Sol LeWitt’s Drawing Series in the Dia:Beacon blew me away at how meticulous and simple they were. His use of graphite and colored graphite blew me away with his use of line work and angles. I felt like I was taken back to my third year high school’s geometry class. I found his simple instructions of “ten thousand straight lines, and ten thousand not straight lines” to be quite humorous. While the description seems simple as that, each of his wall drawings were fully thought out before hand, which he compared to “musical scores.” Everything thought out in the mind of LeWitt was translated onto the wall, as precise as its original conception. I also liked that there were codes for each wall as well, to help the viewer understand the final drawings on the walls. I saw these codes as formulas for the final products.
Strong reaction
I had a very strong reaction to the Louise Bourgeois “Spider” sculpture. There has been a lot going on with my own mom across on the other side of the country, and this sculpture hit home hard of what is going on. I desperately want to care for her, but can’t really since of being on opposite sides of the country. To compensate this need, I’ve noticed that I’ve been attempting to care for and look out for the rest of the group on this trip. My own mother instincts have been flaring up a lot recently. I feel like I’m that Spider. And I’m still reeling from that discovery.
It was still good to cry though.
-Julie M.
Deadpan
I actually had no reaction to the Noguchi Museum. That might have something to do with the fact that I didn’t really connect that one of our sculptures on campus was done by Noguchi. I just had no reaction to his stuff. There was pretty much only ONE piece that I actuall liked and the only reason why was because it had actual bones.
This was the day that I’m really starting to loose interest in NYC.
-Julie M.
Wael Shawky’s Cabaret Crusades surprised me when I walked into the small theatre. I knew very little about the crusades at the top of my head and the film being in a different language led me to scramble to understand the context of what I walked into. Despite the initial language barrier (there were subtitles) and little background knowledge, the film drew me in and kept me in my seat for longer than I expted. The glass marionettes, handmade by glassblowers from Venice were mesmerizing and incredibly detailed. The marionettes were controlled humorously and were meticulously animated to the narration. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the marionettes were much larger in person than I initially imagined. Each marionette’s mouth and eyes were controlled individually – I laughed every time I could hear the clinking of the eyes and mouth. With the number of attachments on each of the marionettes, it looked like controlling them was not an easy task. If we had had more time in PS1, I would have sat through the entire film.
marionette photo via momaps1.org
Living Sculpture
New York City-based artist Agnes Denes, who adds life to the city’s skyline with a curving pyramid on the park’s East River waterfront in Long Island City, Queens. Titled The Living Pyramid, Denes’s new large-scale, site-specific earthwork spans 30 feet at its four-sided base and ascend 30 feet high, created from several tons of soil and planted grasses.
PS1
PS1 is an exhibition space rather than a collecting institution, MoMA PS1 devotes its energy and resources to displaying the most experimental art in the world. A catalyst and an advocate for new ideas, discourses, and trends in contemporary art, MoMA PS1 actively pursues emerging artists, new genres, and adventurous new work by recognized artists in an effort to support innovation in contemporary art.
PS1 was refreshing in the sense that it was not your standard walled museum. The installations were so unique and different than we have seen in the museums and galleries so far. My favorite installation was the video piece installed under the wood flooring and seen through a hole in the wood.
Museum Selfie: Dia:Beacon
Noguchi Museum
Noguchi is one of my favorite sculptors. I’ve always been moved by his use of space and the perceptions within space. The sky viewing sculpture on Westerns campus shows a framing if space where as the sculptures from his museum were more of a space occupation.
[wpvideo u0YuVifR] Good thing I know a geologist!
“Check out the myrolitic cavities on those pink lumps 😏 They occur in gas or fluid pockets in an already solidified rock body. As the rock is uplifted the pressure drops allowing fluid to form and flow upwards. As the fluid flows through the rock host it must deposit dissolved solids that can no longer be dissolved in the fluid. The deposited solids form really nice looking minerals because they can grow uninhibited into the fluid or gas. Most museum grade mineral samples come from myrolitic cavities. Kinda like geodes.” -WWU alumni Erik Lovelace, geologist extraordinaire.
I love having a different disciplines view on the same object. As artists and historians we need to sometimes know more to provide context and spark inspiration. Those in the natural sciences, observe very similarly to artists. I’m intrigued by my friend description of this sculptures natural aspects. I would love to learn more about minerals and somehow incorporate the visual aspects into my work.
-Celeste
The days are blurring together
Its the end of the day and I’ve already forgot where we’ve been today. I have pictures to remind me though.
Today was pretty low key. Still don’t remember a whole lot of it or was visually impacted in any way.
-Julie M.
Long Island-Queens!
Sam gave a great presentation at PS1 MOMA today! Socrates Sculpture Park, The Nogughi Museum and Garden were both a treat as well. It was also good to debrief at Sculpture Center and discuss impressions/reflect on what we have experienced so far. Look forward to more of the same tomorrow at DIA Beacon!
