Monday 28th November 2011

This morning we all got up (except for Mandy) at 7am to get ready. Ash and I headed off first and got breakfast. I had a bagel again today. Can’t get enough bagel J

We then got to Grand Central Station with plenty of time to spare. It was a busy time of the morning and so the trains were busy. I love watching people on the trains, as I have mentioned numerous times before. They are interesting and provide endless amusement. I have heard some pretty bad stories from some of the others about their experiences with “weirdos” on the trains, but I haven’t had a bad one. I have had a lot of conversations with people though. About where they are from, what we are doing in New York, where we are all going and doing that day. I met a nice guy from San Francisco who was here for a holiday and was trying to find the 72^nd Street Station. Luckily the number 3 express that we were on stops there, I don’t think he knew what train he was on! I told him that my brother lives in SanFran and we discussed what it’s like. I would love to go there.

At Grand Central we found a few people already there and waited for everyone else to arrive. We had a bit of a problem with the tickets but eventually sorted it out. We then had a bit of a wander before needing to get on the train on Platform 21. Mark, Ash, Natalie and I went for a walk a bit of a ways. Ash showed Mark her newly acquired tattoo and we all had a bit of a chat about Uni Qlo...which I always think is UNI QLD when I see their posters! The train was very comfortable and the views of the Hudson River were amazing! The cliffs were gorgeous; I didn’t know it would be like that. I also liked seeing the towns and cities we passed through, like Yonkers.

Okay, so we just got on the return train to New York and I realised that I have left my notebook at DIA: Beacon...sigh. Pretty upset considering all my thoughts are in it... I also wrote 12 pages of notes today, so this will have to be purely from memory and I will have to do my best to remember everything and the artists names!

Dan Favin:

·        I found his work interesting in its approach, but not aesthetically pleasing. It was a good use of space and I asked if it is site specific, which Mark thinks it is.

·        The use of light and how it interacts with the art work is thoughtful. The second work of his that we looked at which had the red light and was like a frame to the space could also be looked at with the artwork next to it (going towards the door series). When you looked back at them together it was like a whole frame and was symmetrical except for the colour.

The rock:

·        I really enjoyed this piece. It was of a huge size and looked as though it was nested in a coffin in the wall. I associate this with the relationship between nature and the man-made world.

·        I like that the artist says to talk about the work in terms of its size and not the scale of it. I believe this is because the size can’t change but the scale can. Indeed, you would first have to choose a scale. The rock could be large or small depending on this scale. With size, it remains equal.

We then moved onto a conceptualist art piece that had writing on the walls and then diagrams of what the writing said:

·        I asked a lot of questions in this art piece. Although it was not visually interesting or attractive, I wanted to know the history behind the work and how the idea of conceptual art was formed.

·        Mark commented that the artists of this style would not look at the Mona Lisa and say it’s not art, but that they would question what makes it art. As though, saying it is art, makes it so. I have a lot of interest in this area. Not just with visual art, but with performative art and theatre and dance and film. Who gives it artistic value? The artist? The audience? The relationship of art is continually evolving and I think the idea of conceptual art gets us as an audience to question our relationship with art. That’s how I see it anyway.

Thread in space:

·        I had seen this work from the previous room and thought it was pieces of glass leaning against the wall. I thought the black threads coming from the roof were actually strong cords or cables. When I discovered that it was in fact only thread, my whole perception of the work and the space changed. I was suddenly more consciousness of my body in the space and careful not to touch it.

·        The angles that were used were really interesting and highlighted the architecture really well. It brought out the strong liens of the building itself and it was obvious that specific choices had been made here.

Holes in ground:

·        There were large holes in the ground in shapes (square/circle/etc) which we as viewers could not look into, except for the one on the end. It made one of the other people in our group frustrated and I feel like this is a part of the whole point and experience of the work. It was so large and I wonder how it practically works. It must be a permanent art work.

Broken glass and sand:

·        I found this art really interesting. My first impression was of the precariousness of the mirror suspended in the sand. When you walk around to the mirrored side, it reflects the roof above, which happens to be of a corner where the roof rises with a glass window. This must be deliberate. Once again, the art is supported by the architecture and the architecture by the art.

