinker and less of a speaker.