A Visit to the AGO

Last Wednesday my Art History class had the pleasure of taking a visit to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). Believe it or not, this was only the second time in my life (I think) that I have been to the AGO. I would recommend this destination to anyone and everyone who has some sort of interest in the visual arts or in History. (I didn’t manage to see the King Tut exhibit, but I hear it is quite something!) The AGO is home to 79,000 works of art -- spanning from 100 A.D. to the present. Some of the most treasured European masterpieces cover the walls of this building, including Anthony van Dyck, Thomas Gainsborough, Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and René Magritte.

The AGO also has a solid collection of modern art. While most of us are immediately impressed by the meticulous brushwork, hyper realism, and incredible detail of many classical paintings, we are sometimes unsure of how to approach the more modern, experimental pieces. I think this is my favourite part about the AGO (and most art galleries).

In one room you will find a Claude Monet or Rembrandt, and in the other, a conceptual piece, made up of a pile of rocks and Cheezies. That’s right, rocks and Cheezies! While it might be tempting for some to simply view the more bizarre, conceptual pieces as nonsensical or pretentious, we must remember that many of these modern works are not designed to simply shock or confuse us. The artist is usually setting out to do much more. A lot of the time, the artist is asking the viewer to consider the rigorous process that went into making the sculpture or the painting, or pushing us to consider what the piece is saying about the culture we live in and the society that we conform to or resist. One example of this was the pile of rocks and Cheezies.

I later learned that this sculpture was commenting on the way our modern society tries to hide or cover up the way we have abused the natural world and turned it into a consumerist urban jungle without a solid foundation. The pile of rocks could not conceal the bright orange Cheezies peeking through, suggesting that we can’t cover up what the way have abused, polluted and commercialized our environment. You don’t have to love modern art, but I do think everyone should take a few minutes (if given the chance) to at least think about what the more peculiar pieces are trying to say.The Cheezie sculpture was a great example of this. Some definite food for thought to be found! And now I’m hungry for Cheezies...not sure if that was what the artist intended.

In conclusion: take advantage of field trips like these! You get to ride a yellow school bus and everything! Also, the price is often affordable, and the experience will likely be well worth every penny!