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"Unlike most contemporary paintings or sculptures, Eliasson’s pieces are
designed for the viewer to actively participate. There is no instantaneous “I get it” reaction here, no quick summation, as his works are more abstract. They beg you to stare for long moments, lingering before them to absorb something simple like the beauty of natural colors refracted off of water, perhaps even feel the cool liquid touch your skin before it gathers at your feet." |
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Repeat Viewing Recommended
Steven Psyllos on Olafur Eliasson’s Take Your Time is on view at the MoMA and PS 1.
Olafur Eliasson, 1 m3 light, 1999. Halogen lamps, steel stands, and fog machine, 100 cm x 100 cm x 100 cm. Private collection, installation view at MoMA, 2008. Photograph by Matthew Septimus. Courtesy of MoMA and P.S.1. Copyright of Olafur Eliasson, 2008.Wall Eclipse is a rather simple mechanism. A spotlight stands on a tripod in the middle of a white room. Before it a mirror hangs from the ceiling by a thin wire, rotating once per minute. Done. End of story. This is one of Olafur Eliasson’s most remarkable works at his largest U.S. survey show, presented at both the MoMA and PS 1. What I’ve failed to describe is the entrancing shadow slowly drawn across the room as the steady light source and rotating mirror interact. The effect is like the filling of the moon each cycle, from full to crescent to wholly eclipsed. To add to that, when the mirror face reflects the spotlight directly, there is one darkened wall while the opposite wall is completely illuminated. The effect is quite peaceful and staggeringly beautiful.
At the opening of this massive exhibition, co-curator Klaus Biesenbach described a viewer’s reaction to Eliasson’s work as two-fold: “First, there is ‘Wow!,’ followed by ‘Aha!’” The viewer engages the work—whether that means physically walking into a large installation, or standing before a work and letting the mind wander into Eliasson’s dreamy sensory realm—and is taken by an overwhelming sensation of awe. After that initial feeling subsides, the logical portion of the brain kicks in and evaluates how it was done, how that beauty has been summoned. Eliasson manipulates “things”—mirrors, light bulbs, patterns—to expose beauty where one would least expect it. That is the fun of it all.
Beauty is a small dark space in the bowels of PS 1, where a light is focused on a fuzzy line of mist that slowly finds its way to puddle on the floor. The heart of the work is the dreamy trace of a rainbow left there between the floor and ceiling, almost like a fiery portal elsewhere. The angle at which the viewer approaches the work determines the result, as each viewer’s experience is wholly unique. Unlike most contemporary paintings or sculptures, Eliasson’s pieces are designed for the viewer to actively participate. There is no instantaneous “I get it” reaction here, no quick summation, as his works are more abstract. They beg you to stare for long moments, lingering before them to absorb something simple like the beauty of natural colors refracted off of water, perhaps even feel the cool liquid touch your skin before it gathers at your feet. The title of this sprawling exhibit, “Take Your Time,” as well as the show’s centerpiece, also housed in PS 1, hints at such a plea. A large circular mirror, mounted on an angle high up on the gallery’s ceiling, fills the space. The mirror itself slowly spins, and is designed to warp the visual reality of the present moment. The work conjures up thoughts of materiality, how we are submerged in an illusion daily that we take for granted with stubborn belief, one that we hardly ever question each day. How does the crowd react to this monumental work? They lie beneath it, staring into this otherness.
Many can quickly speak on the simplistic nature of the work, how it satisfies the base desire of the gallery attendees’ need for instant stimulation/gratification, how the scale of the work relates to the salivating art market’s search for the next rock star. All of these points are valid, indeed. But one can also find joy in watching a child chase after Ventilator in the MoMA’s Marron Atrium (a manipulated fan dangling from the ceiling like a pendulum, free floating as the air it generates pushes it in any direction, chaotically) while theorizing on Eliasson’s motives and such. Hell, they can easily dismantle Your strange certainty still kept (strobe lights focused upon falling droplets of water) as stoner entertainment. But I see diamonds there frozen before me. I see an artist not satisfied by the mediums so casually displayed at the local gallery, seeking out science and engineering principals to bring forth other forms of aesthetics. With 1 Cubic Meter of Light and 360° of Color I see an artist utilizing electricity to invigorate participation in art viewing, using the energy of the moment, that which fuels our day-to-day existence, to turn our attention back to the essence. Elsewhere in these two venues, I smell reindeer moss, I am reintroduced to the beauty of our spectrum, I stare at the psychotic brilliance of the natural form of icebergs and strange horizons.
In that, Eliasson’s work is closer to poetry than long prose. His focus is on expounding the smaller notion, reveling in it. The pleasure one finds in his pieces is more romantic, closer to nature, easily identifiable to the common man. The Natural Light Setup is a remarkable example of such. Fluorescent bulbs curtained behind projection foil envelope a smaller gallery space. The light slowly shifts tints to replicate various displays of natural light, reminding one of a day at the park, the change of seasons. During my sit, I traveled from a clear winter day to a grey autumn afternoon to a bright blue sky. Is that it? No, the work is hardly a light show. It provokes the body to react to the intensity of light, increases one’s heartbeat upon stimulation, uplifts the spirit upon the rise of a summer blue. That is the key. Eliasson’s work is understood there in one’s chest, after the eyes have focused and absorbed, after the mind is intrigued then satisfied. It resonates, because it is not bashful about being beautiful, because it is actually boasting the beauty of something else. It is boasting the beauty of our own senses and perceptions of the natural world we live in. Stripped bare, there is nothing pretty about fluorescent bulbs or mirrors or bald geometric shapes, but Eliasson’s works make these dead pieces sing like a celestial chorus, so bold and rich, it is hard not to be lured in.
