Late this springthe l\fetropolitanMuseum,in cooperation with New Yort City'sParts,Recreation, andCulturalAJjrairs Administration, will launchztsJirst mobileexhibztion,a visualeducationprojectcalledEye Opener.The exhibition is basedon spiralshapesin nature,in everydayobjects,and in art,and its purposeis sir>plyto introducethe pleasuresof seeingto people of 11 clges. Housed on a Jqatbedtrailerthat opensout underan inJqatable dome, Eye Openerwill tour New Yort Czzyneighborhoods for two years.It is being; financedlargelythrougha generousgrantfrom the Billy RoseFozlndation. JaneNorman,who createdthisJirstexhibition,has beenan art educator for manyyears,bothin suburbanschoolsandifl specialprojectsin New YortCity. In additionto her wort on Eye Opener,WIr.Normanhas given a popular lectureseriesat the Metropolztan entitled"TheArt of Seeing."
How
to
Look
at
Art
JANE NORMAN
Crowded museumsprovidedramaticproofthat an increasing numberof people wantto lookat worksof art.Butwatching visitorsastheywanderthroughthegalleries is a disheartening experience. In general,theyglanceonlycursorily at a workandthen makea carefulstudyof the labelbesideit. Packedlecturehallsandthe saleof thousandsof art booksareevidencethatpeoplewantto understand the artist'smessage buthaveno confidence in theirabilityto do so. Havinglearnedto thinkin words,mostof usmustbe re-educated to thinkin shapes andcolorsandspaces,for thatis the onlywayto understand a workof art.Thereis truthin theold clichethatif anartistwantedto usewordsto makehisstatementhe wouldbea writer,not a painter,craftsman, or sculptor. I believewe canteachpeople howto analyzevisualdata- howto reallylookat worksof art.Thereis no substitute fora goodearin listeningto music;a goodeye is equallynecessary forlookingatart. Indeed,whatis required is a creativeeye,forcreativelookingis necessary to fullcomprehension of the ideasandfeelingsexpressed throughan artobject.Communication with an artistmustbe throughhis work.It mustbe direct,not dilutedby verbal translation. Asa teacherI havetwobasicaims:first,to givepeoplethecourageto dependupon theirowneyes,brains,andemotionalresponses to "read"a workof art;second,to providethemwitha techniquethatmakesit possibleto concentrate on an objectfor a longtime- longenoughto be ableto memorize its essentialelementsandthe relationshipsbetweenthem.Whenyou takeawaywithyou a clearimageof the object, thenyoucananalyzeandcompare its formswiththoseobserved in otherworksof art and,in fact,withallotherthings,whethernaturalorman-made, commonplace orrare.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin ® www.jstor.org
is to selecta singlevisualelement,onethatis commonin bothartand My technique andpositions. sizes,shapes, nature,andaskstudentsto searchforit in its multitudinous I haveaskedthemto exploresuchbasicformsas thesquareandcircleandto seehow of oneelement objects.Theisolation orhousehold buildings, theyareusedin paintings, but thismethodhasbeen is an artificialtechniqueandthe selectionquitearbitrary, testedandit works.It makeslookinga gameof search,so studentsfindit fun.It helps Teacherscanadaptthe techthemlookat thingsin a newway,so it is stimulating. niquefortheirownpurposes. newway Museum's The travelingexhibitioncalledEye Openeris the Metropolitan of New YorkCity. out intotheneighborhoods program of takingits visualeducation Spiralformsin the artof all agesandcultureswill be exhibited"live"andin photoandspirals graphsandslides;we'llalsoshowspiralsin nature- in shells,cones,nebulae; make "op" be able to Visitors will bolts, ropes. designedfor man'suse-in springs, gatesandfencesusingcurledpaperpatterns.Our spiralsandto designwrought-iron minded,"neveragainableto pass hopeis thatvisitorsto theshowwillbecome"spiral thattheywillbecomemore a spiralwithouttakingnoteof it -and, moreimportant, of formsthathavealwaysbeenthe basicvocabulary of the otheruniversal conscious artistsandcraftsmen. boxlikeshapesthroughmanykindsof artillustrate Thefollowingpicturespursuing arenevera satispeopleto theartof seeing.Photographs of introducing thistechnique objects,andI hopeyouwillgo to see the of three-dimensional factoryrepresentation Museum,othersareelsethingsshownhere.Mostof themarein the Metropolitan wherein New York.In the meantime,the pictures-the boxes-are the mostimportantpartof the story.I urgeyou to lookat thembeforeyou readthe captions.The forpeopleof all herecanserveas the basisfor teachingprograms objectsillustrated comparing Childrenwilllookforshapeandsizerelationships, agesandbackgrounds. and they see in museums, boxesthey see everyday with the casketsandsarcophagi exhibitionrooms.At the withthemuseum's interiorspacesin theirownenvironment boxshapesthe canfindin changing observer sametime,themosthighlysophisticated andspace-even of changingattitudestowardbeauty,mathematics, visualexpression attitudestowardGodandman. of changing
'1
4
4g
_
0
"
'
!
