Tue, November 3 (1pm – 2pm)
I chose to attend this gallery tour because I was curious about how the Arts at Baruch experience would be like. I had been to several art galleries during my time in Fiorello Laguardia High School and I enjoyed that experience very much. In a way I wanted to compare the arts at Baruch and the arts at Laguardia. However, after the gallery tour at Baruch, I realized that it was a whole new experience that cannot be compared because it was with a different style, different environment and the works were so different from what I used to see at Laguardia.
The wait to get into the art exhibit at the Mishkin Gallery was long, but it was nice to chat with people in our class during the time. On the actual tour through the gallery, I felt that the tour would be more interesting and memorable if there were some historical background on each of the paintings. The speaker guided everyone through the works of Mercedes Matter in chronological order. The painting that I can instantly recall is the big painting of the table top, only because the speaker kept on emphasizing the role of triangles to keep the objects on the table from falling off. As the tour moved into Mercedes Matter’s later works, I noticed that they were either watercolor or oil paintings, however I did not notice or recall if she had also used these in her earlier works. I also noticed that her paintings became more and more abstract. Even though I have a hard time understanding what her abstract works were representing… or abstract art in general, I liked that she used bold and contrasting colors in her oil paintings, I think it brings more texture into the painting as a whole and most of all draws attention instantly because of its boldness. For the most part, what I enjoyed most was that the gallery tour gave me a chance to escape from all that was happening outside of the gallery ( schoolwork, papers , exams, what to bring for the bake sale, and such). The gallery was quiet and peaceful, the lighting made me look at the art without being distracted by anything else. As I have said earlier, I do not have the skill to analyize abstract art, however, I would recommend this gallery for anyone who has that ability and enjoys looking at abstract art.