By: Joseph Kemp and Brian Nguyen
Katherina Grosse: “Is It You?”
Baltimore Museum of Art
On display until 09/19/2021
What’s on View: One large mass of white fabric hung within the gallery space. The fabric is parted into three locations to allow free entry into the inner parts of the exhibition. Sprayed with various colors that weave together for the viewers to follow. With the fabric suspended at points from the ceiling and the excess covering the floor. Encompassing the viewers in Mrs. Grosse’s expansive installation that forms a vibrant and immersive experience for visitors.
Joseph Kemp: When we initially arrived this piece appeared as an amassment of fabric haphazardly strewn about. This impression is further reinforced by the application of paint on the once featureless white mass. I worried our expectations for an entertaining experience were dashed until Brian educated me on the true nature of this exhibition.
Brian Nguyen: Katharina Grosse presents an immersive fabric installation that is partially suspended from the ceiling and expands across the central gallery space. It’s amazing to see how Grosse transforms the fabric into a colorful landscape that engages visitors to become enveloped by the undulating walls. Photos do not do this piece justice compared to being there and having the structure stretch across your peripheral vision. This pandemic made me realize that there is something special about being in the presence of something so grand that makes it impossible to translate well through virtual viewing.
Joseph Kemp: As Brian elaborated, the exhibition didn’t begin until we entered the internals of the structure. According to the artist, this piece was first hung and then painted within the confines of the exhibition space. The shapes and colors tell the same story. The fabric as a canvas, drapes naturally from the ceiling, with sharp turns and smooth curves that follow no recognizable pattern. While being inside of the piece sends you into a living Kaleidoscope. I found my eyes trailing the colors across the fabric like colored winds. I could turn widely in any direction inside Mrs. Grosse’s piece. Finding myself tripping over excess fabric, lost in my inspection.
Taken on site by: Brian Nguyen
Brian Nguyen: That is something I love about this piece, I read that the exhibition was a specifically commissioned work for the BMA. Where a team of preparators suspended over 50,000 square feet worth of canvas rolls from the ceiling. It is almost hard to comprehend and quantify that number on paper. I too found myself lost in the vastness of this piece. Knowing that every paint stroke and canvas fold was created onsite, it would be impossible to transport to any other location without altering the initial product. Grosse embraces the countless possibilities of the medium, with her explosive use of color and working directly onto the architecture. She engages with the medium to create stylized areas where the viewers can see where her hand has touched and the areas that can still be explored. In this art exhibition, Grosse transformed the two-dimensional surface into a multidimensional painted environment that engages the viewers to enter this painterly world of hers.
Taken on site by: Brian Nguyen
Joseph Kemp: I could feel Grosse’s intentions permeate within every inch of this piece regardless of where I looked. Grosse’s colors pull you along every corner and curve with woeful abandon. By the time I found my way out, I would regularly glance at the re-entry points. Making brief, unsure steps towards them to once again experience the euphoric experience that I had been subjected to. However, I did not wish to infuriate the museum staff by overstaying my designated visiting time.
Brian Nguyen: Because of the pandemic, I initially was introduced to this exhibition online. I want to talk about the experience of virtually viewing this piece and learning about Katharina Grosse’s in-situ paintings. Which was extremely convenient as anyone with internet access could pull up her brochure and explore more of her work. The museum virtual viewing gallery is always accessible for people to soak up the art whenever they wish, rather than missing out on the exhibition dates. There are no crowds and no payments when it comes to virtual galleries, making it much more accessible to people by taking travel and entry fees out of the equation. However, I believe that the world of art and its move to the digital realm is not a perfect experience and still has many limitations when it comes to showcasing traditional physical pieces. I believe that there is still so much to gain from seeing these pieces in person.
Source: www.artbma.org
Joseph Kemp: Personally I felt that viewing this installation from simple photographs is a complete disservice to Katherina Grosse. Who has taken the time to engineer this piece of colorful and psychological beauty. I invite others to visit her exhibition, the Baltimore Museum of Art gives this piece its true justice. Allowing it to be experienced as a psychical presence. Rather than subjected to the premature gaze of an uninformed digitized world. However, I would recommend requesting a reservation instead of appearing without warning. Such as I did. I was only admitted into the museum due to an open time slot.
Brian Nguyen: I arrived at the museum without an appointment too, but I think we got lucky since the pandemic was preventing people from visiting in person. You also make a great point, unlike virtual art, traditional art is able to invite and bring people together, like us. Taking the time to schedule a viewing appointment at the BMA already sets up the exhibition viewing experience as an event. Despite the extra work and responsibility, it takes to explore an exhibition first-hand, there is something about the museum environment that causes us to become astute observers. Sharing the same space as the art piece allows us to focus less on the techniques and history behind the creation of the piece, but to focus more on the experience of it. Compared to viewing small screen-sized photos on a monitor of the exhibition. Understanding the full dimension of the medium to be 50,000 square feet sounds impressive on paper, but is unreal and put into perspective when you are looking upon the literal mountains created by the canvas being suspended from the ceiling. There is a real presence that emanates from the scale of the work that can’t be expressed through photos or words. You are also not limited to viewing angles as you would be when viewing photos online. Each step assigns a new visual and temporal perspective for the viewer.
Taken on site by: Brian Nguyen
Joseph Kemp: Yeah as long that new perspective doesn’t involve you lying on the floor. Resulted from a self-imposed tripping hazard. That sure gave me a nice worm’s eye view of the piece, didn’t it?
Brian Nguyen: This was really an eye-opening experience for me, it made me acknowledge that there are many intrinsic benefits that come from viewing art through a virtual viewing and viewing it in person. Mostly, it’s a matter of convenience. The easy access to virtual viewing from home also allows people to quickly learn about the artist and their process. But as of right now, there is nothing that can replace the experience of seeing the artist’s creation right in front of your eyes. For a full experience of the physical art medium, I believe you need to be there to truly be inspired. As for virtual art, I believe that the virtual viewing experience is best suited for delivering this new art medium.