On the first floor of Rubin Museum, there is a giant wall that quickly catches the visitors’ attention when they first walk inside to the museum. Being probably the first art piece for them to witness, it holds a very important value that allows the peers to think about the past, present, and future. The art piece, A Monument for the Anxious and Hopeful, allows the visitors to actively become participants of the work by providing them space for them to present what they are anxious for and what they are hopeful for. I was really interested and fascinated by this work because it made me think about how our emotions and beliefs affect the way we live. Both anxiety and hope are what we believe is going to happen in the future, but these beliefs are created because of what we experienced in our past. In addition, these emotions play a huge role in how we choose to live in our present.
I believe The Second Buddha exhibition shows a similar concept about time. The belief about our afterlife creates both anxiety and hope about the future which greatly affect the way people live the present. The uncertainty and the anxiety of the future makes people want to have faith that they can rely on and be hopeful about.
