Taking a walk in October across 67th street, I looked up to see an odd, geometric figure. I wanted to know more. As I walked by, I was able to snap a picture so I can look at it later.
As it turns out, the sculpture was one of seven, displayed on Park Ave between 52nd and 67th streets. They were created by Ewerdt Hilgemann, a German-born artist. The series on Park was called “Moments in a Stream,” and range from 8 to 20 feet. The particular sculpture I saw was closer to 20 feet.
The most amazing thing about these sculptures is that they are imploded. A unique vacuuming process causes the implosion. To Hilgemann, the implosion represents the inward spiral of energy to reach the core and mystery of matter, the ultimate beauty of creation.
What strikes me about the sculptures is that they play with the idea of perfection. A perfect geometric figure becomes imperfect, as its straight edges are tarnished. There seems to be chaos in the art, but there is a clear order and precision as to how Hilgemann imploded the works.
Overall, I was impressed by the sculptures. They seemed out of place on Park Avenue, certainly not an empty avenue. However, while they stuck out like a sore thumb in their time on Park, they seemed right at home at the same time.
The art made me more aware of my surroundings towards the beginning of the semester, showing me that art can literally be anywhere in New York, you just have to open your eyes and look.
I recently discovered Fabian Oefner, and was amazed by his use of color. He uses normal physical properties with different liquids to create art that is seemingly random, but also very deliberate. For example, Oefner uses Ferrofluid and its magnetic properties to develop incredible art. I found an interest in his art first, and then was even more intrigued by it after finding out what went behind it.
Ferrofluid is peculiar metal. It’s magnetic (due to iron particles in it) and the particles in the solution rearrange when placed under a magnetic field. Water colors are then added to the liquid, and these images are hence formed. Ferrofluid is hydrophobic, and therefore doesn’t mix with the water it is placed with. These photos are only about the size of a thumbnail, but yet are so clear and crisp; how could they not catch your eye?
The photos remind me of brains sometimes, and cells in others when I realize that they are very small images blown up into something larger.
Oefner uses bright, distinct color to bring life and amazing detail in images and in video. He created a magnificent show with the Ferrari California T to outline it’s sleek look. He also created a commercial for the LG OLEG TV, using his bright colors to create a positive image for the system.
The link for the Ferrari commercial can be found here
Overall, it was Oefner’s use of color that stuck out to me. He uses unique styles that create a natural look, but also artificial at the same time by using the colors that he does.
Those interested in reading more about Fabian Oefner can visit his website here
Walking late at night down Park Avenue, I stumbled across what seemed to be an empty room with a bored security guard watching nothing. I walked past the gallery without even realizing it was a gallery. It wasn’t until I was down the block that I realized that that couldn’t have been a human being. I went back, and stared at the figure to watch for any movement. Then, I realized that it was a gallery and that the security guard was just a sculpture.
The sculpture is done by Duane Hanson. It’s a life-size sculpture. Made from bronze, polychromed with oil and with mixed media accessories. Duane Hanson also created other human sculptures. He created hyper-realistic ones that portrayed the American working-class—probably the reason I thought it was so real. Some of Hanson’s other works include “Woman with Dog” and “Man on Mower,” shown below.
My favorite part of these sculptures is that they portray average American life. Hanson does not work to sugar-coat anything. He makes people the way that they are. He uses the sculptures, but also real items. All props are real, which forces Hanson to make the sculptures themselves as realistic as possible. The sculptures must properly fit with the persona he is creating, and also must fit in terms of size. These are so unique, that they make you second guess whether or not they are real even after you know that they aren’t. Duane Hanson definitely showed me that this type of art can be extremely realistic. It is a true talent to develop these pieces of art.
This past week, I went to the Museum of Modern Art with my brother to look around. I came across the “Spun Chair.” I first saw it across the room, and was thinking that it was a very large piece of pottery. It has the classic ridges that look like the work was being smoothed out. I pictured a man with an enormous lump of clay sitting at a pottery wheel and working for hours to make the smooth edges perfect.
