Gauguin: Metamorphoses. The Museum Of Modern Art

When I was a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, my first encounters with art was through movies. I like to think that I took to art when I was very young in part because I saw “Moulin Rouge” and “Lust For Life” and even at this very early age (I was only 6 when I saw Moulin Rouge) I knew I wanted to be an artist even though these guys ended up in very bad ways. They were strange and appealing to me, and there was all that color. As a kid I thought the actors portraying these artists were perfect. Kirk Douglas was Van Gogh Jose Ferrer was Lautrec and Anthony Quinn was Gauguin. Later as a teen I expanded my art loves. My first art book was a cheap edition on Modigliani which I still have and for an art class in high school I made books on him and Braque which I also still have. So it was with special interest and excitement that I went to see a show of one of my favorite childhood aritsts, a member’s preview of “Gauguin: Metamorphoses” at the Moma yesterday. To say that I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. This show is ravishing and deeply moving, and is one of the most beautiful exhibitions of an artist’s work that I have ever seen. The exhibition is made up of mostly his prints many from editions including the famous Noa Noa series and includes many different variations, which show how he worked (thus the title of the show) along with some of the actual woodblocks which really was fascinating for me to see. There are also paintings, books, some amazing sculptures and several large wall  woodcarvings that are simply breathtaking. Actually the entire show is breathtaking and is the sort of show, historical and thorough that the Moma sometimes does so well that I can forgive them for all the mistakes, slights and errors that they make. I sometimes get lightheaded and dizzy when I see great art, and yesterday I was very lightheaded and dizzy. A warning. If you are a member of the museum you should try to see this show during the member’s previews, even though it was somewhat crowded I found it bearable and I was able to take my time wandering back and forth through the galleries. This is going to be a blockbuster ball breaking show with huge amounts of people waiting on lines to get in for a glimpse of this extraordinary exhibition. It’s on through June.