{,
g
These cardboard boxescouldbe modelsformatchboxes, sarcophagi, wagons,or barns.Whentheyarestrippedof decoration andall clues indicatingtheirsize and function,it becomespossibleto examine themasabstractforms.Wenotetheproportions of eachsideandthe proportions of lengthto widthto height.We becomeawareof the shapeof the spacethat the six sidesenclose.In otherwords,we becomeshapeandspaceconscious.
PuW s *
W-
W
s
*
b
b
-
-
-
;
b
EO, *e
E \w_}
*
/-55-
' 0''
-
}
. b
-s
tjv I
'
_
} _E
a-^
Men have designedcircular,pyramidal,cylindrical,evenfreeformbuildings,but on the whole, buildingsareboxesor clustersof boxes.The quality of theirdesignis determined, to a largeextent, by the proportions of the sidesto eachother.A1thoughtherehavebeentimeswhenthe architect wasexpectedto camouflage the boxyshapeof his building,usuallytheunderlying structureremains visible.Thereareno moreboxlikehousesthanthe pueblosof the southwestIndiansandPhilipJohnson'sWileyhousein Connecticut. Theirregularity of thehandmade wallsandthecontrastof claywith the timberssupportingthe roofgive the pueblos greateye appeal.The purelinesof the machinemadeglasshousethatmakespossibletotalindooroutdoorlivinggive the Wileyhousea magicelegance.Yet the opaqueandthe transparent house haveonethingin common-to a largeextenttheir beautyderivesfromthe beautyof theproportions of theirboxlikeforms. Pueblosat Taos,New Mexico,andtheRobertWiley houseat New Haven, Connecticut, designedby PhilipJohnson,w953 Photograph: Ezra Stoller
Thoughtheseroomsappearto havelittlein common,theproportion of thelengthto breadth Cubiculum from a villa at Boscoreale.Roman,thirdquarter is actuallyvery similar.Comparison of the two interiorsillustratessomewaysin whichdeof the I centuryB.C. Lengthof foor signersandbuilderscanmanipulate a structure's appearance. The bedroomfroma villanear feet Ih inches,widthso feet Pompeiihasbeenpaintedto representa richlycarvedloggiafacingcourtyards andgardens, IIH inches.RogersFund, 03.I4.I3 witha Romanmetropolis in thedistance.Thoughthe paintedwallsdo not foolus, andnever couldhave, they do succeedin transforming the appearance of the roomfroman enclosed narrowp .aceto a spactous a1ryone. Whereasthe wallsof the Romanroomseemto dissolve,the wallsof the medievalone- a modernconstruction in the styleof FrenchGothicchapels- encloseandprotect.The stones fromwhichthey werebuilt are essentialelementsof the design.The individualblocksare evident- we canseehow theywereplacedfor maximumstrength(notethe onesaroundthe nicheat theleft). Theirsmoothsurfaceprovidesan excitingcontrastto the intricatecarvings of architectural detailand sculptures, and theirpale coldnessprovidesdramaticcontrastto the warmjeweledtonesof the stained-glass windows.If the bedroomlookswiderandlonger thanit actuallyis, the chapellookshigher.ThiseSectis achievedby the useof narrowwindows,pointedarches,steepribbedvaults,andclustersof narrowpiersthatleadthe eye from The GothicChapelat The Cloisters floorto ceiling. .
.
Photograph:Hans Namuth
r*z_ ?s,
, . . _
.
4X;
-
BZ
.. x$z ./%t;\e
;
--e--
4
t
J
-
\
t,;;
| int
" r z * *
t-Xs
-irv
S
-
-
:^{ef
-
-
a Gothicchapel, at The Cloisters,ten incheshigh,resembles The marvelous little reliquary is whatit wasintended whilethe Ste. Chapellein Parislookslikea hugereliquary-which thathe hadbroughthome to receivethe raretreasures as:St. Louisorderedits construction B. Freeman, fromtheCrusades, piecesof theTrueCrossandtheCrownof Thorns.Margaret hada steeper believesthatin itsoriginalstatethereliquary Curator Emeritus of TheCloisters, Theboxes roofandcentralspire.If so,it musthavelookedevenmoreliketheSte. Chapelle. detailsaresimilar,and the wallsof botharedividedinto are the sameshape,architectural panelsdepictingbiblicalscenesandfigures.Both havewallsaglowwith color:translucent of the chapel'sexterioris amply andthe drabness enamelandsilver-gilt adornthe reliquary, windowssupported by narrowpiers compensated forby its interior:its wallsarestained-glass of stone.
