15 April 2012

Sunday Afternoon High

I allowed myself a brief reprieve from the prosaic ordeal that is studying for the A.R.E. and wandered into the High Museum this afternoon. 


I never consider myself a Richard Meier fan until I’m in one of his buildings.  At first blush it is easy to dismiss his architectural style as cold, inorganic, predictable – simply a “style”.  The reality is just the opposite.  His buildings are more experiential voyages than they are simple built objects – so much so that I forget why I’m there.  

The High is a fine example of his earlier work, but for me, Meier’s crowning achievement is The Getty in L.A. That campus of structures is as thoughtful a manipulation of space, solid / void, differing texture as I have seen. Path.  Space.  View. Vista.  Adjacency.  He identified and exaggerated the hilltop site’s inherent character and took full advantage of its every nuance.  His choice and distribution of materials, the sequence of moves and their inter-relationship are so subtle that this relatively new facility convinces you that it has always lived there – so deliberate that it feels naturally occurring.  The Getty seems somehow historic, monumental but at the same time perfectly understated.  It’s stunning really and makes me feel like an absolute hack.  As a brash, not so young, know-it-all architecture student I spent a flawless, solitary afternoon on the grounds of the Getty and was forced to confront the agonizing truth that I really didn’t know a damn thing about experiential space.  I’ve attempted (in futility) to replicate small moments from that day in the work that I’ve done since.  I will keep trying.



In college, I had an idealistic, socialist professor who had a significant early influence on my architectural preferences.  He also colored my interest in art to some degree.  He introduced me to Constantin Brancusi, a Romanian sculptor who rose to prominence during the first half of the 20th century.  I’ve seen many of his works but most galleries only have one or two pieces.  The traveling exhibit at the High has (3) of his sculptures and several of his photographic studies and sketches.  I haven’t seen as extensive a Brancusi collection in one place before so today was a must.


What is significant about Brancusi past the beauty of the artifacts he produced is the process of making and creating that constantly evolved over his life and career.  He was interested not with the outer form but the underlying idea of the form – the very essence of the thing.  What he captured in bronze and stone and wood is breathtaking.  The beauty of “the thing” is found in its abstract simplicity.  Comprehension of this design construct eluded me for a long time, but when it clicked, I’ve been hooked since.  I can (and have) sit in a room with his work for hours and every time I do I’m amazed by the fact that I see another facet of not only the art but of the artist as well: another layer of understanding his non-literal representation of nature is uncovered.  Every time, I leave humbled.




These photos are pointless really – you have to experience his work in person to truly appreciate it.

Today's was an impressive collection of many of the 20th century masters; Picasso, Warhol, Matisse, Duchamp, Mondrian, Johns, Pollock.  It runs through the 29th – I highly recommend you find your way to the High before then.  The Art of Golf is on display right now too as well as the High’s permanent collection.  (Note to self:  Spend more time with art.)




I left the museum feeling refreshed.  Invigorated.  Rejuvenated.  High.   

Art holds the power of enlivening and lifting the human spirit and mine was lifted this afternoon.  Art matters.  It matters at all levels, from the scribblings of a child to the life’s work of Jackson Pollock and at every point in between.  It’s one of the most positive aspects of the human condition and when you see it; when you feel it like a punch in the gut or a warm embrace – when it makes your pulse quicken, your heart race you know that you are alive.  When you experience a piece that makes you question your own views of the world, that challenges your ideas of beauty, of politics, philosophy you are existing at the highest levels of human consciousness.  You are taking full part in the human experiment.  You don’t have to “know” art to love it but if you do your awareness and knowledge will feed your desire to learn and your love of art will grow.  


Art is certainly subjective but there is no such thing as bad art in my opinion.  That said good art can deliver raw emotion, illuminate pleasure, pain – it stimulates our mental development and allows us to face difficult concepts and realities.   When human beings endeavor to create we strengthen our position as an intellectual life form.  I believe that creativity can not only raise awareness of all ideas and characteristics of being humanour strengths, our fragility, our mistakes, our victoriesbut can give form and substance to the abstract, unspoken nature of our existence.  It helps us understand why we are the way we are.  The making of art is a biological imperative.  Without it, without creativity, society would fade and die.



Art gives me hope. 


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