Performing Art Critique Assignment: Garden at MOMA (Essay Sample)

Art Critique: Garden at MOMA
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Art Critique: Garden at MOMA
Garden at MOMA is an impressionist painting by Ruth Templeton. It is acrylic on canvas, measuring 24 x 30″ (Templeton). The painting depicts two women and a man at the forefront, each seated separate on the foreground of a building with a huge tree above them. One of the women and the man are wearing yellow cardigans a blue pairs of jeans trousers while the woman at the back appears to have a blue pullover. There are other people near the building, and some seem to be inside. The building is primarily made of glass and concrete walls. The artist relies on organic shapes to come up with the work, which has a mixture of nature and architectural influences. The tree has long curvy branches with many leaves hanging downwards. The tree is primarily painted in green, with patches of red and yellow. In such kinds of paintings, the optical mix of colors often appears in the eyes of the viewer (Impressionism, n.d.). The branches are concentrated on the man in the front while only a few leaves stretch out to the other people. Beneath this tree, the floor is concrete and clean. No leaves or flowers can be found there. The variations in color, value, and detail offer a realistic impression of the evening with the three guys basking in the comfort of the tree in the garden.
In impressionism, an artist’s creation relies mostly on detailed planning (Museum of Art, n.d.). The Garden at MOMA strikes a balance between variety and unity with the major components depicted in the painting harmoniously belonging together. If the painter were to subtract the tree from the mix, the title would not even be relevant because it is the only element that brings about the feeling of a garden. Each of the three people seems to be walking on their own paths and minding their own businesses. There is an asymmetrical balance in the painting, with the left being different from the right side. Impressionist painters, however, creatively balances various elements through shape, size, and placement so as to come up with visual equilibrium (Saylor, n.d.). The tree hanging on the right tends to create some disequilibrium as it is more colored than the elements placed on the left. It can thus be argued that it is the focal point of the entire painting. The repetition of visual elements of the trees’ leaves and flowers makes a beautiful, overwhelming rhythm.
The painting is exquisite and depicts the depth and mood of the scenery in a notorious way. The calmness created makes viewing the painting feel great and creates an environment of coolness and serenity. The artist’s ability to balance between the subject and the background reflects the true nature of life as if the sce...