“LES Galleries Reaction”

       After having visited many different galleries in the Lower East Side, I would like to compare three of the ones I liked the most to the galleries I attended in Chelsea. As I began thinking about it, I realized it wouldn’t be easy comparing the Lower East Side galleries to Chelsea galleries, since both locations represent a wide variety of amazing artworks. Although both areas have a lot of similarities, LES galleries offer a wider variety of modern style “edgy” artworks than the ones in Chelsea. Most of Chelsea's galleries represent old cultures which are opposite to what you can find in LES galleries. Displaying such modern art, LES attracts a different, younger crowd of contemporary art lovers. There I found some galleries which contained provocative, and maybe some would say very challenging, works of art. I also found galleries like Tatyana Murray’s, (“In the Woods”) that contains amazing artworks you won’t find in Chelsea. I don't think I've ever seen boxes with images that are illuminated by LED which give them a ghostly effect. I was amazed by this exhibition. I was also quite impressed by the work at the “Strange Loop” and “Untitled” galleries. These galleries seemed to match my personality with such precision, that they instantaneously engaged my attention. All of them were influenced by pop culture and/or contain some elements found in pop culture, which makes them different from what is shown in Chelsea. I wouldn't say that they cater to the same type of art collectors, but I think that Chelsea's collectors would definitely find interest in the LES galleries seeing as how some of them do have similar artworks. Here, just like in Chelsea, they can find a wide selection of visual art consisting of prints, paintings, sculptures, photography, video, etc. The level of their interest may vary because of the contemporary subject or provoking context they would find in some of LES's artworks. The surrounding area definitely affected the way I viewed and built my opinion on the artworks I found there. I find it more interesting to walk around and learn about artworks and the artists who created them, in small galleries that look like shops or book stores as opposed to big, officially looking galleries like in Chelsea.

Galleries:

1. "Strange Loop Gallery" 
2. "UNTITLED" Gallery
3. Tatyana Murray "In the Woods" 

“Public Art Reaction”

Public art is a gift to all of us from amazing talented artists who doesn't mind to share it for free. The greatest thing about public art is that it's accessible to all. New York is filled with beautiful artworks that you cannot just pass by. One of my favorite works of art in a public places is the “LOVE” sculpture on 6^th ave in Manhattan. I remember the first time I saw it I instantly “fell in love with it”.

The idea of this public artwork is very simple and deep at the same time. I think that Robert Indiana, the American artists who created this beautiful masterpiece just wanted to remind people that love is very powerful. I think that he also wanted to say that we can make each other happier by spreading free love and positive warming emotions that we experience when we love. Love can be different and what I like about this particular artwork is that it always reminds me of love being the key to everything! “LOVE” sculpture perfectly interacts with it's surroundings, especially in the center of Manhattan. The territory it's placed on has a plenty of space so people can even take group pictures with the giant sculpture. Every time I'm in that area I see people smiling and taking photographs with“LOVE”. Just a thought of how powerful this sculpture is in a sense of emotions it evokes in people makes it very unique and effective. I find this artwork to be a benefit to it's surroundings since I always looked at Manhattan as at business area that mostly has skyscrapers. This particular artwork brings only positive energy to that area and makes it even more popular and attractive to tourists and passers by. The “LOVE” sculpture could fit anywhere in the city. You can't go wrong with this artwork, it would benefit any area of New York by making people smile and enjoying taking pictures with it. We don't need more words to understand what this public artwork is about, each of us can find his own connection with it. We all need some free love in such a tough and sometimes even cold big city like New York and I would be honored to thank Robert Indiana personally for sharing such an amazing artwork with us.

Artist: Robert Indiana

Title: "LOVE" (Sculpture)

Medium: COR-TEN steel

Year: c 1970