One of my favorite things to do is to go into the PS1, James Turrell installation Meeting, a square room with a rectangular opening cut into the ceiling. The images produced in that square never bore me. And it increases respect and awe of the universe.

So I was very excited to go to the Guggenheim to see the exhibit there. And the rotunda installions is great. A few years ago I purchased a string of holiday lights that were 2" balls that changed color and the Fort Place Deli on S.I. recently renovated their front signage to changing color lights. It is so calming to sit and watch the colors slowly change from pink to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple and then do it again. At the guggenheim the ceiling installation is set with lighting that similarly changes and is a meditative experience.

The museum also has several light installions on the second floor, one that definitely plays with your vision. Are you looking at light going into the wall or is it a glowing 3D cube?

To see the installation on the fifth floor required a wait of over an hour for us. As we approached the entrance a man exiting the installation told us that we would be better to leave now and not bother waiting any longer. We laughed at him, of course he could not be an appreciator of Turrell's minimal creations like we were, and so would not understand. But the room was an let down. A grey rectangle on the wall, a few lights projecting onto the side walls, the back wall was the best with a glow on the exit.

I went to MoMA last week to see the Rain Room and was told there was a six hour wait, but could see it from the side and get in within a few minutes. Going the quick route made me happy I did not do the long wait.

So the question is after you wait over an hour for entrance to an art installation, what should you be rewarded with? How big does the prize have to be?

 

Phil Sanders at Figment on Governors Island

This was the first year that Day de Dada did not participate in Figment since the first one in 2007. So I was excited when I found that Phil Sanders project was part of Figment! Phil has been in several Day de Dada events, so we consider him part of the team. He always brings an amazing way of creating images using new technology. A digital and interactive media artist, educator, and curator, creating computer art and interactive electronic installations, he has a long resume of well respected venues.

His project "Blue Sky Palace" is based on a chalk drawing piece that he did at Snug Harbor Cultural Center for Connect the Dots in 2009, from a hand-digitized photograph of a Tibetan monk from the early 20th century. 

The Figment process included a photo portrait being taken, digitized, highly pixelated and then rendered in chalk. The  image here shows my chalk portrait and you can see in the right top corner the print of the digitized image that was used. The black chalk was running out so we got creative with the background color. A very abstracted Mary...

Here is Phil digitizing the photo

Creating the grid

And another chalk portrait

A wonderful sculpture by Victoria Bellinger. I own a few of her pieces and may have to get this one too! 

Googled her and found out that her intension is to express humanity in humor and pain. Born in Brooklyn, she has lived in every NYC borough. She trained as a painter but has been making sculpture for more than 20 years, and has illustrated 40 childrens books under the name of Victoria de Larrea.

This is at the Art By The Ferry exhibit at 60 Bay Street until July 30, 2013 along with the great capricious spirits she has created with Everet.

Okay, inspired by reading "Blogging for Bliss" by Tara Frey. Going to start posting some S.I. artworks again. Enjoy! & thanks for looking! Mary