Emily Rooney

There are photos pinned to the walls of woman (that remind me of disco) and a quarry. On the ground there is a black mat with various black objects on it: ceramic penny loafers, a squeegee with tar on it, burnt/melted records, fruit... Parallel from the black mat there are 2 sets of cinder-blocks. The first set has what looks like sparklers or incense placed on the top of them; the second set has ash in the same line (as the sparklers/incense) on them. Leaning on a wall there is metal. It is in the shape if a line, a rough heart, 'n','4', and an 'E'. In the other room there is a marble tub with a sheet of paper placed on the left hand side. There is also a black cloth that is hanging on the wall across from the tub. In the furthest section of the gallery space there is a film playing. It is of a woman who is dancing in slow motion. The music it plays sounds as if the speed on the turn table was turned down. You can hear the drowning sounds throughout the entire gallery.

I felt as if every single thing was picked for a specific reason, but I wasn't able to grasp why; it really frustrated me. The pieces all seemed to relate to each other in terms of color and subject. The black objects mirrored the after effects of a fire that was hinted at with the sparklers and ash. The black objects that were chosen even hinted at extreme heats/ fire with the tar and melted vinyl. The tub reflected on to the photo of the quarry, the woman dancing also was shown in the photograph of the woman pinned to the wall.

I feel like the scale of the objects was also very important. The first room seemed to be completely full because of the objects placed in the center of the floor and the metal propped up against the wall. In comparison to the first room the back two rooms was very open and airy.

I just wish I knew why everything was chosen and what the entire picture was conceptually.

I've been tryin' to be in a city my entire life....now that I'm here I can't get the hell out fast enough.

PMA (round II)

What I liked best about Étant donnés is it's mystery. I love how when you glance into the room it doesn't look like much: just a door on a wall. You have to walk close to it to realize that there is something more. You have to examine the door to notice two peep holes that can be looked through. A lot of people actaully don't spend the time to take the entire piece in; I started taking tallies of people who didn't realize that the piece was more than just the door. Within 5 minute time span 6 people did a quick glance into the room then proceeded to walk away.

The colors of this piece are broken up into what is on one side of the door and what is on the other side. On the viewers side, it is dark, dingy, and dimly lit; the door is brown, the bricks are a beige, the floor is also a brown. When you look through to the scene the colors are very different. There is a blue sky, green trees, and a blonde woman. What ties the colors of both sides together for me is that the figure is gray and lifeless compared to the rest of the scenery that surrounds her.

I'm not really sure that the colors bring me back to a time in my life. At the museum I didn't make the connection while taking notes but now that I'm formally writing it all down I realize that the piece as a whole reminds me of when I was no older than 5 years old. My grandfather is a dairy farmer. My family used to drive up to my grandparents home for the weekend, when we lived closer,  every couple months. While we were there my grandfather would take us with him to the barn in the mornings. The barn door of the piece reminds me of that.

The museum itself has a dingy smell to it; everything smells old and sterile. When look through the peep holes of Etant donnes you can't but help smell the old wood that makes up the door; the scent cannot be escaped when you're standing that close to the door. The smell makes the piece seem more real. It makes it more realistic that you are a peeping tom.

Because Etant donnes is located in the left hand  corner of the Duchamp gallery, I feel that the piece gets forgotten. Tying back to what I said a few paragraphs ago...many people glance quickly into the room realize it's dark and has a door and assume that's all there is to see so they walk away. The room seems separate from the rest of the works in the gallery. Even though it is right next to the ready-mades and erotic objects, it's placement doesn't relate. The installation is a separate room, alienating itself from everything else. Obviously, the piece is the largest thing in the exhibit, but it's separated from everything else so that connection isn't made.

Comments heard regarding Etant donnes:
Woman: "whoa she's in there!?........(walked to information posted on wall and reads) it's a secret, it doesn't even tell you!"

Young Child: "What is that?"
Father: "You know what that is. Looks like Mommy....when she's naked."

Woman: "awww the waterfall is sparkly"

Marcel Duchamp: Étant donnés

Etant donnes is probably one of my favorite art pieces by Duchamp, maybe even just my favorite piece by an artist in general.

When you walk into the Duchamp gallery at the PMA you see the Large Glass in the center of the room with readymades on the left hand side against the wall. In the corner, next to the readymades there is a dark little room that is roughly 10'x10'(this is an eye ball estimate). Walking into the room with a burlap floor, you see a wooden barn door; the closer you walk towards the door you realize that there are two peep holes. When to peer into the holes a scene of a nude woman holding a gas lantern while she is laying in a pile of leaves and tigs; no matter the angle you look into the holes you cannot see her face. She looks deathly. Her skin radiates coldness and death; the flesh in tinted with blues and grays.  The mannequin of the woman has long blonde hair, even the hair itself looks dead; the blonde hair appears to be dirty. Just like the figure, the hair has a hint of gray to it. The only liveliness to the woman is that she is holding a lantern. Behind her is a lovely forest scene. There is a moving waterfall, bright blue sky, and cool green trees.

Because the room you walk into is so dark, when you look into the peep holes and see the nude woman laying I feel like I am doing something very wrong. I am invading her privacy; she doesn't know that I am there but I know that she is there laying nude in distress. Not this visit to the museum, but usually people talk about how the woman looks murdered or raped. Even though the piece is completely beautiful, it has a grotesque nature to it. I think that grotesque feeling comes from the fact that the mannequin's skin is so cold. Her skin is gray not full of warmth like a living person would have. I think people claim that the woman has just been a victim to a horrific crime due to the strong narrative element to the piece. People want to know so badly why she is there, why is she gray, why is the rest of the scene so alive and she isn't; so they make up stories to cure the unsettling feelings that the piece generates.

This happened, maybe the second or third time I went to the PMA but I was slightly shocked. A woman, man, and a young girl who was maybe 3 or 4 walked into the room to view the Illuminating Gas. The man and woman looked through the peep holes and were completely fascinated by what they has saw and started talking about the woman laying in the sticks. The little girl wanted to gaze into the holes like her parents had. They would not let her. They claimed it was not for little girls to see. Maybe I'll be an awful parent but I didn't see anything wrong with letting the girl view the image. I also found it funny that there are many paintings at the museum of people being slaughtered and dead animals, but Duchamp's piece wasn't acceptable. I don't quite understand that.

"The point is, that every piece of art changes your whole perception of the rest of the world for the rest of your life. And it's not a joke! And if it doesn't, then it's not art, it's a commodity."

- Lawrence Weiner responding to a question from Liam Gillick in "Between Artists"

pg20

This is completely true.Obviously, some pieces of art affect us more than others, but they 100% change our perception of the world whether we realize it or not; at the very least you will remember that you've seen the piece previously. Every time after the initional veiwing you will have a sense of familiarity towards it even if you thought it sucked. It's quit wonderful that our minds work that way; an image can trigger a memory and emotions with a glance.

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