To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Santa Monica Museum of Art at its location at Bergamont Station in Santa Monica, LA artist Michael Asher was selected for an installation show to capture the essence of the past 37 exhibitions that span the ten years. Instead of referencing the art content of these shows, he has chosen his own conceptualist approach that accumulates the designs of the temporary walls installed for the shows. He has installed aluminum and wooden stud walls in the exhibition space that adds together all of these floor designs. Of course they stack together and intersect at odd points and angles. The result is a maze of studded structure that the public is invited to explore. Despite the many sharp edges, exposed floor braces, and a labryrinth of walls without any entry or exit, the public comes to see and experience.
Remember being a kid at about ten years old, and how we used to explore construction sites after hours, walking through the open studded walls, the smells, the thrill and the mystery of architecture in the making. None of that is in this show, however. Instead, there are closed obstructions of studded walls in all directions, requiring some risk-taking to wander through, although that is all there is to do. Even before entering, you have to sign a no-liability agreement. The first room at the entry has the 37 floor designs with dates and show titles. So what is it all about? No art, no architecture, just an accumulation of temporary studded walls.
Squeezing oneself between the studs, again and again, with chaotic sameness in all directions, one eventually begins to ask this question, what is the point? How is this art? What is this art-installation experience? How do the 37 cutting-edge exhibitions add up to this? My own take dawns after a while, that Michael Asher has many meanings and purposes for this work. Central to all of them is its meaning itself. The dearth of esthetic content engenders a response about the why of it all. What are art museums for, and why do so many people come to them? And what is art for? What are these things – art, beauty, culture, and how does art capture and communicate these qualities? Come and see.
Remember being a kid at about ten years old, and how we used to explore construction sites after hours, walking through the open studded walls, the smells, the thrill and the mystery of architecture in the making. None of that is in this show, however. Instead, there are closed obstructions of studded walls in all directions, requiring some risk-taking to wander through, although that is all there is to do. Even before entering, you have to sign a no-liability agreement. The first room at the entry has the 37 floor designs with dates and show titles. So what is it all about? No art, no architecture, just an accumulation of temporary studded walls.
Squeezing oneself between the studs, again and again, with chaotic sameness in all directions, one eventually begins to ask this question, what is the point? How is this art? What is this art-installation experience? How do the 37 cutting-edge exhibitions add up to this? My own take dawns after a while, that Michael Asher has many meanings and purposes for this work. Central to all of them is its meaning itself. The dearth of esthetic content engenders a response about the why of it all. What are art museums for, and why do so many people come to them? And what is art for? What are these things – art, beauty, culture, and how does art capture and communicate these qualities? Come and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment