“Wunderkammer: A Century of Curiosities” in the Museum of Modern Art is an exhibit displaying a vast variety of strange, and exotic works of art. From images of eggs with eyes to locust tanks, Wunderkammer is guaranteed to have something that will either freak you out or inspire you. The exhibit, full of various oddities and wonders, is somewhat reminiscent of the old time “freak shows” that P. T. Barnum was famous for promoting. The assortment of images varies from photographs to paintings to simple sketches.
Diego Rivera’s “The Communicating Vessels” is the epitome of revolting and confusing. The realistic composition of the human brain, overflowing array of veins, and terrible frown relay the feeling of despair. The sets of eyeballs give off a filling of depth to the image as well. If looked at carefully, one can imagine the eyes as a set of cups with the vessel connecting them playing the role of the straw. The hands holding the “cups” make the argument more convincing and almost seems as though they are toasting each other. The colors and detail of the image do not give the observer the sense that it was created in the 1930s.
Natsuyuki Nakanishi’s “Compact Image” is an intricate and detailed mixture of knick-knacks that are all somehow compressed into an egg shape. Clock parts, hair, and bones are some the many objects Nakanishi has used to create this piece. While examine this new age egg, you start to wonder how the creator actually went about placing the items inside of the egg. It seems to be an almost impossible achievement especially when you notice that the watchbands are stretched out when there seems that there was no room to do so. The longer you view this organized clutter, the more tempted you are to count and identify all of the visible objects that were used to create it.
Jane Hammond’s “Scrapbook”, made in 2003, is one of the more recently created pieces that are displayed in the exhibit. Much like an actual scrapbook, it consists of an assortment of images that are of interest to its owner. While looking at the collage, you can reasonably assume that Hammond is very fond of butterflies because they are displayed all throughout the canvas. Many random images are also placed here and there that may stand out and cause an observer to wonder why they were put there to begin with. An image of a nude heavyset woman and an x-ray of a frog are just a few examples of this. The choice of images in the scrapbook is what give the piece its uniqueness and only adds to the exhibits theme of being odd and peculiar.
The Wunderkammer exhibit is one of the most unique and extraordinary displays of work I have seen in Museum of Modern Art. Every piece that is put on view is different from the next and demonstrates the unconventional ways of creating what many people can consider art. This exhibition reveals years of artistic creativity and although every piece is different, they all have something for everyone to enjoy.