January 28, 2011

Here, Sandile gets pretty in-depth as he explains the piece Spinal Diagnosis--a regenerate case no. 2. He goes on to say that it is one of his favorites.

The intern perspective

My name is Meghan Park, and I’m an intern in the Education Department here at the NMAfA. I’ll be contributing to this blog with thoughts and doings from an Education angle as Artists in Dialogue 2 progresses!

Today I visited the gallery for the first time since installation of Artists in Dialogue 2 began. While I’d been told, and saw from this blog, that the pieces being installed were being done on a grand scale, I was not prepared for the fully consuming experience of being in the gallery space. Walking into the gallery was a sensory feast. Initially, my eyes didn’t even know which way to look. The twists and turns, the textures and shades, the rough edges and dark scorch marks provided so much visual interest, it would have been easy to stand in one spot and stare for a very long time. At the same moment that my mind was attempting to process the incredibly surreal images of this convoluted wooden entity and charred outlines, my nose was filled with a scent that was powerfully earthy. The wood on the piece, as well as laid out in strips on the floor and soaking in a wooden crate-turned-bathtub, has a distinct smell that brings to mind forests, construction sites, and rain. Meanwhile, the piercing sounds of staplers and nail guns provided the soundtrack and in order to explore every nook and cranny of these fascinating artworks, I found myself walking in circles, stooping, squinting, and cocking my head at all angles. The nature of the art forced me to physically engage with it in order to satisfy my curiosity about it, and so my whole body became involved in the process of learning about what was in front of me.

It is exactly this type of absorbing experience that we at the museum and in the Education department are hoping to inspire. The mission of the Smithsonian affords us wonderful opportunities to go beyond the surface of the art and investigate the physical, intellectual, emotional and personal experience of encountering artwork like this in the context of a museum space. With that in mind, I have been developing a set of Thought Questions to be used in various aspects of this exhibition. Here they are:

What common themes do you see between Henrique’s and Sandile’s works? Think about reclaimed materials, social and political commentary, nature and the environment. Where and how are these themes reflected in their works?

Do you feel the processes involved, like burning, reclaiming, bending and breaking, are as meaningful as the finished pieces themselves?

How does the large scale of Henrique and Sandile’s work affect your physical and visual experience of being in the gallery?

Sandile Zulu lived through the apartheid era in South Africa. Is this relevant to the way you interpret his artwork?

Henrique Oliveira frequently passes by the favelas, or slums, in Sao Paolo and uses old fencing from these neighborhoods in his artwork. Do you think he is making a statement by choosing this material? If so, what?

What, if any, aspects of Henrique’s works feel specifically Brazilian to you? What, if any, aspects of Sandile’s feel specifically African?

Do Henrique’s and Sandile’s pieces challenge any ideas or convictions your previously had about what art is, how it is created, and what it means?

Exhibitions like this one hope to spark your curiosity. What additional commentary, interpretations, or voices do you want to hear? What would you add to the conversation?

Perhaps these questions will help to spark some hearty discussions and provoke some challenging debates! This installation should that get us all thinking, looking, smelling, feeling, and talking. 

snow days

It's a bit desolate around here as the weather takes a turn for the worst outside.  The artists work on, however.  Today, they even had to shuffle their work around meeting with schoold groups -- a first grade class from Key elementary and painting students from the Corcoran School of Art.  I am running a bit behind with my picture taking, but there's definitely been process.  The platform is in place for Sandile's sculpture, "Spinal Diagnosis - a regenerate case no.2" and I'd say a good 80-85% of the surface Henrique's "Bololo" is now covered.

Sandile's platform is coated with a green primer.  It will be painted white before he begins installing.
We're jsut waiting for a clear path through Henrique's "tapumes!"

Henrique's "Xilonoma Chamusquius" still lies on in three parts on tables in the gallery. Here, Don Llewellyn is making a template for where the screws will go when we attach it to the wall. This way, we will be able to find the screws without digging holes in the wall when it's time to deinstall.

Henrique selecting some "tapumes" strips of wood for the surface of his tangled roots, "Bololo."

January 25, 2011

Today, Sandile talks about getting comfortable with the exhibition space and how happy he is to finally be in Washington, DC.

Welcome arrivals

 

Henrique's art has finally arrived from Brazil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And was it ever an adventure.  After weeks of bureaucratic hassles, the truck pulled up on Independence Avenue and --- drum roll please --- did not fit into the loading dock shared by The National Museum of African Art and the Freer Museum and Sackler Gallery of Asian Art!  It was too tall.  So, the museum's noble staff unloaded the crates there on the street in the 20-something degree weather.  The enormous crates were wheeled down the driveway, through the loading dock, to the doors of the museum, through which.... they were to big too fit.  In the end, one of the crates for Henrique's impressive new artwork, Xilonoma Chamusquius, had to be unpacked in the loading dock and then very carefully wheeled across the museum to the gallery where it now resides awaiting installation.  Henrique has taken just a bit of ribbing about why he couldn't have made work that was just a few inches smaller.

Did we mention they were heavy?

 

safely in the loading dock

K-9 Inspection team arrives to make sure there is nothing nefarious in the crates....

Back in the gallery, the crate containing Henrique's tapumes is repurposed as a bath tub to soak long strips of wood, though the staff are all vying to get a turn soaking out their own aching muscles

The other incredibly weldome arrival: Sandile!  He made it safe and sound from Johannesburg and came straight to the museum to see the excitement and catch up with Henrique.  We gave him sunday off to recover, but as of today we are starting to videotape him, as well, so stay tuned to hear him in his own words tomorrow!

January 24, 2011

Here's an updated panorama of the piece. 

January 24, 2011 -- Welcome Sandile Zulu!

Welcome to Sandile's first post. We look forward to hearing more from this fascinating man.