However, after further research, I found out that the chair is made using a process called “rotational molding.” Plastic beads are melted into a rotating mold. It is for this reason that the texture seems like pottery.
Then I thought to myself: Why make a chair shaped like this? It seems a bit uncomfortable.
Heatherwick created a “geometric simplification” of a chair. One can balance, spin in a circle, or rock in it. Anyone in the chair is supposed to throw their weight around as if they are on a spinning top. Sitting in the chair mimics sitting in a giant bowl.
I couldn’t stand there looking at the chair for too long, or I would’ve sat in it. It doesn’t look very comfortable, but it seems like a great experience. This is a chair that I will always remember, and it will always fascinate me.
Finally, after doing more research on Heatherwick himself, I found out that he is an extremely well-known designer. A garden bridge he designed just recently got approved to be built in London, and it will be the most expensive footbridge in the world. It seems as though London is going to get their own version of New York’s High Line Park.
If there’s one thing that researching Heatherwick taught me, it’s that design is absolutely an art, whether in furniture or in architecture.
I thought Wang Jianwei’s installation was extremely thought-provoking. Knowing that it was meant to play with the idea of time forced me at least try to associate each piece with “time.” In an interview, Jianwei said that he wanted the audience to feel raw emotion when looking at the art rather than trying to interpret everything, but that was not always easy.
With the auction scene painting, I could clearly see the blurring of time. It is not a traditional painting. I like how it has a three dimensional quality, which can only be noticed from some perspectives. I also noticed that the area within two yellow slashes is a repetition of the figures. I specifically liked this work because it seems completely different based on the the point of view. From a distance, it looks like a normal conference table, but it turns into a time-lapse as you move closer and look at the details.
If there was any part of the exhibition that I was not supposed to understand, it was this set of three-dimensional sculptures. Rafael, our guide, told us to think of each piece individually, and then as an entire set. However, this was impossible for me. It seems like chaos to me. Maybe, Jianwei was attempting to create this feeling of chaos as a representation of time—that time was chaos, and not as orderly as it may seem to us. I found myself reacting to these pieces solely by thinking of how Jianwei created them out of mostly recycled material. They seem irregular, clearly indicating that they were hand-crafted. This made me think most about the process in which they were made.
The trip to the Guggenheim was enlightening. I found myself capable of organizing my thoughts about the art well, as opposed to the beginning of the semester. Even in an exhibition that was supposed to blur time and cause some sort of confusion, I found myself able to make some interpretations and come up with clear thoughts.
Walking around a gallery full of Picasso’s work on Jacqueline made me realize how dedicated and incredible the artist was throughout his life. What particularly stuck out to me, however, was his linoleum cuts. In the process of this particular art-making, Picasso gouged out the image in a piece of linoleum against a block of wood. Traditionally, artists make separate linoleum cuts for each color used in the art. Picasso was innovative, in printing one color from his linocut, then going back to the same piece of linoleum and carving deeper for the next color. There was no room for error, which again proved to me how sensational Picasso was.
Since the image is cut out into linoleum, there’s potential to play with different color schemes. One of my favorite linoleum cuts from Picasso is called “Life Under the Lamp.” This painting may seem fairly simple on the surface, but looking at what went into each and every color is astonishing to me. I first saw the image upstairs in the Pace Gallery, up the spiral staircase in a room set off to the side. “Life Under the Lamp” was one of the only images in the gallery not of Jacqueline, so it was also refreshing to see an image that was not an abstract representation of Picasso’s love.
To see the full process of making “Life Under the Lamp,” the British Museum outlines it here.
