Fun Art @ Phoenix Art Museum
Posted in Art, Museums, Travel | By Shelley Gillespie | Tags: Art, Southwest, Travel
When people think of art museums, they think of stuffy places with art that is centuries old. At Phoenix Art Museum, they’ve have a collection of older works, but have expanded their exhibit space to include a light-filled new wing with an eye appealing collection of modern art.
(The centuries-old masters are there – even a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, for example.)
But, head to the back because the new wing features riveting and thought-provoking modern art.
Experimentation with mediums is the name of the game. Felt, resin, plexiglass, burnt wood, mirrors, metal buckets, lights, blown glass, books, plaster, pottery, ceramic, and the more conventional – oil or acrylic on canvas- are all on display.
Modern artists are anything but stuffy!
Feet as art - Seascape #14 by Tom Wesselman
Who would think that a giant, plexiglass foot could be so appealing? Tom Wesselman’s “Seascape #14” is three-dimensional and just jumps out at you. Colorful, to say the least!
Philip Glass State 1 by Chuck Close
“Philip Glass State 1” by Chuck Close, created in 2005, at first looks like a sepia-toned giant portrait that is the height of a very tall wall. Then, you lean in and see that the giant portrait is a tapestry! – a woven tapestry! That has all of the nuances of a complicated painted portrait. How hard the artist must have worked to get every strand just so to create this lifelike glimpse of Philip Glass!
Buffie by John Latham
And, maybe you might think that creating a collage from books, metal and plaster is something anyone could do. Maybe, but only if you’re talented like John Latham with his work called, “Buffie,” One can only speculate who Buffie was (is?) since the work was created in 1960, but I found it hard to stop looking at the composition.
No Place by Mike Kelley
“No Place” by Mike Kelley is a very busy construction, mostly from felt and is extremely whimsical as the giant collage contains an open space which frames a child’s cloth toy. Inventive, to say the least! The vivid colors were extremely appealing.
Mass (Colder Darker Matter)
And certainly not least in my amazement was the large room filled with an assortment of burnt wood, entitled “Mass (Colder Darker Matter) by Cornelia Parker. The dangling fragments filled the room with an eerie, but riveting, presence. Two walls are open so you can see the work from different perspectives.
See the Museum
Visit the Phoenix Art Museum if you are in the area. It is entertaining to see the array of works by many artists from centuries ago and the current crop of modern, imaginative artists.
There is an admission, but on Wednesdays from 3-9 PM and on “First Fridays,” a voluntary donation is suggested. Special exhibitions may require an extra fee.
(I was drawn to a number of works, but museum copyright rules prevented me from taking photos of some of the works.)