Today we went to Hudson Yards in Manhattan to visit The Shed, a relatively new museum focused on the commission of visual arts including works of painting, sculpture, mixed media and performance art. We saw installations, sculpture and performance by Studio Drift, a pair of artists based in Amsterdam. The show “Fragile Future” transformed the galleries through an experiential performance using a multi sensory installation that utilizes movement, sound and film. The goal of this exhibition focused on a world where technology enhances nature. For me, the main blocks of the exhibition made me think of building. Not only did the plain, grayscale material recall contract and the act of construction, but the placement of these industrial blocks throughout nature created a stark contrast between the two. It made me think of a number of other issues that we are dealing with in today’s society, such as climate change. This, coupled with the materialism section (blocks of materials making up everyday items such as a starbucks cup or an iphone) of the gallery made a powerful commentary on the meaning and state of the environment today. I also found myself thinking about the performance itself, the kinds of shapes made through and the use or lack of use of negative space. The room was darkened, with only four lights at each corner illuminating the space. There were also fog machines placed next to these lights giving the room a sort of eerie, almost somber feeling. The lights were pointed upward, revealing the blocks which would move through the air. While doing this, they cast interesting shadows and sometimes obscured the lighting, so some blocks would be darker than others. Since the floor was completely open, viewers were allowed to walk in the space – even directly under the blocks. This was a really interesting aspect of the piece as it not only allowed but almost forced the viewer to become part of the art, suggesting that their movement was also part of the performance. This movement also brought to mind the title of the blocks, which are referred to as “drifters.” While the name was not really explained, and isn’t on studio drifts website, it can be assumed that this name has been given due to the fact that these blocks drift throughout the air. However, I also felt like the people below were drifters as well – since instead of remaining static they also moved throughout the space. The whole performance was set to a musical soundtrack created by another artist and singer/songwriter ANOHNI. The soundtrack was composed of a deep dramatic instrumental track alongside a number of sounds such as crashing. One of the sounds reminded me of the noise that is made when scrunching up bubble wrap, which helped to convey this message, or theme, of technology and the environment. We also walked through the galleries at The Shed, seeing a number of interesting installations that were truly one of a kind.
After this, we met with one of the lead curators at The Shed. Adeze Wilford, kindly met with us to discuss her experience and work at The Shed. She began by telling us how she became a curator, with an undergraduate degree in art history and a number of internships with museums – most notably the curatorial fellowship at the MET. She went on to explain her artistic interests and how working at The shed alleged with these, since they focus on new art made specifically for them. She also discussed how to get into the museum industry, focusing on museum internships (she also shared that she didn’t believe in unpaid internships, which was a relief to hear). It was great to meet with her and listen to her experience, especially as a younger, African American woman. It was really valuable to hear from her and answered a lot of questions I had about curation as a field. I also really appreciated how informal the whole meeting was. We were able to sit in the cafe of the museum and talk intimately with her (though it was extremely difficult to hear her over the music playing). Writing this blog post has actually made me think of more questions that I would ask, if I had the opportunity. One of these is, I wonder about the title of the museum. She shared with us the goal of the institution but I wonder if it is appropriate to call it a museum and if not what she would title it as.
Later in the day we visited 3 or 4 galleries in the Manhattan area. We also ran into a gallery director and artist who we were able to have impromptu studio visits with. One of the artist’s we saw in the Malin Gallery was a former teacher at Drew. Valerie Hegarty works with a number of materials to create really interesting three dimensional art pieces. This gallery focused on her work made over quarantine where she utilized a kind of epoxy clay called magic sculpt. My favorite of her works was a table of kitchen utensils sculpted to look like human bones. I also enjoyed her flower based works as they reminded me of Dutch still life painter Rachel Ruysch.
