I went to visit the exhibit titled Emerging Ecologies, located on the third floor Museum of Modern Art. This exhibit focuses on the usage of art, photography, and especially architecture, and how it can be used to help protect the environment and spread awareness for environmental protection and conservation. The exhibit features different photographs and videos showcasing how humans have used architecture over the years to spread important messages on conservation. It also shows different building designs and concepts that use the environment and surroundings to their advantage instead of wasting materials, and are protecting the environment while also looking chic.
The exhibit is a very significant topic and continues to get more important as we step into the future. The more and more humans build up and pollute, the more resources are drained from the earth. This can be seen through global warming and pollution. Especially in cities such as New York City, where smoke is heavily released into the air from buildings and the energy is being used by light, as well as the water and other resources, conservation and smart allocation of natural resources is very important. Because buildings are one of the most draining ways of using resources, architecture can be a very significant way to go about protecting the environment, and I was excited to see an exhibit at such a popular museum showcasing such an important topic, especially in a city where conservation is needed.
One collection of works from the exhibit that really caught my eye were the architectural designs by artist Emilio Ambasz. Ambasz is an Argentinian born architect who prioritizes energy conservation in many of his works. The photographs of his different home concepts were taken from all over the world, including Japan, Spain, and the United States. One of the designs I really liked was this building which looked like it was in the center of a large city. What brought my attention to this building specifically was the its slanted shape and appearance. It was amazing to me to see plants growing almost flat on the side of a building! This is also such a smart way to balance the natural environment with the city lifestyle. Plants help to keep the air clean, something needed all over due to air pollution, but especially in cities. I am happy this piece was included in an exhibit in Manhattan, so that hopefully it inspires someone to create a similar building here. Not only is Ambasz protecting environments all around the world with his architecture, but his work is also unique and eye-catching, which brings attention to his designs and helps to spread the message on the importance of protecting the environment. Ambasz is able to masterfully combine energy conservation with the beauty, creativity, and craftsmanship that goes into art and architecture.
Another part of the exhibit that stood out to me was a large photograph located in the center of the room. As soon as you walked into the exhibit this photograph caught your attention. The black-and-white photo depicts a man taking a picture of a group of protesters who were arguing against deforestation and building on protected land. This was a great way to be introduced to the exhibit because it really highlights the show’s central theme. I liked being able to see actual people fighting for conservation. There is art in the photograph as well, although you might not automatically think of it. The signs the protestors are holding are actually spreading important messages and would be considered art. I think this photograph also bridges the connection between architecture and conservation. Architecture is those artists’ way of protesting against resource wasting and fighting for sustainable energy usage.
The exhibit was curated very nicely. I liked how the introduced the topic, with a small blurb on the wall as well as a timeline with some important dates surrounding architecture, and then the large photograph in the center of the room. You then walkover to a wall which has some short films about the concept, so that when you walk over to see the actual designs you have a better idea of the concept. I appreciated that they had miniature versions of the buildings as well as photographs so you could see the designs from different points of view. Overall, I thought the exhibit did a really nice job of organizing the displays in such a way that a viewer unfamiliar with the topic or with architecture itself could also enjoy and understand the exhibit. The curate definitely enhanced the exhibit and I would love to visit the museum again.
I never knew that there was an exhibit about ecology and environmental protection in the MoMA. It is really important to spread the knowledge of protecting our Earth since people tend to forget that this is our only planet and damaging it increases the likeliness that there may not be future generations because of how heavily polluted it is. I also like how the exhibit added information about the damage happening on Earth and to tell us to do better.