I was feeling kind of uninspired by the end of last week. Is spring coming or isn’t it? (Today it seems it is!)  I would have loved to wallow around the house for the weekend. Michael would have loved it even more, but I insisted on a family outing, so we packed up snacks for Aadi and jaunted into Manhattan like we did in the pre-baby days. Destination: MOMA. I hadn’t been in years.

We actually had fun while Aadi annoyed some of the other visitors by hooting in the photography galleries to hear himself echo while we reviewed the history of printing processes. The architecture and design exhibit looked great but we had to give Aadi a break so headed up to the 6th floor cafe where we feed him berries with cream, drank super dark columbian coffee and split a MOMA sundae made with sorbet, berries, and cheesecake. It was all REALLY tasty. 

And then we found ourselves face to face with a magnificent Picasso and several other masterpieces on the sixth floor. I wanted to cry. Modern art speaks to me in a very visceral way. I felt like our whirlwind dash through the painting and sculpture galleries gave me just what I needed, though I’m not sure just what that is yet. And since Aadi was SO ready to call it a day we had to stop only at those things which really stopped us in our tracks. Here is what really spoke to me:

This piece is “Mlle Pogany” by Constantin Brancusi. They actually had 6 or 7 pieces by Brancusi on display together, but this one I found entrancing. I swung back a second time to look at it again. The simplicity of it is so masterful. And yet there is complexity. Is she prayerful, mournful, enraptured? If you go, look at her from different angles and see what strikes. To me she was simply, sublimely thoughtful.

“Girl Before a Mirror” by Pablo Picasso, 1932. Public faces, private faces. Self-perception. Mortality. I suppose there is a reason why I was riveted by this piece.

This is “The Piano Lesson” by Henri Matisse, 1916. I so adore the work of Matisse. The vibrant and masterful use of color draws me to his painting. But I think the fact that he so often renders interiors is also very interesting to me. I know what I like! This piece is mesmerizing to look at in person.

I think I am seeing a theme as I write this. Each piece shows an introspective figure, perhaps navigating competing emotions and influences in the most internal ways. Hmm. Do I need more time to myself or what?!

What will strike you when you go? A particular color? A mood? A sense of movement or stillness? I do tend to look for themes as I experience life and I invite you to try this way of being on as well.