On Friday, September 29, 2023 Richfield Springs art students visited the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art or MassMoCA. This is one of the premier contemporary arts centers and it attracts the biggest names in today’s art world. This museum is different from most in that it does not have any permanent collection. Most of the work that is on display is made for the space by the artists. The exhibits are regularly changing so you will see something different every time you visit. The facility itself is like a work of art. It was a factory and an electrical company before it was a museum. Many buildings on the site are connected together to create the gallery spaces.
One of the installations on display is by the artist Amy Yoes. The MassMoCA website best describes it. Amy Yoes’ site-specific installation Hot Corners, transforms a 142-foot space in MASS MoCA’s Building 6 into a multi-room, immersive complex with thematic forms and functions. Each of the installation’s five rooms—the Foyer, the Parlor, the Library, the Theatre, and the Drawing Room—are designed with custom-built mobile furniture acting as shifting set pieces for a variety of functions including art making, socializing, reflection, and performance. Rather than static and fixed, the installation is a set of evolving propositions and possibilities. Combining Yoes’ passion for architecture, period rooms, interior design, and decorative arts in a dynamic environment, Hot Corners serves as a destination space for interactive participation.
Another installation is by the German Painter Anslem Kiefer. Kiefer, who first visited MASS MoCA in 1990 when the museum was still in the early planning stages, ranks among the best-known and most important of post-World War II German artists living and working today. Born in 1945 in southern Germany during the final days of the collapse of the Third Reich, Kiefer experienced divided postwar Germany firsthand. Across his body of work, Kiefer argues with history, addressing issues from recent history with bold directness and lyricism.
These are two of the forty seven artists currently on display at MassMoCA. There was not enough time in the day to visit the entire collection. What was experienced challenges new and experienced art students alike through exciting methods.