Kimmelman Article

Kimmelman Article

As I the Kimmelman article, I thought it was interesting to think about the idea behind what makes a masterpiece. I recalled a conversation we had in class about the Mona Lisa, and how even though it is considered a master piece and is praised highly by most people, it was interesting to think how now a days it can be seen underneath your wet glass as a coaster. As I read the other passages, the author brings up the work of Duchamp and his piece titled the  “urinal.” I remembered this particular piece from my art history class I had to taken freshman year. His work was truly just a urinal, and I remember questioning how this could be considered art? And why I did I have to sit in a two-hour lecture learning about something people pee in? To me it didn’t seem like art, was this an accidental masterpiece at its best? This then reminded me of the conversation in class about the artist who placed the small ball of his on feces in the art gallery in New York. Looking back at what we learned in class and thinking about the big picture and the idea behind your artistic theme, it is interesting to think about what is a masterpiece and think about how that picture could be interpreted in so many different ways. It is interesting to ponder what people do see when they go into a museum and how each piece could be interpreted so differently.

While reading the interpretations from these two intelligent men it was interesting to read their interpretations, however I did think their thoughts we some times unconnected and kind of confusing. They seemed to ask a lot of questions rather than answer them. I found myself lost at some points because I really didn’t get any background information of the book itself.