Moco Museum

On a recent trip to Amsterdam, I visited the Modern Contemporary (Moco) Museum; a townhouse filled with work from artists such as Banksy, Andy Warhol and Daniel Arsham. I spent hours in there (it was truly amazing to see so many of my favourite artists’ works in one building!) and took plenty of photographs. Some pieces stood out and some reminded me of work I have done for this course too.

Banksy

The museum boasted a wide range of Banksy’s work and displayed quotes on the walls in many rooms. There were images I’d seen before, such as ‘Girl With Balloon’ – a commentary on the importance of hope and love as human requirements and constant sources of motivation to carry on, even in the bleakest moments – and ‘Flower Thrower’ – a surprisingly hopeful image of a black and white rioter ready to throw colourful flowers.

I had not seen the two images below before, but they caught my attention immediately. I particularly enjoy ‘Home Sweet Home’.

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I think the reason I enjoy these pieces so much is due to the glaring clash between traditional realistic depictions of idyllic countryside scenes (the colours slightly exaggerated to make them seem like fairytale landscapes) with the graffiti over the top. The additions to the paintings explicitly mock the ‘perfection’ with humour; they completely transform a typical gallery-style painting into something far more meaningful, sending a message to the viewer (in fact, perhaps even mocking the viewers walking around an art gallery). I especially appreciate the way the paint on the ‘Home Sweet Home’ image has splattered onto the elegant frame as well.

As well as the obvious message behind these pieces, there is that combination of detail and expression, working together in one image (or maybe more against each other in this instance!) I actually think the mouse character, although completely different in style, fits into the landscape; the colours are harmonious and the bold outlines make him jump out of the scene. This is something I have been working on in my own practice; merging my detailed style with a more expressive, sketchy style (for example, in the Packaging task).

Daniel Arsham

An artist that I had not yet encountered was Daniel Arsham, and I was intrigued by his work. He seemed to have created new worlds to explore that felt, to me, futuristic, or sometimes otherworldly. One of his installations – the Amethyst Ball Cavern – reminded me of the research I did into constellations linking to Assignment 3. The room had the same impact as walking into a cave – it felt quite closed in and dark – yet was filled with balls that seemed to glow under the purple light. I think it was perhaps the colours and the use of lights and mirrors that reminded me of other artists’ depictions of night skies. It was as if I was inside a bubble of night.