Happy New Year 2012!

Best wishes for the new year 2012, a year full of museums!

Urban farming as an exhibit in a museum: P.S. 1 NY

I am currently working on documenting a “green construction” of a building conceived as a work of art to be settled in the outdoor space of an art center (will post about it soon) and when doing some reasearch on the topic, I came across the exhibit named Public Farm 1 in P.S.1, that opened in mid 2008.

The concept designed by WORK Architecture was about : 

Public Farm 1 will function as an urban farm while providing an outdoor social space for the summer.  …..   P.F.1’s intent is to educate thousands of visitors on sustainable urban farming through the unique medium of contemporary architecture.

It looked an experiment between ecology, urbanism and architecture, but all based in a museum space.

Expo "Mehr Licht" by Chema Alvargonzalez, at Centro Arts Santa Mónica, Barcelona

 "Mehr Licht", major retrospective exhibition by Chema Alvargonzalez, artist dead in Berlin in 2009.  At the Centro Arts Santa Mónica, Barcelona, the beautiful show is about the artist's light luggages and the association of words, images and the everimposing colored light.

Impactant display with the obscurity/light as the protagonist, but is easy to get used to read between the lighting sculptures and move around to look for clues to understand the artist's statement.

The Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum launched

Just launched the Valentino Garavani archives and virtual museum!

The Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum is an unprecedented digital fashion experience showcasing five decades of fashion history.

There is a quick start link at the botom of page with instructions of use and navigation, but to watch images you would have to download an application and then launch it.

After downloading the desktop application each visitor can create their unique route through the galleries, to discover and enjoy every aspect of Valentino's extraordinary world

It is an experience somehow between 3D, video game and virtuality, that tries to implement the visit with documentation and general information on the couture house, the personality of the designer/couturier and the work of the firm along the years.  Though in principel very interesting, I am not sure if the idea of "playing" with an external application would encourage visitors, but the concept is according with times and online living of many projects.  No news about the possibility of a physical museum to be soon a reality.

Here is the video at the Valentino youtube channel from the press conference for the official presentation in New York: "... Valentino is available to masses ....., welcome to future ......" Anne Hathaway, presenter of the event with participation of many personalities, among them was Amit Sood, creator of Google Art Project.

David Lister: "Art galleries should be like cinemas – open to audiences every night of the week"

A recurrent topic for discussion, a new perspective from David Lister

... Art galleries should be like cinemas, theatres and opera houses. They should open at the most socially convenient hours, nationwide.

Read more in:  Art galleries should be like cinemas – open to audiences every night of the week

Future Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi is on hold

The future new museum Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi is on hold, but some say Emirates have just cancelled constructions fo the museum designed by F. Gehry:

.... Guggenheim director Richard Armstrong admitted that there was a slow-down in the project, due to a review ordered by the rulers. “It is going ahead but slower,” said Armstrong.

 Another vctim of the "long financial crisis"?


Full story in The Art Newspaper

Video channel at V&A Museum

It is becoming more usual that museums open their own news pages via a video channel in their website.  A good example is the V and A Museum, London
V and A museum, video channel

looking at contemporary art?

Power of making, and interesting exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museums (London)

In September the Victoria and Albert Museums, London opened an exciting exhibit, Power of Making, curated by Daniel Charny and in cooperation with Crafts Council.

The show is about:

"The V&A and Crafts Council celebrate the role of making,...... Making is the most powerful way that we solve problems, express ideas and shape our world. What and how we make defines who we are, and communicates who we want to be.  For many people, making is critical for survival. ...."

It is a rather prvocatve, but appropriate statement in current social movements.  The exhibition and the different events complementing the mise en scene, are a proof of the power of museums as learning places, as well as a translator of social paradigms and movements that need a showcase to discover many arts proposals.

A good start of the show is this video from the exhibit's website at Vand A, that is also a striking three screen film installation by filmmaker Juriaan Booij

Power of Making from Victoria and Albert Museum on Vimeo.

The exhibiton well deserves a visit to understand the importance of crafting for having a creative life.

Act for culture in Europe and sign the we are more manifesto now: www.wearemore.eu/manifesto

Act for culture in Europe and sign the we are more manifesto now: www.wearemore.eu/manifesto

Culture in Europe needs not only the sector's attention, but also everyone's action. Please read this manifesto, vote and share with others so that we can colect all the signatures needed to make possible the goal ofthe campaign. Thank you.

Es Baluard (Mallorca) - Opening of "Los Carpinteros: Constructing the world"

Images from last month's opening of the exhibtion Los Carpinteros. handwork – Constructing the world (works from The Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Collection , with presence of founder Francesca von Habsburg) at Es Baluard (Palma de Mallorca), a contemporary art museum/center inscribed into the historic part of Palma into the bastion that for centuries surrounded the city and

 ... the exterior areas are conceived as exhibition spaces and places to walk and follow the perimeter of the walls.  The 17th century reservoir is also an exhibition area and is used for different events in the museum’s programme. The new building is part of the old Renaissance bastion. The 21st Century and the 16th Century buildings coexist harmonically.  (from tne website)

It is an impressive building with well designed interiors and transitions where the indoors/outdoors work well.  The terraces are also considered exhibition spaces and invite to walk. or relx among them.   The museum is integrated into the urban estructure of the city, but also open to the harbor promenade, offering fantastic views and a perfect scenary for the high scale sculptures installed in teh terraces.

