Last night, thanks to an invitation from J., I had the most wonderful evening at MOMA. ( The Museum of Modern Art)
The event was the opening reception for The Contemporary Galleries ( 1980- Now) new exhibit. With works by (among others) Keith Haring, Martin Kippenberger, and a heart tugging, simple yet moving, piece by Felix Gonzalez- Torres.
Torres "was known for his quiet, minimal installations and sculptures. Using materials such as strings of lightbulbs, clocks, stacks of paper, or packaged hard candies, his work is sometimes considered a reflection of his experience with AIDS" Many of his installations invite the viewer to take a piece of the work with them: a series of works allow viewers to take packaged candies from a pile in the corner of an exhibition space and, in so doing, contribute to the slow disappearance of the sculpture over the course of the exhibition.
The most pervasive reading of González-Torres's work takes the processes his works undergo (lightbulbs expiring, piles of candies dispersing, etc.) as metaphor for the process of dying. However, many have seen the works also representing the continuation of life with the possibility of regeneration (replacing bulbs, replenishing stacks or candies)
The piece currently featured at MOMA involves taking some hard candies with you - and in my case lead to a 20 minute discussion on HIV and the difference between the attitude and perception towards HIV, and the people living with it, over the past 20 years. In my 20's, we all knew someone affected with HIV and were bombarded by the PSA's warning us as to what the disease was, how it was transferred, and how to protect yourself from it. Now, it seems, very few of us know someone suffering with the disease ( thank goodness!) but at the same time, the education of the younger generation seems to have dissapated to a large degree. Will this lead to a resurgence? Perhaps a stronger strain? All interesting thoughts - and exactly what art is meant to do... provoke discussion. Thank you Mr. Gonzalez-Torres.
This is similar to the sculpture we were presented with last night:
J and I also had the privilege of spending time with one of the communication directors for MOMA, who provided us with a detailed overview of several different pieces in the exhibit. Wow! Some of the more modern pieces that I had just dismissed as simplistic and not all that exciting - after being explained the technique, and meaning behind the technique by the lovely and brilliant RT- opened my mind to a whole new way of thinking.
I walked away from last night feeling not only re-energized by art, but intelligent as well. My mind was given quite the workout - and boy did it feel good! ;)
