Reflections: MIA Visit and The Spark Festival
I really enjoyed Andrea Stanislav's installation at the MIA. My first impression was literally, "What is going on?" because people were standing on rocks with their shoes off and the room was dark. As I began soaking in all of the tings that were going on in the installation, I really began to appreciate the art.
I really liked the use of mirrors and reflection used in the second room with the headless horses. There was a beautiful contrast between the darkness of the room and the reflections from the rotating horses. I really liked the use of mirrors and reflections in general because I think it made the people looking at the art more of a part of the art. You can't look at the mirrors without seeing yourself, so your reflection and the reflection of those behind/around you become a part of the art.
When I re-entered the installation, I was able to stand on the pond and watch the entire video. (There were a lot of people in there before). After taking in everything that was going on in the installation the first time I saw it, I was able to look for the deeper meaning in the artwork the second time around. I liked that you couldn't hear the sound of the video unless you were standing on the rocks. This also really brought me INTO the piece. I felt like I was a part of the installation when I re-entered. One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that the horses connected the two separate rooms because their heads were shown in the video after the explosion. It kind of clarified why there were headless horses when you saw the video.
If I were to describe this installation to my family...I would describe it as a beautiful installation that contrasts light and dark. There is not a lot of color and it isn't your "typical" sculpture or paintings. It's very abstract and it allows the viewer to take what they want away from the art. It is interactive and you really need to become a part of the installation in order to take away the most.
I also visited the Nash and Regis to see some of the artwork that's a part of the Spark Festival this weekend.
My favorite piece was the "Hottest Year Record" located right outside of our classroom. I loved the connection of light and sound. I sat there for about 10minutes just watching the light bulbs light up in correspondance with the xylophone sounding music. I loved the patterns that the lights made. Sometimes one light would flash (sometimes fast, sometimes slow) and sometimes all of the lights would light up. There was also a nice change of pace at times during the song.
There were some other really cool pieces that were a part of the Spark Festival, but this one was by far my favorite! :)