A full gallery of Picasso’s work showed me (someone who doubted that he was an incredibly special artist apart from his name) that art definitely is a lifestyle. For example, Picasso created his linocut “Life Under the Lamp” when he was 80 years old. His name is known everywhere you go, and this gallery allowed me to have a greater respect for an image I grew up seeing in my home, shown below
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In Carmen, as in almost any other production, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It wasn’t just the incredible projection of voices that caught my attention – the orchestra and set also stole my attention for much of the show.
As any scene began, the enormous fortress-looking set could not go unnoticed. It was potentially more than two stories high, with steps, and two separate pieces that seemed to mesh together perfectly into one layered setting. It made me realize how many people contributed to the magnificent production.
Notice the set in the background here
The music in Bizet’s Carmen is phenomenal. It is filled with songs that we’ve all heard in other forms of media without knowing its origin. The music is surprisingly catchy – I whistled and hummed to myself on the subway for over an hour. As the show is exclusively in song (reminding me of Les Mis), the orchestra plays an enormous role throughout. The orchestra sets the tone in every scene, it uses drastic dynamics for different moods. For example, a soft, quite dynamic suggests a sweet, somewhat innocent mood. The stronger, deep, loud parts are usually declarations or parts of high intensity (aided by at least 6 upright bases).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the opera – much more than I expected. Whereas I thought I would be sleeping within the first hour, I found myself not being able to look away from the stage for very long. I focussed on the vocals, set, and individual instruments when possible. I enjoyed the plot and character development, as well as the pieces put together to create this unique experience.
Hours after watching Marcel Dzama’s Un Danse des Boufoons at the Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea, it still resonated with me. Sitting on a foam cube watching this peculiar (to say the least), 35-minute video projection made me question myself, what I knew, and even my surroundings. I personally did not like the video, and could not wait to get out once it was over.
Marcel Dzama is a Canadian-born artist, who has had his work represented by David Zwirner since 1998. His art is held in museum collections worldwide. As for the video itself, it is described as a “Dadaist love story”. It depicts a fictionalized account of the romantic affair between a man and woman. There are constant themes of good versus evil, death and rebirth, love gained and love lost, and very obvious tension.
It seems as though Dzama is well known and his work is held in high esteem. However, after walking through the curtains to exit the dark room, I found myself feeling oddly uncomfortable. I then realized: I did not like the video at all.
Throughout the video, there was music playing. At some points, the music was very high pitched and dissonant; I would have felt awkward listening to that without the peculiar images in front of me.
Very few characters were just regular people. Many wore masks, or even costumes, that made them seem foreign (but at the same time human and familiar). This familiarity in something so confusing and foreign is part of what rubbed me the wrong way. It was the line of characters wearing costumes that troubled me, as well. They applauded, and had mannerisms unlike many people do.
Just as I thought the video could not get weirder, in trots a human cow. It was majestic in its movement, but at the same time did not resemble a cow in the slightest besides its unconvincing plastic head. A particular character that stuck with me was the one wearing the flippable mask that went form happy to sad. This made me think about human emotions, and what they show about a person.
One of the only characters that did not have a mask, was a man with eyes painted on his face. He wore make-up and had an oddly shaped smile that reminded me somewhat of The Joker. Regardless, this character was equally as creepy as the rest.
As the movie concluded, the oddest thing of all occurred. This reborn man-cow opens its cloak to reveal an enormous vagina on its chest. Out comes one of the characters from earlier in the video. What disturbed me most about this, was that a full grown man was being born. Not only that, but this man was coming out of the birth canal fully clothed with facial hair.
Basically, everything was wrong about “Une Danse des Bouffons.” Nothing made complete sense, and there was no time during the video in which I felt content about what was happening. The short film kept me on my toes, and didn’t allow me to relax and guess what was coming next.
It was this combination of the atmosphere with the video in itself that made me feel very uneasy. The purpose of the video was to make me question traditional beliefs, and to make me feel as though there were things I did not know (or even that things I did know were just wrong); it definitely succeeded in doing just that.
For further reading, you can go to the press review here
All pictures were taken from a preview of the video here
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