It was hated and reviled when it first came to town, and yet, thirty years later, the sculpture has the last word. Louise Nevelson’s sculpture “Summer Night Tree” was hit by a Lexus last night. The sculpture, made of steel survived quite nicely, the Lexus, however, did not.
More here:
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2009/11/car_hits_summer_night_tree_scu.html
I have been a big fan of Nevelson’s work ever since I saw her piece Sky Presence 1 at the Toledo Museum of Art. The huge assemblage of wood, painted black, compelled you to climb up and touch, but as a good visitor and a student, I knew better. The piece always intrigued me, as it was lit with the regular gallery lighting, but it had two blue spot lights on it as well. To this day, no one has been able to tell me if this was a Nevelson choice or a curator choice. Depending on the day and conditions in the gallery, the piece could have a blue tint to it or it could be saturated with sunlight filtering in from the gallery’s sky lights. I also remember the piece having a distinct smell to it, one that reminded me of the painting studio in the School of Design located in the basement below the museum. It could have been the fumes wafting up from the basement, or it could have been the patina of paint that Nevelson and her workers applied to the piece. Regardless, it involved more than just your vision, and that’s what I loved.
It made your nose twitch with the smell of linseed oil and other studio smells, and it made your hands eager to explore the nooks and crannies created by the layering of the various shapes of wood by the artist. The piece here in Jackson was out in the town’s square for several decades, and countless people have done to it what I wanted to do to Sky Cathedral in Toledo. It was climbed on, ran around, touched, and explored by visitors of all ages. I used to drive by the site on my way to work a while ago, and I remember seeing the sculpture crated and sitting along the edge of the Grand River as the City Fathers decided its fate. I envisioned a Fox News type countdown in my head “NEVELSON HELD HOSTAGE: DAY 40” as I drove by it each day and witnessed its silent indignation along the side of the river.
My Modern Art Professor also showed us pictures of Nevelson herself during the lectures on her sculptures, as he knew that often times, the artist is indeed more interesting than the art they create. The pictures he shared of her screamed “Diva!” and we all knew, even though the word hadn’t been assigned to this demographic, she was probably a “Cougar” as well. And, decades before Christian on Project Runway would use the word “ferosh” she was bringing her fierceness to the masses with Amy Winehouse meets Tammy Faye Baker eyeliner and her rockin’ caftans.
So what have we learned today class?
Don’t fuck with Modern Art, especially a Louise Nevelson.
To the anonymous Lexus driver, I hope you are okay, but sleep well tonight knowing that your car was just pwned by one of the 20th century’s greatest artists.
Louise FTW!
LOL! I want to be like Louise Nevelson when I grow up.
ReplyDeleteA favorite childhood memory is of the unveiling of the statue.I was too young to know much about art, but my dad knew Nevelson was important, so we rushed through dinner and headed to Jackson Square. While the sculpture was impressive, I was most struck my Ms. Nevelson herself. I'd never seen anyone like her. She looked not unlike a short Cruella DeVille, clothed in mounds of purple material and jewelry, with skin that was either very pale or plastered with powder. Her affect was kind of bizarre too, like that of someone who was either really high or just not centered in the reality the majority of us share. After the big reveal outside, there was a meet and greet inside the hotel. As I remember it, she sort of just mingled through the crowd alone, not really interacting with anyone and it seemed that people were afraid to approach her. As it turned out, my dad thought the sculpture was crap.I've always liked it, maybe moreso because of the strange woman who created it. created
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Nevelson. Now I do. And what an incredible way to find out about her.
ReplyDeleteThe scary thing is that looking at this picture, she reminds me a lot of my mother-in-law who is definitely a diva, although not a cougar.
I was reading the many comments on the news article and they remind me of something that happened here.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, the city of Ottawa had an "art park" in an area of land which was little used but really quite beautiful. A number of works had been donated by various artists. Needless to say, the fact that these were "modern art" got some self-righteous citizens' underwear in a knot and there was hue and cry about "taxpayers money" and "eyesore" and a petition went round to have them removed.
Never mind that they were donated and that the land had for the last 50-odd years been pretty well unused parkland and remains pretty well unused parkland. Never mind that the existence of an art park would draw locals and visitors to an area that to this day no one uses. These were "eyesores" had to go.
Some earnest woman came to my door one day and wanted me to sign the petition and I said "Well, I'd like to see them, myself."
"What would you want to do THAT for!??"
I asked if she had seen them "Good God, NO!"
I never got the chance to see them in person because one night a group of these people took it upon themselves to haul them out of the park and throw them in the Ottawa River where, as far as I know, they still are.
The city had to pay the artists for their works and money truly was wasted and it was wasted by these self-appointed arbiters of taste.
Art brings so much to the world, some tangible, some not. It is my hope that the world will become a better place because of what I do and teach
ReplyDelete