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A couple weeks ago I posted details about my viewing of Color into Light: Selections from the MFAH Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.  There were several inspirational, interesting, innovative, wonderful artists and pieces I did not mention and wanted to take the time to list those works as promised.

Straight from my notes…

A purposeful bareness is aesthetically beautiful, displaying a simplicity that shows an artist’s ability to take a raw object and make it beautiful from a fairly natural state.  Aleš Vašícek does just that with “Green Ring”.  The title is the literal interpretation of the piece, a green ring with a center chiseled away to display the varying green tones of the glass composing the piece.  It struck me as raw and unfinished in places highlighted by the stark contrast of crisp edges in other areas.  My online search yielded only one photo of this piece.  Since that picture does not match the sculpture in the museum, I am including two other works by the same artist that caught my eye.

Kiss

Blue Oval

Similar to Bill Viola, Julio Le Parc also created an underwater world for me, but the emotions happened in reverse.  A large dark room filled with small floating white objects encased Le Parc’s “Continuous (Unceasing) Light Mobile”.  The darkness is a bit overwhelming initially.  People entering the room with me released their trepidation of the unknown only after being coerced by the docent reassuring us it was okay to come closer.  The glittering of the objects, and only light source, reminded me of being in a sea of jellyfish, an effect notably enhanced by being nearsighted.  When I realized the “jellies” were actually suspended disc-like objects reflecting light I was awed that something so simple created such a beautiful effect.  The picture below does not give due credit to this installation, so I urge you to turn the slightest bit of interest into action by seeing it in person.  Another bonus of the work is sharing the awe it creates with others as they discover the intricacies of the piece with you.

Continuous/Unceasing Light Mobile

Mira Schendel’s “Variantes” is a large installation of rectangles suspended from the ceiling by clear cables.  The dangling shapes that seem to have writing on them, instead contain lines with no distinguishable characters representative of language.  If I had to imagine what the organization of my thoughts would look like, at least figuratively, “Variantes” is it.

Ask a museum worker to name his/her favorite piece to watch people investigate, and I am more than certain the majority would immediately name “Diagonal Section” by Marcius Galan.  It is a trip, literally and figuratively.  When I came upon his work I looked around to see if anyone was watching me as I tried to figure it out.  It forces the question, “Is it or is it not what I think it is?”  That is what I kept asking myself as I tried to nonchalantly dip my toe into what was possibly empty space.  Then I hesitated, glanced around, giggled nervously to try and play it off, and made a second attempt to investigate with my big toe.  There was no way a piece of art could fool me so thoroughly, no way in the world.  The burning stare of the guard across the room mocked me as if he already knew the answer to my question.  Due to the peeping watchman, I abandoned my query until his observing eyes moved on to another patron.  Eventually, I discovered it was an illusion, one of the most convincing illusions I have ever seen.  I learned this when my toe did not stop where I thought there was a mirror, causing me to lose my balance and almost topple into a wall.  It must be an amusing sight when someone thinks she is falling into a hard object, and is instead met with nothing but air and embarrassment as she regains her balance.  Bravo, Mr. Galan, bravo.

Diagonal Section

As I reach the end of my notes on Color into Light, I am going to conclude with a little homework and mystery for you.  If you would like to see something cutting-edge, interactive, and fun, then do a little research on Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar.  I want you to want them and feel free to indulge in their art as much as I did.  Let me know how you like it.