They say all art derives from other art. I never find this
more accurate than when I’m in search of inspiration to get me started on a new
piece. After a semester of devotion to my senior art thesis, my professors
challenged me to desert the majority of my work and accept an entirely new
direction. Having only a week and a half left before installation started, I
found myself dry of inspiration. At this point in the semester I had my fill of
the Philadelphia art scene and needed something new and inspiring to chew on.
My solution was New York City. Between the numerous museums and bountiful
galleries, I knew there was a feast of inspiration waiting for me to devour.
Armed with
my sketchbook, camera and open mind, I headed to Chelsea district for a day of
gorging on all the contemporary scene had to dish up. As I traveled from one
bleak gallery to the next, I found myself unimpressed and uninspired. To my
surprise, surrealism had made a come back. The running trend of hair, weaves
and wigs in the artwork I saw left me starving for that “Wow” moment, as I
tried not to lose hope.
As I turned
down another block in the copious gallery district, by random chance, I enter
the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery. Immediately I knew this gallery was different than
the rest as I heard the uplifting sounds of children’s laughter echoing off the
stark white walls. After walking through a small corridor of netting, I turned
the corner into the main room to find exactly the opposite of everything I had
seen thus far. Children and adults were engaging physically and mentally with
the colorful exhibition quite joyfully.
The artist
that brought such joy to the relatively serious gallery district is Ernesto
Neto with his “Slow iis goood” sculptural-installation-conceptual exhibition. The lower
floor main room contained an oversized, vibrantly colored, hanging piece right
in the middle of the room that invited me to come play. Happily abandoning my
serious manner from just moments ago, I was instructed to remove my shoes and
climb on in. As I explored the crocheted tunnels suspended from the ceiling I
began to feel that “Wow” moment come on as I realized this work is incredible!
The crocheted polypropylene and polyester cord
moved and stretched as I laughed and stumbled through. In order to give the crocheted “tunnels” structure to walk through, Neto
filled the walking base with dark colored balls similar to those in children’s
ball pits. When I found a quiet, more serene upstairs level, the subtle scent of spices filled the air. On this piece, Neto crocheted webs that hung down from the sides and held pots containing various spices. This was a different experience from the lower
level. I climbed in to The Sun Lits Life, Let the Son, walked to the end and sat down. I wanted
to take this moment in. With my senses fully engaged I thought, this is the kind of artist I want to be. As I got
down and walked around the room I was officially in awe of Neto’s work.
The day was pushing forward and my friends were pulling me out the door. We had many more blocks of galleries to go see. Neto’s installations rejuvenated me and reassured me that there will be more work that speaks to me the way his did. Although I didn’t find another artist like Neto that day, I was content and grateful to have experienced his work.
-Briana
Photography by Briana Marrocco