As for the exhibition, a collection of works by the Cuban artistic duo, rooted into the conceptual art, was  well organized, clear in the design of the spaces and somehow seaking a spectacular display that some pieces did accomplished, but I would rather have had the installation of the tables/water/lamps in a more open area where visitors could easily have walked thru the works than hae it packed in a small space, it was losing some of its power.  The second huge installation of an wall and pieces of it hangng from fine threads was much better located and created a kind of interesting three dimensional tromp l'oeil that was very much photographied.

The exhibit can be visited till almost the end of January 2012.

Images were taken with phone Nokia 5230.

Museu Fundacion Juan March (Palma de Mallorca)

Museu Fundacion Juan March in Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands), this visit is an example of a very classic space gallery housing ans showing a private art collection, that belongs to a bank (Banca March).  The showrooms are form part of a "casal" a traditional XIX century building in the city of Palma with huge entrance space, and several rooms opening to the central courtyard. The collection is centered mainly in works from Spanish artists from half of the XXth century.

Apps from Musee des Instruments (Brussels)

The Musée des Instruments de Musique (MIM) in Brussels offer an opportunity to hear music outside of the building in an installation about musical chairs, a site located just in front of the main entrance of the museum and that needs the use of application for smartphones.  The signal between the chair explains  how to activate the application and listen to "the instrument of the month". 

Exhibit by Fabrizio Plessi in Mallorca

After a long hiatus, this blog is ready to go back to work with renewed energies.  The next posts will be mixing news from past months and new current projects.

This post is about an exhibition at La Lonja, a monumental building from the XV century in Palma de Mallorca, that was recently restored and re-opened with with an exhibition "Llaut, Light" by Italian artist and resident in Mallorca, Fabrizio Plessi in June 25th and closing next October 2nd, he has recovered 14 traditional mallorcan boats and plays with light in an obscure interior that is sorrounded by a soundtrack by Michael Nyman, reproducing the sound of the sea.

It is dramatic and striking "mise en scene" that could make the visitor reflect about life as a travel, as it is a touring exhibition and has a long journey in the next years.

Deia Archeological Museum (Mallorca)

The Deiya Archeological Museum and Rsearch Center, was founded and housed in a converted mill in the village of Deiá (Mallorca) in 1962 by Dr. William Waldren, archeologist from Oxford University who arrived in Mallorca in 1950s and dedicated more tan 30 years to the research and "rewriting the prehistory of the western Mediterranean".
The museum opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon, my visit was not lucky, here are images only from the exterior. Notice the bulletin board with xerocopies of info-sheets.

PhD's and graduate research inside the museum: a great combination

This a fantastic article and video from The New York Times about graduate students in a museum doing research towards receiving a Phd.  I am interested in the phrase:

.... curators in the museum are working on tailor courses to fit student's expectations .....

MACBA - Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona

In the series of entrances this museum is offering a open plan entrance with the reception desk on one side of the room, well signaled, and a huge exhibit area on the other, with an interest glass wall/door opening to the back garden of the museum which gives perspective the area.

The reception desk is clear and easy to access visual and spatial, but maybe information is not that evident and you would need to be very near the desk to find out.

In fact some of the publicity and communication of the exhibits is shown in a way that it may be mistaken with actual artworks!

The entrance path from the main doors looks like to be conceived as another exhibit space either for special temporary shows or as an advance of what public will encounter inside.

New museum in Antwerp: MAS, Museum aan de Stroom

A new museum MAS Museum aan de Stroom opened its doors to the public in the city of Antwerp (BE) last month of May.  The building, located in the northern part of the city is getting all the attention from the media and visitors, and is claiming to serve as a new attraction pole to the area for residential, turism and services.

The webiste explains the museum and its mission as:

"... MAS tells new stories using the traces of these exchanges. About the city, the river and the port. About the world in all its diversity. About Antwerp’s centuries-long connection with the world. This combination is what makes the MAS unique: it is about Antwerp and about the world"

This video is part of a visit to MAS and an invitation to discover it.

Vintage readings

"The museum experience" by John H. Falk, Lynn D. Dierking

"If economic rather than educational priorites dominate the gift shop, its strength as an education al tool can be severely comprimised" (pp.91)

I would say that sentence does not only apply to the gift shop, but to the whole concept of a museum in the XXI century.
There many other "jewels" like this in the book.

A visit to Neues Museum in Berlin

The Neues Museum in Berlin has been awarded with the Eurpean Union Prize for Architecture Mies van der Rohe, more info on European Culture website and David Chiperfield was the architect who restaured the building and officially received the prize at the Mies van der Rohe Pavillion in Barcelona (Spain) on June 20th, 2011.  The prize "acknowledges and rewards quality architecture in Europe"

THe European Commissioner  for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, A. Vassiliou said in the presentation:

‘I hope this prize will encourage more public and private investors to support the immense talent that we have in Europe in the field of contemporary architecture. I'm sure that David Chipperfield will continue to produce many more magnificent projects, and I wish Ramon Bosch and Bet Capdeferro a very successful international career in the future,’ 

This post is a photo-essay of the visit to the museum.