Essay On Understanding Human Loneliness

Recently opened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Understanding Human Loneliness, analyzes the discrepancy between internal isolation and external being. Located in an empty warehouse, Understanding Human Loneliness features only two works: Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe by Edouard Manet and Triptych, Left Panel by Paula Rego. The two works are vastly different – Rego’s piece features bright colors and jarring imagery while Manet’s piece employs subdued colors and less narrative – but evoke a similar sense of longing and need for attention. Through the cold atmosphere of the warehouse and the tension found in both paintings, Understanding Human Loneliness makes the guests question the helplessness of life. Art exhibits in modern enclosures are far from a new phenomenon, yet Understanding Human Loneliness brings about a new sense of emptiness and openness. With untreated concrete floor, white walls, and exposed ceilings, the warehouse …show more content…
Situated above eye level on the wall across the gallery, and behind the viewers once they enter the exhibit, Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe rests uneasily. The guests of the exhibit have to crane their necks upward to view the picture, creating an awkward tension between the viewer and the painting. On the surface, the painting depicts a nude woman sitting nonchalantly with two clothed, male counterparts. But more than just a dichotomy between nude and clothed, the woman’s skin possesses a pasty, starkly white tone, while the men have more neutral skin tones, causing her to unnaturally stand out from her environment. And while the woman poses nonchalantly, she stares intently. She gazes directly out of the painting. While her counterparts look off in various directions, the woman casts an inquisitive look that falls beyond the viewer and on the woman in Triptych, Left Panel, directly across the