Wow. I’ve never witnessed anything quite like The Armory Show before, and thus, not surprisingly, I found it to be an extremely overwhelming, yet absolutely fascinating experience. It is such a unique opportunity to have approximately 150 galleries gather together in two piers. Even in areas with some of the highest gallery concentration, nothing compares to the sheer massiveness of this show. But the galleries themselves were not massive at all, rather quite the contrary. This set-up is sort of like one stop shopping, except for people with copious amounts of money to spend. Yet even for the people who have no intention of paying a penny more than the admission price, not even for an overpriced sandwich, myself included, The Armory Show is still a great experience.
When I first walked in, my attention was immediately drawn to by a giant, spinning, mobile like object, comprised of several strands of pearls, rope, and a motor, located in Emmanuel Perrotin’s gallery. What initially caught my eye about Lionel Estève’s untitled mobile was the motion of the art, but kept my interest was its amorphous nature, which was controlled by the motor. Depending on the speed at which the piece was spinning, its shape would slightly change. When I first started watching, it was much more wide than long, but as I looked on, it slowly began to stretch out as if it had gone on a diet. As I approached the mobile, I noticed a description on the wall that stated “The laws of gravity have been pushed aside by centrifugal forces and optical effects,” which added even more meaning. Previously, I hadn’t really been thinking of the piece in terms of words, but rather just staring at it and giving it all of my attention. But once words like “gravity” and “centrifugal forces” are brought up, it becomes much more serious. I began thinking about the physics behind it, but I never actually took physics, so I didn’t get very far. After several minutes of intense staring, it was time to move on anyway.
When I turned away, my attention quickly shifted to Doug Aitken’s “Crystal Coma,” a series of 24 photographs arranged in a rectangular fashion on the wall of Eva Presenhuber’s Gallery. The defining characteristic of this set of prints was their shape and perspective. They were all shot looking down some sort of hallway or path that gradually became narrower and narrower until it reached the vanishing point. The unique thing about these photographs is that they were all shot in various landscapes; several were long narrow corridors, a few were taken outside, like one of a path through a garden, I think there was even a parking lot. But despite their distinctive differences, they were really all about the same thing, and this held them together quite well as a set.
Another one of my favorite pieces was “You Can Sleep” by Gabi Trinkaus, on display in Georg Kargl’s gallery. From far away it is attractive enough as New York City skyline at night, but approaching the piece reveals that it is secretly (or maybe not so secretly) a collage of various adds and magazine clippings. I’ve always loved this mosaic sort of collage, perhaps it’s because it is an art form I wish I myself could create, but though I’ve never actually tried, I have a feeling it might not turn out how I would like. Nevertheless, I was entranced by this piece, and it appears I have good taste in art, because I read soon after that designer Donna Karan bought it for $23,000.
And for something completely different, I was fortunate enough to have my first Eva and Adele sighting. These characters were identically dressed in large brown fur coats and pink boas with matching pink purses, both also sporting a completely bald head and plenty of makeup. Even in such a giant art show, they definitely stood out and everyone noticed them. They successfully accomplished the difficult task of adding a unique touch of personality to something which is already so unique in its own right.
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