For my second post, I went to MOMA. In the second floor, tucked in a corner far away from the larger displays, is a small screen. The work, Broken mirror by Song Dong, is so small a video installation that you can almost miss it. Mr. Dong has had other work at MOMA.  In 2009, he has a large installation that consisted of hundreds of pieces from his childhood in China. Although the two works are different in scope. Mr. Dong explores similar themes in both works. As an artist, Song Dong is interested in exploring the past, present, and future. He likes to contrast the traditional with consumerism. As China has grown into a super economic power, its society is facing a shift from its nationalist identity into a culture of modernism and and consumerism. The rise of cheap labor and global companies has choked China with smog and high rise buildings. It is not uncommon to see multi- millionaire neighborhoods shove shoulders with the poorest districts in the country.

In Broken glass, we are presented with an image of a man walking and another man riding a bike reflected in a mirror. Seconds later, a hammer appears. It disrupts our perception of what we just saw. The hammer holds for a few seconds of suspense. There’s an inevitability of destruction that keeps us wondering.  The hammer bangs on the mirror to break it. Sometimes, it takes two strikes. At some points, people quickly react when they hear the mirror breaking. As the mirror breaks, another scene reveals. The artists does this a more few times, comparing cars with scenes of quiet parks.  I think that this creates an illusion of how we perceive reality. Our environment is always changing and because we are always adapting, we don’t become aware of the changes in our society. This disruptive change of scenes makes us think about these changes.