OPPOSITE
Reliquary shrine.French(Paris),about1340-1350.Silver-giltand enamel,heightlo inches.The CloistersCollecfion,62.96
s
_
TheSte. Chapelle,Paris.French,1246-1248
,Wz
Photograph: French Embassy Press & Information Di?vision
^
Documentbox(bunko).Japanese,XVIII century.Lacqueron wood,encrusted withpewterand shell,height6 inches.Rogers Fund,36.100.46
E
t t
,
Z
5
:N1
-I
g
BELOW
_
Cassone.Italian,secondhalf of the xvs century.Walnut,lengfh 65M2inches.Gift of AinnPayneBlumenthal,45.67.2
_
Boxescanberepresentative of theartof theircultures. A historian, anthropologist, orpsychologistcould,forinstance,drawinteresting conclusions aboutthe difference betweenEastand Westby comparing theform,subjectmatter,andstyleof decoration of theonesshownhere. Whatdid eachcraftsman thinkaboutdesign?The Italianwasverymuchconcerned with theboxiness of thechest.He carvedeachsideasa separate, balanced composition, andset the reliefin anornateframewithparticular accenton the corners. The Japanese craftsman wasa painter.It looksas thoughhe drewa delicatedesignof flowers,leaves,andbutterflies on a sheetof paper,thenwrapped it aroundthebox,andpaintedthedesignin lacquer. Butdidhe? Thoughhe ignoredthesolidityof the three-dimensional boxthatwashiscanvas,he didplan a composition thatworksin twoways,bothasa singleunitwithfiguresflowingacrossedges andcorners,andas five beautifully balanced, asymmetrical compositions withina rectangle.
z
-
v -
b > x
-
s
b-
vvsAn'4Pt S,
;
i
i
t.
X
>-L
Renaissanceartistsweredeterminedto makeconvincingpictures of the "real"world of volume and depth. They masteredthe techniqueof modelingin light and shade,and workedout mathematicallawsunderlyingperspectivedrawing.AlthoughBellini waspaintinga Madonnaand Child, he could not resistshowing off his ability to paint a groupof housesto look as solidas stone blocks. Many contemporaryartistsdo not concernthemselveswith depictingthe realworld.They explorethe strangeand complex relationshipsbetweenthingsand the way we see them, between the objective world and our subjectivevisual experienceof it. Josef Albers uses Renaissanceperspective in a revolutionary way: to dramatizethe mystery and complexityof visual perception. A few straight lines and shadedplanes look like an intricate arrangementot transparentboxes. Suddenly, just as we feel that we understandthe relationshipbetween the parts, the cubes turn themselvesinside out, the volumes becoming spacesand vice versa.
*: -
..
b
Madonnaand Child,and detail,by GiovanniBellini(about s430-z5z6),Italian(Venice).Oil on wood,35 X 28 inches.Rogers Fund,08.I83.I
t*k- - ;s |
I
\fi^
r
]?
.
j
Transformation of a SchemeSeries:No. 26, byJosefAflbers(born 888), A>merican. s 952. Machine-engraved in laminatedformica, s 7 X 22H2 inches.Collection of theartist,exhibitedin New York Paintingand Sculpture:sg40-sg70 I
'
-
n
4j \=of three-dimensionalcomposition.lnbothpaintthe objects rectangle and the of- the gestures canvas w-
_
,^ tG
ingswe seea cornerof a room;theplacement |L
= 7
signedto call our attentionto the boxlike spacethatis beingrepresented, andallobjects havebeendrawnandmodeledto emphasize theirunderlying geometricforms.Note how oftenrectangles andboxesareintroduced in the scenes.Note alsothatthe proportions of manyelementsin the picturesseemto echo the shapeof thecanvasitself.
.=
^
.:_ i-R
U
L
g _l __l _
j
|
| _|_
- -
Young Ipomansit/l a lI'atv /z/g, by Johanncs Vermeer (s632-s675), Dutch.Oiloncanvas, v : Z8x z 6inches. GiftofHenry G.Marquand, _ 89.z5.2s , Tablesfor Ladies, byLdward Hopper (z882- rf_ s967),American. Ig30.Oiloncan?vas, 48S x I ^ 60S inches. George A. HearnFund,3z.62 __
:
-
_
K p
_
s
b
of;o
-r
/