·        I have found that spaces such as this and PS1 have added to the artwork, and take the pieces away, they would still be beautiful. We are so lucky to have such inspiring spaces.

·        I found the juxtaposition between the hardness and fragility of the mirror and the looseness and ever-changing state of the sand it was held in really interesting. It depicts the decay and evolution of the materials which I find fascinating.

Artist at the end of the building in the dark:

·        I didn’t really like the artists work, but found it interesting that while is work seemed so half hazard and strewn across the space, it was actually very particular and thought through. The piece at the end where there was a cordoned off space with what appeared to be a body under a blanket, had a light projected on it in such a particular way that my perception of the artist and his work changed.

Robert Ryman:

·         I liked some of Ryman’s work. The work I responded well to were the more monochrome or simple works. I have mentioned before that I find the simple and clean works more to my taste, and it’s the same in this case. Although, I prefer his blacks/whites/greys/browns and not the yellows or pinks.

·        He also seemed concerned at times with how work was hung or suspended. There were actual pieces of, what looked like, sticky tape on some of the pieces. I find this an interesting idea. Like he is pointing out the practicalities of an art exhibition.

Downstairs Video:

·        The video installations were not very interesting to me. The only one that I was engaged in was the room that had green tinted videos that looked like surveillance cameras and stools/chairs that were in the centre facing out in a disorganised circle. It was creepy, sinister, and unsavoury. There was a “big brotherness” to it that was disconcerting. It was effective in creating a physical feeling, but I don’t know if the artist intended that particular reading of it.

Richard Serra:

·        I found that the pieces demonstrated sound and light really well. You could hear people talking, but it sounded like the opposite direction from where they finally emerged. The first of, what I think of as a snails shell, was quite insular and close. Some people felt uncomfortable. There was a definite spatial, aural and personal sense to the whole room.

·        The second tube didn’t involve us walking through anything or around anything to get into it and I immediately felt disappointed. I realise now that if this piece had not been included then I would not have known how much I liked the ‘journey’ of having to go round in circles! I felt the playfulness and teasing nature of the work.

·        The last piece is the one that really played with sound and light. I felt that the work responded to us in it more than we responded to it. Yes, we had to walk round and round to get in or out, but the artists work was actually projecting sound and light from us being there that it would have been so static had empty had we not been there. We gave it life and it existed as a living entity for the time we were there. It would have otherwise have been dead space.

·        Mark mentioned that the sheer size of the pieces has a little to do with the artist’s ego, but also that he likes to take risks and challenge his audience to do so too. For some people this was probably the case. I don’t know if it’s because I come from a theatre background, but interacting with the art only made it more enjoyable for me.

Interactive Art:

·        There was a carpeted space in the middle of the room that you could use. You could take the art pieces from around the room and interact with them in the space. I didn’t realise this at first, but soon figured it out as I watched to women play with one of the pieces. It’s an interesting idea and incredibly performative.

Room with chairs for “Discussion”:

·        This is one of my personal favourites. I found it more of a theatre piece than an art piece, but I am learning more and more of what art is and that the line between my field and this field is very narrow – if it exists at all.

·        The empty chairs seemed to be full and the energy felt charged, to me at least. It was a nice space, if small, that engaged me.

DIA: Beacon; last thoughts:

·        The train ride there and back really is a part of the experience and I feel both started and ended the experience.

·        The space was incredible. The architecture and building was astounding. The views from the windows and the light from the windows really opened the space. I think it works as a gallery because of where and what it is.

·        The change from New York was really nice. Being out of the city I am suddenly aware of the noise and chaos of the city. Not that I mind! But sitting on the jetty or watching the sun set was very peaceful and was a good end to the day.

Well, without my book of notes, I have still managed to write 4 pages! Go me! I have probably forgotten some really important points and art works...and certainly artist’s names!

I will upload this onto my blog when I get home. I may add some more yet, because we are planning to go to McGee’s tonight. It’s the bar the McLaren’s from How I Met Your Mother is based on.