July 23, 2007
From the desk of Jane Galt:I'm afraid that when it comes to writing about art, I'm about as talented as I am at . . . all right, I'll say it, "dancing about architecture". Possibly, this is because I know nothing about art history or theory; I am prone to form violent aesthetic attachments to things for reasons I couldn't even begin to explain. And I have gathered the impression from my more knowlegeable friends that my taste is distinctly pedestrian, though of course they would never actually come out and quite say that. Nonetheless, I suspect that I am a permanent denizen of the upper middlebrow.
So I won't try to explain why I loved the Serra exhibit at the MoMA, except that his titanic forms engendered in me the most powerful aesthetic experience I've had since I first stumbled across Peter Doig's Concrete Cabin in the Saatchi gallery two years ago. You walk around them, and the constant unfolding of that looming metal tugs your consciousness upward and outward in surprising ways. Then you walk inside them, and the space seizes you with shocking power. You wouldn't think that a series of spaces which are all, essentially, ovals surrounded by metal walls, could each be so different from the others, and provoke such different reactions in you. It was just stunning.
The only downside was all the people. I found it impossible to enjoy the sculptures while they contained a steady supply of tourists nodding politely as they sped through--got to catch the Picasso before we head over to the Phantom matinee!--and only barely bearable to enjoy them in the presence of other people who were, like me, ambling slowly around and through the space in order to take it in from every angle. That sounds snobbish, I suppose, but it isn't meant to be; there's no reason that anyone else should share my aesthetics, and usually they don't. But it was hard to enjoy the sculptures while they were filled with people who obviously didn't particularly care for them.
All of this is by way of saying that if you like modern art at all (and even if you don't hate it), and you can get yourself to New York City, and you haven't already decided that I have execrable taste in art, you should get yourself down to the exhibit before it closes in September.
Posted by Jane Galt at July 23, 2007 6:18 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksYou should, if you haven't already, go to see Serra's work at Dia Beacon. I was there on a recent Sunday with a friend and we had our run of the place (more or less). I got to wander slowly through his work, and like you, I was stunned in ways I didn't expect.
Now that you're in DC you should check out the modernism exhibit at the Corcoran. It runs though the 29th.
After Memorial Day would be a good time for me to go. As close to the end of its run would be good...even do a little natural sculpture appreciation (leaf peeping).
I understand your feelings for sharing such an unusual exhibit. There are times when people can help make a sculpture more interesting with their presence, movement, shadows and even sounds, but many (most?) times my appreciation is more intense when I can soak it up without a lot of other auras wafting about.
Life mimcs art, or art mimics life?
Umm....maybe because you're right?
Serra *is* a genius.
I'm a medievalist - which proves that he must be good, if he can move me.
You might try the Stella show(s) at the Met right now and see if they work for you, too. Might, might not. He works for me.
I'm similar when it comes to visual art. I have no background in it and don't seek it out for my enjoyment, although I do like a few things here and there. It used to bother me that I had little interest in visual art (more of a music and lit guy). But now I don't care anymore. I just like what I like and try to be happy with that. I can't be a polymath at everything!
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If you want to "enjoy" a sculpture, steal it. A museum (Greek for "ruling class petting zoo," isn't it?) is no place for art. The tourists you mock at least realized on some level that people aren't welcome there, either.
So they're "stunning" and "shocking," but are these drab piles of twisted metal beautiful? No, you're definitely in the highbrow set, telling us that what's important about art is that it's novel and interesting, or shocking and stunning, with no room for beauty. Compare to The Gates, which also owed much to novelty but at least tried to be beautiful.
Hmmm, unseen, this seems like the type of art I would beat with a Frick.
Perhaps I am too traditional and unadventurous. I just remember going to MoMa, the Met and the Frick Musuem during high school in Manhattan, and not being too thrilled with MoMa at all.
I probably need to expose myself to more.
(And now I am in lovely Phoenix, where everything seems very yawn and sleepy, and missing all that New York was/is).
I found it impossible to enjoy the sculptures while they contained a steady supply of tourists nodding politely as they sped through--got to catch the Picasso before we head over to the Phantom matinee!...That sounds snobbish, I suppose
Gee, ya think? What makes you, Ms. Guilt-Ridden White Woman, more worthy of enjoying art than the unwashed masses? Were some of them illegal immigrants, maybe?
Well, you've at least given me an example of how someone can enjoy Serra's work. The few examples I've seen haven't moved me at all, but I'm willing to give him another try.
Just don't try to get me to like Ellsworth Kelly, is all I'm asking. . .
If you like Serra, get yourself on a plane to Bilbao. However, the building may blow your mind and diminish your enjoyment of Serra's work.
I prefer the architecture of Barcelona, and the shipping capacities of Bilbao. The RO/RO ramps, the massive cranes (metal sculptures) that move containers, the smell of diesel mixed with seawater...this is Bilbao's real treat for me. Skip the Hi-Falutin' stuff and get down to the docksides and industrial center. A whole different world awaits to be appreciated by the Starched Shirt Crowd.
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