A look into Life: Bay Area Exhibit

   "Architecture of Life": Berekley Art Museum, 2016


The Berkely Art Museum has a new exhibit I veiwed on Friday, April 22. The exhibit is the "Architecture of Life" which is open from January 31st through May 29th. The museum is located just up the hill with a modern L.E.D. sign letting visitors know the neew museum is there. When you first walk in the amount of open space welcomes you. The museum gives a few pathways in which to start exploring the museum.


Diller Scofidio & Renfro: Hand Holding A Model of BAMPFA, 2012


The exhibit was a show for the new museum. The musems open space leads one into an environment of exploration where there is much open room to walk around the museum and the space was filled with light. The light seemed to illumiate all of the work that was there to view. "Architecture of Life" gives a view into art that examines the way we see the world through multiple themes and conversations created by the art.


Fig. 1: Stephen Kaltenbach. Portrait of My Father, 1972-79


Fig. 1.5: Heather standing in front of Portrait of My Father


There was a variety of works displayed in the large museum from video pieces, scuplture, and paintings etc. The main part of the gallery, on the floor we enter had paintings and mixed media pieces on the wall spaced out giving viewers enough space to view and interact with the work. The first piece to capture my attention was a piece titled "Portrait of My Father," a painting of the artists father experiecing the effects of Alzheimers (Fig. 1, Fig. 1.5) This piece was set out by itself located at the end section of a wall. This painting draws me in first because of the large size of the painting that seems to take up the whole wall. With a step closer I could see all the detail of the painting. What I noticed where these transparent colored nodes that covered the canvas which seemed to me to symbolize DNA with a connection to life and death.


Fig. 2: Hyun- Sook Song. 4 Brushstrokes over Figure, 2012


Fig. 3: Hyun- Sook Song. 21 Brushstrokes, 2007


Fig. 3.5: Hyun- Sook Song .2 Brushstrokes, 2012


John Viewing the Hyun- Sook Song series


This floor was filled with a few installations, video, and 3D animation; but what kept my attention for some reason were the paintings. The paintings all seemed to have their own themes and many of them didn't relate although there were mounted on the same wall. There was once exception. On the wall right before the end of this main area, there was a series of brushstrokes by the artist Hyun- Sook Song. Two of the paintings were of a dark nature (Fig. 2, Fig. 3). The third painting was the opposite, one of daylight. (Fig. 3.5) The three paintings is a discovery of the characteristics of brush strokes on canvas seamlessly connected with symbolizing the background of the artist as a Korean native. I think the series is an interesting exploration in using the texture of the brush strokes to take the viewer into a deeper look and meaning of the painting. These paintings made me think about history, culture, and tradition and the artist brings all these values together with a brush stroke. The symbolism I see in the approach is how a paint brush can be used as a tool for narrative. The conscious choice to place these images before the exit of this gallery space draws the viewer in once more just as it drew in another viewer John (Fig. 4). We both had the same actions as beginning to exhit this space, but stopped to gaze at this series for quite awhile analyzing its content.


Fig. 5: Tomas Saraceno. Solitary, semi social mapping of ESO-510
613 connected with intergalactic dust by one Nephila calvipes- one
week- and three Cytophora citricola- three weeks 2015


     Fig. 5.5: John Security for Saraceno's Sculptures


              Fig. 6: Tomas Saraceno. Solitary, 2015



             Fig. 7: Tomas Saraceno. Solitary, 2015


            Fig. 8: Tomas Saraceno. Solitary, 2015


Fig. 9 : Andy and Allison viewing Saraceno's spider sculpture


 Andy and Allison viewing Saraceno's spider sculpture


I think overall what worked for the museum was its overall open space. Although the space was very open, the setup of the museum allowed many passageways to view the art displayed around the museum. It also allowed ways to wrap back into itself as a constant pathway as I found myself coming back into certain spaces from other sides causing me to take a second view and notice something I didn't notice before. A good example of this was the installation by Tomas Saraceno. (Fig. 5, Fig. 5.5) This installation was located in a dark area down a small hallway, you enter into this space that the only source of light is the light illuminating the spider sculptures. (Fig. 6, Fig. 7) The room is very dark which draws in the detail of each spider web. Each one of the four in the series is different. The installation speaks to the natural designs of art that we overlook in nature. I find the choice to place these sculptures in a dark room where the light only shows on the sculptures allows a look where we focus just on the dynamic pattern of line that we see in each spider web. (Fig. 8, Fig. 9) I'm not sure which one, but it's interesting to know that some of the sculptures in this series, the result, was obtained by rotating the box over time. 


Fig 10: Noriko Ambe. A piece of Flat Globe Vol. 12, 2010


Fig 10.5: Noriko Ambe. A piece of Flat Globe Vol. 22, 2010

 
        Fig. 11: Ruth Asawa.. Untitled, 1962

The only thing that I think took away from the overall view of the museum was the lower floor. The upper floor seemed more interesting to me which makes since seeing that is the floor that we enter when we go into the museum. The lower floor had very few interesting pieces of art. I felf that the space was a little bit more dim and it didn't feel as open as the upper part of the museum which allowed for a more open viewing experience for the works. The space you enter into the bottom had much empty space and only had a couple of 3D works that made me want to stop and analyze such as the 3D prints (Fig. 10, Fig 10.5) and the brass wire sculptures (Fig.11). I feel that this space wasn't as immersive as the upper floor. I feel like more of the video pieces would have helped to keep the interest of the viewer while spending time on the lower level.

According to the introduction placed on the wall of the main part of the exhibit, "Architecture of Life is a poetic excursion. It presents revelatory images and objects that stimulate reflection on our own experiences of life through the lenses of structure, location, and imagination." I feel that this exhibition was well put together. The museum had many works to offer the viewer that created a conversation on life and how we see things that we may come across along that journey. The museum brought together a great mix of artist that opened up a range of thought that allows us to see things differently.