Thomas Merton, famous Catholic writer once said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” With this in mind, I decided to pay a visit to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Midtown Manhattan. Upon my visit, I saw many pieces of art from different time periods. One painting that stood out to me in particular was a self-portrait by Louise Bourgeoisie.  She was a French-American artist whose art centered around the theme of feminism. This portrait in particular was painted in 1990 and it included the artist and her parents. According to the artist remarks section, the right side is Bourgeoisie’s father and the left is her mother. This art means that nothing can be accomplished in if men and women do not get along. They have to get along if anyone wants some type of change. This lesson can be applied to many different aspects of life. It shows that you need to have respect for others and their beliefs. I really enjoyed this painting because it was so simple and yet the meaning behind it is so strong.

The second painting that I chose to write about was by the same artist and it was actually untitled. This painting was of a spider with a snake wrapped around one of its legs. This painting shared the same theme as the self portrait. Spiders and snakes are symbols for creator and death in literature. With a feminist view the spider symbolizes women and the snake symbolizes men. The snake is sitting on the spider’s leg which is similar to how snakes kill their prey. They curl around them and squeeze the life out of them. To feminists, this may be a very accurate description to what women go through when it comes to men. Women are constantly crippled by men and their rights are often restrained both in the past and present. This visit to the museum made me respect the women in my life and it was also the first time I ever saw feminism being depicted through art.