Expansion: The Abramović Method

Things discussed: Marina Abramović; PAC; Milan; performance; being active; being passive; inner space; crystals; quartzes; earmuffs; being naïf; bad trips.

written by e

Among works with a different approach to space, another example is The Abramović Method, which explores one’s inner space.

via dmoda.it 

Expansion: The Big Bambú Theory

Things discussed: bamboo; Doug and Mike Starn; suspension; Venice Biennial; interdependence; being active; being passive; chaos; strings; Mikado sticks.

written by e

Another great example — a huge example — of art in space & space in art is the installation Big Bambú, by American twin brothers Doug and Mike Starn, seen at the 54^th Venice Biennial in 2011.

via Doug and Mike Starn

Like the Tomás Saraceno’s installation, it is a work of art that generates a new space — an experience space which would be impossible in normal circumstances.

Beautiful Boxes: Up to Tate

Things discussed: Tate Modern, guilt, Surrealism, dream, poetry, good ideas, bad seats

written by e

Talk of the Tate without being boring, redundant, repetitive?



The Tate Modern is great in so many ways: accessibility, richness, beauty and vastness of space, variety and value of works, selection of exhibitions. The permanent shows to enjoy for free and the temporary ones to see for a fee. Not to mention common areas, toilets, and a bunch of accessory services. It’s hard not to fall in love with it.

Expansion: Lost in Space, not in Meaning

Things discussed: Tomás Saraceno, being active or passive, void, Hangar Bicocca, Milan, space, time, craters, instability, quantum physics, foam, Yves Klein.

written by e

I am going to correct here my blog co-author who in a previous post wrote: 

Rudolf Stingel: when you think about art and space, his is the name that comes to mind.

Okay: I agree. But I must add a name: Tomás Saraceno. In his installation On Space Time Foam, which I experienced at the Hangar Bicocca in Milan, in January 2013, not only there is no distance between space and work, but also between space, work and you. 

All pictures © Tomás Saraceno

You become an active element of the installation, modifying its shape, balance, and in turn the balance of other active visitors. You have to be active to fully enjoy the work, because the work is an experience.

Out of Space: Francesca Blanc

Things discussed: Francesca Blanc, sculpture, suicide, bronze, naked, Giacomo Manzù, Milan football team, La dolce vita, birthday.

written by e

Francesca Blanc, via Museo Manzú

    Sculpture of Francesca Blanc 

    by Giacomo Manzú

    Bronze

    90 x 50 x 64,5 cm

    1941-50

    Manzú Collection, Ardea (Rome)

This life-size sculpture of a young girl, which I saw during my visit at the Manzú Collection aroused in me two feelings with the same degree: discomfort and grace.

Beautiful Boxes: Giacomo's Sense of Space

Things discussed: Giacomo Manzú, sculpture, Rome, boxes, scary cardinals, fighting lovers, Inge Schabel, muse, captions, forgotten museums, obsessions.

written by e

Museo Manzú, via Isola Verde

Giacomo Manzú (born Manzoni: Manzù is Manzoni in the Bergamo dialect), was born in Bergamo in 1908. From 1964 he chose a hill close to Ardea, 40 km from Rome, as his home. The hill was later called after him. He is one of the great Italian sculptors of the twentieth century, working, exhibiting and teaching in Italy and abroad.

From 1981, ten years before his death, the Manzú Collection, in Ardea, is open to the public and is also the burial site of the artist himself, since 1991.

Beautiful Boxes: A Boxful of Impressions

Things discussed: Ara Pacis; Impressionism; boxes; captions; collectors; red hair; wag artists.

written by e

I happened to be in Rome during the last Christmas holidays, and I visited Gems of Impressionism at the Ara Pacis exhibition space (December 23, 2013 to February 2, 2014). The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and presented a collection of 68 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.

courtesy: Museo dell'Ara Pacis © 2013

Right. Done with the institutional info. The reason why this is the subject of this post is not much the need or desire to speak about the content.

We are all pretty familiar with Impressionism. I will make some considerations about the box that contains the exhibition—and the way this box is lined and padded, as the venue can influence greatly the final perception of a visit, in a way or the opposite. And this goes from how far the ticket desk is from the entrance door (you will notice the importance in a rainy winter day) to the dimension of the font in which the details of the works are written under them.