ZERO: Countdown to Tomorrow at the Guggenheim

On November 7th I went to the famous Guggenheim Museum on East 89th street. The building itself is so iconic and has such a presence that I really couldn’t imagine New York City without it. Despite living here so long, I couldn’t remember ever actually going inside and looking at the art, or if I did go it was so long ago that I didn’t recall. Going inside and experiencing the museum, I realized how brilliant the rotunda architecture is at facilitating the viewership of the art. I think this is what makes the Guggenheim unique. The actual structure of the building guides us through the artwork in a progressive circular manner. I felt compelled to keep walking up the rotunda, perhaps spending less time in front of individual pieces as opposed to stopping and observing one piece for an extended period. The exhibition being put on right now runs until January, and it is the one I saw. It is called Zero: Countdown to Tommorow and comes from a German art group from the 1950s and 60s. Many of the pieces were what I would call “texture art”. Many of them were monochromatic and relied on different textures in the forms of bumps, wrinkles, dots, and patterned lines to form the images/compositions. The use of black and white and lighting as well was something unique and striking. I think the pieces may have been this groups attempt at envisioning the aesthetics of the future and some of them definitely have that mid twentieth century vibe about them. As I was walking through the museum, I couldn’t help but notice how many different languages were being spoken around me. So many people had obviously come from different countries and were drawn to this museum and experiencing along with me, a native New Yorker. I suppose that is the power that art and museums have: they can tell a story to so many different people and perhaps bring them together at the same time. Visiting these museums was fun and educational and it is so great to have such rich historical/cultural/artistic awareness in such close proximity.