Tuesday, July 28, 2009

art watching.


The MoMa was great yesterday and as usual I was moved by unexpected things. The Song Dong project was fascinating. The placement in the MoMa was perfect as it was at the bottom of an atrium so you could see it above from many levels - This is how I most preferred it. It read as a giant quilt of life and everyday.


Once you got down to the ground level it lost some of its magic. Becoming a simple cataloging of objects- many of which were downright garbage. The corresponding text was very well done and helpful in reading the work. But since my experience with Chinese cultural is minimal to none I read it totally as a westerner. And the sentiment still stood up causing me to reflect on the consumer and hoarding civilization we live in. It actually was a bit sad.



The highlight was an unexpected piece that was part of the performance space. A piece entitled Measuring the Universe by Roman Ondak. It was so amazing. Roman has a guard or himself measure folks that come into the small gallery space. Marks a line on the wall and writes their name and the date. Therefore as time goes on the walls fill with the remnants of people's heights. Metaphorically it is so lovely and visually very satisfying. I am so glad to have seen it. Was a very uniting image.


Another highlight was a gorgeous painting that was almost invisible by Carol Bove. You might not even be able to see it but it is so lovely. It is titled Jane B.

It was especially nice to just let myself be free of my own work and just look. Absorb. and Be quiet.

2 comments:

Brittany | the Home Ground said...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this show. I agree with your viewpoint comments, I can see that much just from your photos. I love all of the heights recorded on the wall, what a great idea!

Joetta M. said...

the heights recorded was so awesome and so fun to watch people participate in.
I loved it!