One example of Modernism that struck my attention at the MoMa was “The False Mirror” by Rene Magritte. Modernism represented a time when societal views were changing as the world became increasingly industrialized, encouraging the idea that society as it was became obsolete and outdated. With this, individuals yearned for a more modern form of society and looked to the future, prompting many to take action to change society. Magritte’s “The False Mirror” exemplifies this rationale in that the majority of the canvas is painted with an eyeball with a clear blue sky with clouds inside it. Often times, when people look at the sky, they think of better days, similar to the way society looked to a more modern world.

Around the eyeball is the portion of a face that surrounds the eyeball on a human. The skin on the face is in pristine condition, with no facial imperfections or wrinkles whatsoever. This leads me to believe that the individual is young, and has the desire to create a new society, rather than simply adapt to the current ways of society. This is largely because if someone is young, they often have a more open mind because they have not yet experienced as much as someone who is older, and may be more resistant to change.

Additionally, I find it interesting that all portions of the painting surrounding the eye are darker shades, and become increasingly brighter as they approach the center sky, which is the brightest portion of the painting. This idea of dark fading into bright represents the ways in which society was becoming less obsolete and more modern and futuristic. Furthermore, in the very center of the painting is the pupil, which is hard to miss, in my opinion. The black pupil, the darkest portion of the painting, and directly in the center of the bright sky, represents the obstacles faced by those who yearned for and tried to create a more modern society. As a viewer of the painting, the pupil stands in the way of viewing the clouds because it covers everything behind it.