On this past Thursday we went to the
Phoenix Art Museum. It’s a real high class place, and absolutely huge. They have something like a dozen different galleries spread across three floors. Huge! We don’t go to a lot of art museums (Louisville’s Speed is about the only other one) so we don’t know how this one compares, but we were impressed with the size and the scope of this one. So many of the museums we have been to of late are packed full of artifacts that are all interpreted for you. Here’s the thing in its case, here’s what we know about, here’s what we think about its place in the whole scope of artifacts on display here. The difference between that and an art museum is striking. At an art museum, at least this one, you get the object and a little card with its name, the name of the artist and the date. The work may or may not even be connected to the other works in the gallery. Each is encountered in isolation.
All interpretation is left up to you, the viewer. That’s just the way art is (“Good, it’s
supposed to be that way,” says Matt). It’s just so different from all the other places we have been.
We started, for no particular reason, in the Asia gallery. 2000 years of Chinese pottery, Hindu deities, lots of Japanese wood block prints. It was all pretty nice. After that it was the Ullman Center for the Art of Phillip C. Curtis. Curtis was a local Arizona artist and founded the organization that eventually became the Phoenix Art Museum. He work was surrealist in the Dalí tradition, but,
as you can see, his work is considerably warmer. There is an almost nostalgic quality to his paintings of suited men bearing gifts and groups of women waiting for the train. Curtis seems to be expressing a fondness for a bygone world rather than a rejection of the modern world. Both have the sadness of alienation, but it flows from very different springs. One of the largest galleries at the museum is currently filled with the annual exhibition of new work by the
Cowboy Artists of America. There were many, many pictures of Native Americans, “vintage” cowboys, modern cowboys and desert scenes. Also there were a lot of sculptures in the Remington vein. A lot of it was interesting to view once, but neither of us really like western scenes all that much.
We spent a lot of time in the galleries for Modern and Contemporary art. There is a lot of love and lot to hate about art since 1930 or so. They, or course, had examples of both. The black metal strip running down the wall titled “Zot” and the series of canvases painted with orange squares: that’s what there is not to like. The wall-sized photographs of public interior spaces and the “pop-ish” wire and wrapping paper sculptures: that’s pretty likable.
There were two installations in particular that we liked. Apparently, they are considered some of the museum’s most popular works. The first of these is
You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies by Yayoi Kusama. It’s a pitch black room hung with mirrors and strings of colour-changing LEDs. You walk in and the endlessness effect of the mirrors reflecting each other surrounds you in a true swarm of fireflies. You are reflected in the mirror too, of course, but only as a dark outline where you block the lights. You are getting obliterated. It’s a really neat piece. Humorously, it was voted
“Best Place to Make Your Move” in 2007. The other installation was
Mass (Colder Darker Matter) by Cornelia Parker. It’s a series of wires from which are hung bits of burnt wood. The whole thing creates a true cube in three dimensions, yet because of the thinness of the wires it looks like a flat shape from a distance. It’s something like an explosion suspended in time. It’s totally awesome. At least Matt thinks so. It was probably his favorite piece in the museum.
The museum is so large that we didn’t get to see all of it. We though we would be there a couple hours but after three and one half it was closing time and we had to go without seeing any of the European, Colonial Spanish or American art. We’ll try to go back and finish up on a Tuesday night when the museum has free admission.
On this past Thursday we went to the Phoenix Art Museum. It’s a real high class place, and absolutely huge. They have something like a dozen different galleries spread across three floors. Huge! We don’t go to a lot of art museums (Louisville’s Speed is about the only other one) so we don’t know how this one compares, but we were impressed with the size and the scope of this one. So many of the museums we have been to of late are packed full of artifacts that are all interpreted for you. Here’s the thing in its case, here’s what we know about, here’s what we think about its place in the whole scope of artifacts on display here. The difference between that and an art museum is striking. At an art museum, at least this one, you get the object and a little card with its name, the name of the artist and the date. The work may or may not even be connected to the other works in the gallery. Each is encountered in isolation. All interpretation is left up to you, the viewer. That’s just the way art is (“Good, it’s supposed to be that way,” says Matt). It’s just so different from all the other places we have been.
We spent a lot of time in the galleries for Modern and Contemporary art. There is a lot of love and lot to hate about art since 1930 or so. They, or course, had examples of both. The black metal strip running down the wall titled “Zot” and the series of canvases painted with orange squares: that’s what there is not to like. The wall-sized photographs of public interior spaces and the “pop-ish” wire and wrapping paper sculptures: that’s pretty likable. 
There were two installations in particular that we liked. Apparently, they are considered some of the museum’s most popular works. The first of these is You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies by Yayoi Kusama. It’s a pitch black room hung with mirrors and strings of colour-changing LEDs. You walk in and the endlessness effect of the mirrors reflecting each other surrounds you in a true swarm of fireflies. You are reflected in the mirror too, of course, but only as a dark outline where you block the lights. You are getting obliterated. It’s a really neat piece. Humorously, it was voted “Best Place to Make Your Move” in 2007. The other installation was Mass (Colder Darker Matter) by Cornelia Parker. It’s a series of wires from which are hung bits of burnt wood. The whole thing creates a true cube in three dimensions, yet because of the thinness of the wires it looks like a flat shape from a distance. It’s something like an explosion suspended in time. It’s totally awesome. At least Matt thinks so. It was probably his favorite piece in the museum.
The museum is so large that we didn’t get to see all of it. We though we would be there a couple hours but after three and one half it was closing time and we had to go without seeing any of the European, Colonial Spanish or American art. We’ll try to go back and finish up on a Tuesday night when the museum has free admission.
2 comments:
That looks really awesome!! Have you guys been to the Art Institute of Chicago? If/when you guys come up here again, we'll totally go.
I love the Phoenix Art Museum. Yu should come back because there are some great exhibits that I saw there recently. I also love the Parker piece; it really looks like an explosion stuck in time. I'm not sure if the Peter Wegner, Contemporary art, piece was up when you were there, looks like a large scale handmade sunset and is in two colors shades. If it wasn't you have to come back to see that alone, my absolute favorite piece.
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