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Online marketing coordinator Alex Hills considers purpose behind the object to be the most important element to art.
My name is Alex Hills, I work in the digital media department. I do online marketing, and my topic is "Intention."
Before an artist creates something, they think, "Why am I making this? What's the point of this? What's the concept behind it? Why does this need to be made in the first place?"
I went to music school for piano, and I studied a lot of composition; I do a lot of writing. One of the most important things that I learned in school was, it's not really about what you play, it's more about what you don't play.
Just because I have the technical facility to do something, doesn't mean that I necessarily should. I look at some of these works of art and I see a lot of
restraint. If I look at the Stradivari violin, I see a perfect instrument that's purpose is to be played. Looking at it you know that everything that he did was intentional.
The wood that he chose had a purpose 'cause it resonates a certain way.
The length of the fret board, the height of the bridge and the arch, each curve, everything is for the purpose of making this violin sound good.
There's something about instruments that look beautiful; when they look beautiful, you think they're gonna sound beautiful as well, and that's not always the case. I've played on some pianos that have looked great and when I finally sit down at them it's a mess.
It's more about, "look what I have," instead of, "listen to the music."
People that do these really elaborate, detailed drawings that are technically amazing. But to me, something that's more interesting is putting the bare minimum on the canvas, like a
Rothko. It's not that hard to do that, technically, but the fact that he did not make it this really detailed and elaborate piece really means something. Each color that he chose was significant to him. And also
with Albers, he was just doing color studies: let's put this color next to this color, and these shades next to these shades, and see what happens. It was more of an experiment than, "I'm gonna show off how good I am at something."
Courbet's interesting to me, I feel like he's a very arrogant person. This piece was created because he wanted to get a nude into the Salon, you know, that was the point behind this. I don't know if I can get behind that. That's a little forced. What's really the point of this painting? To me it sounds like it's just to impress some people. And I'd rather see him paint something that is really meaningful to him, but this piece, it was just him showing off.
Stephen Shore is a very conscious photographer. He's extremely aware of every element that's in his photos.
When I look at this photograph I wonder, how long did he stand there until there was no one in the frame? How long did he walk around the town till he found the perfect buildings, and then how long did he wait for the sun to be in the right place? Just to the left and just to the right, I'm sure there's something that he left out intentionally, because it would disrupt that composition.
I'm interested in pieces that depict events that happened. There's a story behind it and the story is the intention
to convey that to the viewer. There are many Japanese screens that show
battles that happened. It's about visually displaying the history.
I write a lot of music that I think is probably a little harsh and difficult to listen to. I think it's a tricky balance between being true to what you want to do and creating something that the audience is going to enjoy. I can only imagine that
a commissioned piece is very difficult. Being paid by this family to create this piece, that artist has to then make them
look good, and at the same time be true to your own artistic merit.
The M has a system behind it, it has a science behind it. When you take away the grid and the circles, it just looks like an M, and maybe if you put the M in a sentence with a bunch of other letters, it just looks like words. But the fact that there's some underlaying logic to it, creates this organic harmony and rhythm to the letters. It's not only beautiful to look at, but it's beautiful to think about as well.
A work of art, when it's finished, can be beautiful, but to me what's more important is how you got there, the thought that went behind it, and the story behind it
that creates something that's, I think, really powerful.
Works of art in order of appearanceLast Updated: June 22, 2015. Not all works of art in the Museum's collection may be on view on a particular day. For the most accurate location information, please check this page on the day of your visit. |
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Self-Portrait with a Friend 1889 Édouard Vuillard (French) Oil on canvas Gift of Alex M. Lewyt, 1955 (55.173) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Modern and Contemporary ArtSecond Floor | |
Assumption of the Virgin in an Initial A: Cutting from an Antiphonary ca. 1470–80 Cosimo Tura (Italian) Tempera and gold leaf on parchment Rogers Fund, 1911 (11.50.1) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Medieval Art and The CloistersFirst Floor | |
Funeral Procession in an Initial R Leaf from a gradual second half of 15th century Mariano del Buono (Italian, Florentine) Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment Gift of Louis L. Lorillard, 1896 (96.32.16) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Medieval Art and The CloistersFirst Floor | |
Violin: "The Francesca" 1694 Antonio Stradivari (Italian) Cremona, Italy Maple, spruce, ebony Bequest of Annie Bolton Matthews Bryant, 1933 (34.86.2) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Musical InstrumentsSecond Floor | |
Harpsichord ca. 1675 Made by Michele Todini (Italian) Rome, Italy Wood, various materials The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.2929) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Musical InstrumentsSecond Floor | |
Architectural Ruins with a View of a Garden; Stage design for Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera, "Robert le diable" 19th century Carlo Ferrario (Italian) Graphite; partly squared in graphite The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1962 (62.570.22) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Drawings and PrintsSecond Floor | |
No. 13 (White, Red, on Yellow) 1958 Mark Rothko (American, born Russia) Oil and acrylic with powdered pigments on canvas Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation Inc., 1985 (1985.63.5) © 2011 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Modern and Contemporary ArtSecond Floor | |
Homage to the Square: Soft Spoken 1969 Josef Albers (American, born Germany) Oil on Masonite Gift of the artist, 1972 (1972.40.7) © 2011 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Modern and Contemporary ArtSecond Floor | |
Woman with a Parrot 1866 Gustave Courbet (French) Oil on canvas H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.57) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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European PaintingsSecond Floor | |
U.S. 97, South of Klamath Falls, Oregon 1973, printed 2002 Stephen Shore (American) Chromogenic print Purchase, Charina Foundation Inc. Gift, 2002 (2002.224) © 1973 Stephen Shore More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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PhotographsSecond Floor | |
Main Street, Gull Lake, Saskatchewan 1974 Stephen Shore (American) Chromogenic print Purchase, Joseph H. Hazen Foundation Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.603.2) © 1973 Stephen Shore More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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PhotographsSecond Floor | |
The Battles of Hogen and Heiji Edo period, 17th century Japanese Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper Rogers Fund, 1957 (57.156.4–5) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Asian ArtSecond Floor | |
Richard Strauss 1904, printed 1906 Edward J. Steichen (American) Direct carbon print Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949 (49.55.168) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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PhotographsSecond Floor | |
The Contest for the Bouquet: The Family of Robert Gordon in Their New York Dining-Room 1866 Seymour Joseph Guy (American) Oil on canvas Purchase, Gift of William E. Dodge, by exchange, and Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992 (1992.128) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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American Paintings and SculptureFirst and Second Floors | |
Divina proportione 1509 Leonardo da Vinci (Italian); Fra Luca Pacioli (Italian) Published by Paganinus de Paganinus, Venice Book with woodcut illustrations Rogers Fund, 1919 (19.50) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Drawings and PrintsSecond Floor | |
Studies for the Libyan Sibyl (recto); Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a Small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso) 1508–12 Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian) Italian Red chalk (recto); charcoal or black chalk (verso) Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1924 (24.197.2) More information: The Collection Online Not on view
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Drawings and PrintsSecond Floor | |
© 2011 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |