THE GREAT HALL EXHIBITIONS: FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES

This week something exciting happened. For the past nine months my colleague, Susanna Temkin, and I have been hard at work on the latest iteration of the Institute of Fine Art's Great Hall Exhibition series (this past fall we showcased the work of the fabulous Marta Chilindron). I am pleased to tell you that our work has come to fruition in a beautiful show—if I do say so myself—of the work of conceptual installation artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres, which opened this past Monday. 

The exhibition takes place at the IFA's historic Duke Mansion is open to the public every day from 1-4pm until May 1. If you happen to be in Manhattan and like contemporary art—or even if you just want to see the inside of our fancy mansion—I highly recommend you stop by and see the show.

Learn more about the exhibition and the Great Hall Series here; read a press release here.

all installation photos above taken by yours truly

FLOATING FLOWER GARDEN BY TEAMLAB

Wow! Occasionally you stumble across an art installation that seems both astoundingly complicated and shockingly simple. The Floating Flower Garden, an immersive interactive piece created by Japanese art collective teamLab, is just one of those instances.

Remember the Rain Room? Well Floating Flower Garden draws on the same idea: thousands of flowers are suspended from the ceiling and when you walk into the space they move to dynamically accommodate you, basically allowing you to walk in a constantly fluctuating cocoon of flowers.

I am sure the result is something other-worldly, magical and delightful smelling! Too bad the installation is on view in Tokyo . . . . I think it would look spectacular in the Park Avenue Armory, don't you?

Learn more about the project here.


(Thanks to Colossal for the tip.)



p.s. Here's a similar (and also gorgeous!) DIY version, in case you have to try this yourself!

THE FANS: CHOREOGRAPHED COLOR

Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that have the most powerful results: The Fans was an art installation created for the  LYNfabrikken Box exhibition space in Aarhus, Denmark in early 2014. The project sought to combine the physicality of color with the dynamism of motion. Using electric fans retrofitted with specially colored blades and programmed to run at different speeds and intervals, The Fans created a choreography of color that revealed a flow of fiery ombre waves throughout the space.

Like so many cool projects hosted in Europe, I wish I could have seen this in person! No matter, you can learn more about The Fans here and here.

LICHTGRENZE: 25 YEARS AFTER THE WALL FELL

This project has gotten a ton of press over the past several days but it was simply too beautiful not to share here. Featuring 8000 LED filled balloons, Lichtgrenze (literally: 'border of light') is an art installation-cum-historical awareness piece that stretches 10 miles over the path of the Berlin Wall—even blocking streets and cutting through parks as the wall once did—to commemorate its destruction 25 years ago.

These perfect glowing globes were installed for two days this weekend and were released last night as part of Berlin's anniversary celebration. Each balloon was funded by a specific individual or group and each balloon was released last night by a person holding a unique key; once freed the balloons floated away into the night air, carrying personal messages and symbolizing humanity's struggle to continue to rise above oppression and violence.

There are lots of great articles about this, but I recommend the writing published here and here. See footage of the balloon release and celebration here. More information about the promotional video (warning: it's mostly in German!) here.

COLORFUL CHAOS

Guys! Guys! Remember me? Yeah, with the state of my brain right now I barely remember myself. This month I have about 5,000 pressing school deadlines (a lecture, fellowship applications, catalogue essays, editing and designing another catalogue, plus a draft of my second chapter! phew, I'm tired just typing all that out!) and my life feels like a beehive with so many thoughts buzzing around I am starting to feel a little dizzy.

But I am pushing through! And you know what, when life gets this busy the very act of checking things off your list (especially when you are proud of the results) feels so good. And you know what else is good? This super fabulous fabric installation in Tokyo by French architect and designer Emmanuelle Moureaux.  I love the movement of these colorful strips as they blow in the breeze. Its what I imagine my brain looks like at this very second—full of an excited jumble of ideas that (with a little patience) will straighten themselves out. You just have to wait until the wind dies down.

Read more about the cool fabric installation, entitled 100 Colors, here.

SWING BABY SWING

Growing up across the street from a park, I learned at an early age the wonders of the playground swing set. But how much cooler would those hours of swinging have been if I had had access to this art installation-cum-swing? Created by the Canadian design group Daily Tous Les Jours, this interactive sculptural piece entails a set of swings that burst forth with sound and light when put into action. The result is a streaking band of light across the night sky accompanied by a harmonic range of tones and notes, fostered by different swings going at different rates and different times. Magical, no? The project, called simply The Swings, was put together for an art festival in Green Mountain Falls, CO and was meant to activate public space through visitors' bodies and collaborative actions.

Read more about the piece here and the Green Box Arts Festival here.

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS: NYC SPRING AND SUMMER 2014

Being an art nerd and proud resident of New York City, I love a good public art project that interacts with its urban surroundings. Luckily  there are many such works in New York to get excited about in the next few months—here are some of my favorites below.

Olaf Breuning, Clouds, for The Public Art Fund | Central Park South and 59th Street | March 4 - August 24 | The latest installment in the Central Park 'plaza', Clouds is 35' tall aluminum and wood sculpture is meant to resemble the childlike imagination and naiveté of school play backdrops.

Zilvinas Kempinas, Scarecrow, for Socrates Sculpture Park | Long Island City, Queens | May 11 - August 3 | This will be the largest installation in Socrates Sculpture Park history (250' long and 13' high) and Kempinas's first major outdoor work in the United States. Site-specific and made from stainless steel poles strung with mylar ribbon, it will respond to the expansive horizontality of the surrounding land while echoing the shimmering movement of the nearby East River.

Ed Ruscha, Honey I Twisted Through More Damn Traffic Today for High Line Art | Next to the High Line at West 22nd Street | May 2014 - May 2015 | Ed Ruscha is one of my favorite artists (and a major part of my dissertation) and this work, incredibly!, represents Ruscha's first public commission in New York! It's a perfect combination of the artist's interest in advertising sloganeering, cheeky humor, text as visual form, and the realities of modern, urban life. Plus, isn't it much more interesting to look at than another boring billboard?

Matt Felsen, Lost Landmarks, for Parsons Design + Technology Masters Program | West 42nd Street, Between 5th & 6th Avenues | May 10 only! | A very cool project by grad student Matt Felson, Lost Landmarks introduces modern technology into historic Tower Optical viewers to literally help you see into the past. Looking through the viewer lets you see iconic landmarks that are no longer there; previous landmarks featured for one day only have included the 9th Regiment Armory (April 26) and the old Grand Central terminals (May 3). Check out the view from West 42nd Street this Saturday, May 10 for the project's last installment. (More details @LostLandmarks on Twitter).

CDR Studio, Governor's Cup, for the Figment Arts Festival | Governor's Island* | June 7-8 (but maybe longer?) | Made from 30,000 recycled cups culled from venues all across New York, this crazy pavilion will house the very cool and interactive Figment Arts Festival this summer. The thousands of cups will be attached through thousands of zip ties (NYCers love using those for art!) to craft a wild serpentine pattern that will wrap around trees, move with the wind, and all around respond to the environment. (The concept reminds me a lot of the fabulous Tara Donovan's work; if it's half as good as her stuff, the piece should be incredible.)

Kara Walker, A Subtlety or The Marvelous Sugar Baby for Creative Time | Domino Sugar Factory, Williamsburg, Brooklyn | May 10 - July 6 | Probably one of the most anticipated art events of the summer, famed political artist Kara Walker is working with Creative Time to call forth the powerful (and exploitative) history of the workers at the old Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn. Details as to the actual physical nature of the installation have been kept hush hush, but knowing Walker's work it promises to be expansive, thought-provoking and visually arresting.

UPDATE: Creative Time just released a newsletter with this preview photo of the Walker work and a link to this recent New York Times review of the show by Blake Gopnik. The work looks to be a colossal 'negress' sphinx coated in sugar; incredible!

UPDATE x 2: Reading Gopnik's article called forth the underlying comments about blue collar labor and manufacturing history in the US; on that level, this work is remarkably similar to Ann Hamilton's incredible indigo blue installation for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC in 1991, a touchstone for the first wave of American installation art.

*There will be a ton of new public art on Governor's Island this summer; read about some other projects here.

NOW STREAMING: THE COLOR CONDITION

I just stumbled across The Color Condition's website and, I have to say, I am intrigued and delighted. Their scaffolding of colorful streamers—erected at parties, museums and stores alike—reminds me a bit of Confetti System, only on a much bigger scale. I love the idea of defining an outdoor space with a string of brilliantly colored streamers, creating the perfectly festive atmosphere for a garden wedding or backyard bbq this summer.

There is more inspiration to be had at The Color Condition's website; check it out for yourself here.

(thanks to You Are My Fave for the tip)

FLOWER PETAL FRENZY

How cool is this? Remember when Sony let loose thousands of bouncy balls to represent the HD of their new Sony Bravia tv? Well they have done it again! Sony just released a new commercial in which they exploded a volcano full of 8 million flower petals all over a small town in central Costa Rica. Gorgeous right? It's like this famous scene without the creepy undercurrents!

Read more about the project, see some behind the scenes shots and the final commercial here.


(thanks to The House That Lars Built for the tip)

A COLORFUL WORLD INSIDE

I don't know about you, but looking at these images makes me feel a little bit claustrophobic. Partially because I find these installations by the Spanish art collective Penique Productions to be breathtakingly beautiful, but also because they appear to turn their surroundings into animate beings that desperately seem to be struggling for air (let the buildings breathe!). How are these made? By giant inflatable plastic balloons that are pressurized to expand to an interior space, consequently wrapping the architecture of the room in all-consuming swaths of bright color. Lighting these elaborate constructions from outside makes the inside of these balloons-cum-rooms practically glow. Wouldn't they be fabulous to see one in person? Talk about instagram worthy!

Until we can make that happen, check out more of their gorgeous work here.


(thanks to Colossal for the tip)

GRACED WITH LIGHT: INSTALLATION BY ANNE PATTERSON

I am not a religious person but, as an art historian, I can appreciate the palatial beauty of cathedrals. Now add on a beautiful installation to that magnificent church space and you really have my attention.

This breathtaking work was created by New York-based installation artist Anne Patterson. It features twenty miles of silk ribbon strung from the high above the nave in the famous San Francisco chapel, Grace Cathedral. The work, inspired by the music and color combinations that spin through Patterson's brain (she suffers from synesthesia), has prompted community members to associate the ribbons with their hopes and prayers, sending them heavenward in the vaulted space.

The work was supposed to come down last fall, but has been so popular it has ben extended until this February. If you are in the neighborhood, I suggest you check it out!

Read more about the project here.