THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
ART
GETTING THEIR TEETH INTO THE BIG APPLE
spaces were handed over to artists such as Sarah Sze, whose beautifully articulated installation ‘mess’ Triple Point (Pendulum) , a sculpture in a state of flux, hovered between many forms at once. The destructive potential of the swinging pendulum seemed just a breath away. In Arthur Jafa’s immersive video Apex , a fast-paced image sequence was set to a driving soundtrack of electronic club beats to create ‘spooky entanglements’. Meanwhile, downtown, the New Museum confused and provoked in equal measure as we made our way to the top of the five-storey building to enjoy drawing in their Sky Room on a rain-swept blustery Bowery evening. Downstairs, Hans Haacke’s exhibition included a number of rarely seen kinetic works, such as Blue Sail , a flowing piece of floating chiffon that oscillated, seemingly free of constraint, giving us a sense of rhythmic calm. At the Meatpacking District’s Whitney Museum, Pope.L’s Choir , a new installation that explored the fragility of water, had taken over the lobby space. Lights dimmed, a vast milky-white water tank was spotlit off to the side. Above it hung a boxy, upside-down refrigerated drinking fountain, accenting Pope.L’s increasing concern about global access to clean drinking
NEW YORK’S ICONIC MUSEUMS AND VIBRANT ART GALLERIES OFFERED CREATIVE INSPIRATION APLENTY TO 20 UPPER SCHOOL BOYS ON THIS UNFORGETTABLE AUTUMN TRIP, SAYS MARY JO DOHERTY
VIA BASQUIAT’S RAW PAINTINGS, POSTERS, LO-FI NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS AND OTHER PRINTED EPHEMERA, WE WERE TRANSPORTED BACK TO THE REALITY OF THE EARLY 80S NEW YORK ART SCENE
water. Unlike the soundscape of Haacke’s soothing Blue Sail, Choir had a soundtrack of distorted field recordings combined with walkie-talkie squawks and old Hollywood film clips of a mythical Africa. The result was as loud as it was disorientating. Popular tourist destinations, from the Empire State’s panoramic rooftop and the High Line to our Hornblower cruise around the city’s iconic 93-metre-high robed goddess, the Statue of Liberty, provided us with many unforgettable drawing and photographic opportunities, while an afternoon at The Met reminded us not only of Rodin’s genius as a sculptor and draughtsman but also of the sheer scale of America’s largest art museum. ‘50 abstract paintings, Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera’ showcased landmark works by Jackson Pollock, Louise Nevelson and Joan Mitchell, while only two blocks away, Vija Celmins at The Met Breuer highlighted the importance of skill and direct observation alongside a subtle conceptual practice. Whether her sources are mundane objects, sweeping photographs of the Pacific Ocean or reproductions from newspapers, the resulting painstaking drawings and sculptures possess a magical credibility. Snooping round the eclectic Chelsea commercial galleries was a great way to end the trip; having been introduced to all the big-name galleries, it was here that the boys got to discover the most contemporary work. New York reintroduced the magic of painting, reignited their love of video art and gave fresh meaning to site-specific artwork. It was an engaging kaleidoscopic experience for all.
A ‘
kaleidoscopic mind-melt of art’ was one Upper School boy’s memorable mot juste on the creative spirit and streetwise energy of New York’s art scene. Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Guggenheim spiralled us through a wave of progressive contemporary artworks with ‘Artistic License’, in which six artists curate their own selection of artworks, each via a distinct thematic approach. Still at the Guggenheim, Brooklyn-born Jean-Michel Basquiat catapulted us into Black American culture with the arresting exhibition, ‘Defacement: the Untold Story’. Basquiat’s painting The Death of Michael Stewart memorialised the fate of the eponymous
young black artist at the hands of New York City Transit Police after allegedly tagging a wall in an East Village subway station. Via Basquiat’s raw paintings, posters, lo-fi newspaper clippings and other printed ephemera, we were transported back to the reality of the early 80s New York art scene. Lucky to be part of the first tranche of the general public through the doors of the newly expanded and reimagined hang of midtown’s MoMA, students got happily lost in fresh exhibition rooms with canvas after canvas of every painting ever referenced in their sketchbooks. Wide open
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