My visit to Snug Harbor’s Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art was a unique experience in which I was able to view art ranging from paintings, sculptures, and digital forms of art. What was once a home to sailors has now become a place for young, local artists to display their work of art. The day I visited the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art it was mostly deserted and looked like it needed some renovations. When I first entered Building C I was impressed by its interior which had stained glass that showed boats and lighthouses. There was also a large, open space in the center of the room with a beautiful glass dome ceiling. My favorite part of this exhibit was the focus on Staten Island and un-recognized artists. Most museums are filled with world-famous artists and multiple exhibits that people travel around the world to see. For example, the Brooklyn Museum of Art consists of multiple exhibits that range from Ancient Egyptian Art, American Art, European Art, etc. The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art is similar to the NAWA exhibit in that displays unknown artists’ works of art for others to view and potentially buy. The Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art is also different from many other museums in that the price for admission was only five-dollars.
As I was walking around the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art I was surprised to see a former high school tennis competitor and current friend of mine work of art. It was a self-portrait of herself with colors similar to a sunset behind her. Seeing her work of art in this exhibit brought a sense of connection to this exhibit knowing that someone I know displayed their art for everyone else to see. Viewing my friend’s work of art allowed me to closely view the four works of art around hers. To the left was an image of a woman with what seemed to be was green hair and discoloration in her face. Above her self-portrait was a black and white photograph of a gentleman that seemed that it could have been taken from an ordinary camera. To the right was another woman’s face. In this particular painting the right side of the woman’s face was of white color with blue-green hair and the left side of the woman’s face was of brown color with blonde hair.
Although I did not have much time to view the entire exhibit I enjoyed my experience was thrilled to have actually seen a familiar artist’s name within the exhibit. I plan on visiting the exhibit again for its upcoming exhibits of MVMT: Sketches and Staten Island in Movement as well as to view Snug Harbor’s Chinese Scholar’s Garden.
