"It's like he was singing in the shower, you know?"

At the conclusion of a long day spent looking at art, Marc Dennis always asks, "How do you sort through it all?" Upon reflection on this question, the answer is still not very clear. However, making connections between the different artists, as slight as they may be, is clearly a necessary step to digest the substantial amount of artistic imagery we experience almost every day in New York.

Yesterday was one of these days. We began with a visit to Aquavella Gallery, where a collection of mostly pop and expressionist art was on display. We then spent majority of the day in the Modern Art section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We mostly looked at expressionist, abstract, surrealistic, and impressionist painters. I found most enjoyment looking at the art of the impressionist painters, especially Monet. Impressionist painting places an emphasis on how light and atmosphere affects objects. Monet especially studied the effects of light and atmosphere on various subjects by painting the same scene over and over at different times of the year and different times of the day (his Haystacks series is very famous for this). Monet and other impressionist paintings such as Renoir, Sisley, and Manet (in the later part of his life) also embraced bright, rich colors and did not seek to portray their subjects with intense realism.

The effects of the Impressionist school can be later seen in the works of expressionist and abstract expressionist artists such as Matisse, Soutine, de Kooning, Kiefer, Jasper Johns, and Pollock. These artists break conventions even more than the Impressionist artists did, working from their emotions more than anything. Their forms and use of color become even less representational, and even disregarded completely in some cases. For example, the works of artist's such as Pollock and Rothko do not seek to represent any object.

Before finishing the day at the Met with the Picasso exhibition we walked through the Pre-Columbian art, Oceanic Art, and African Art sections. These sections were initially impressive because all of the sculptures, carvings, jewelery, and other adornments were created by what some would call "primitive" cultures with unsophisticated tools. I became more impressed with the art of these cultures after walking through the Picasso exhibition because some of his work seemed to be directly influenced by the ceremonial masks and sculptures of the various African cultures. I was intrigued that such a renowned modern artist so clearly reflected the effects of a culture that might not be viewed as artistically advanced.

This visit to the Met was just as impressive as the first, and I am sure that successive visits will be just as informative and awesome.