8/24/2008




LIFE ON MARS

Like some love affair you never get over, I was a bit afraid to be away from my dear Metropolitan Art Museum or new friend MoMA, left alone in Pittsburgh to fend for art amongst the raw expressions of youth and rough gallery spaces. Life On Mars, the Carnegie Art Museum’s 55th annual international easily dispelled such silly kid fears. Major cities tend to get the focus for large curated events, and being in New York I was somewhat spoiled, skipping or dismissing shows for whatever reason, knowing something just as large and unruly would come along I could hem and haw about having enough time to see. Never take what you love for granted, it can be taken away from you in a moment’s notice.

To be honest, we actually arrived at the Carnegie Musuem complex intending to see the Titanic exhibit, only to find that particular complex was located elsewhere in town. I purchased a membership as an act of conviction, and it’s a hell of bargain for $100, which includes four museums, Art: Science, Natural History and the Warhol.

Cool spacious interiors of museums on hot summer afternoons are not to be taken lightly. We stayed put and went to the international. Eventually I would have found this out, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Mike Kelly and David Shriegley while falling head over heels for Matthew Monahan’s tremendous foam and mixed media sculptures. Thomas Hirschorn’s eerie artificial cave or cardboard, foil, tape and other media has got to be the high point for most given how spacious and interactive it is, even if they can’t make sense of it.

It’s a huge show, and in all honesty most of the time I prefer overwhelming, when it comes to art there’s satisfaction too much. Thank god for the robber barons.



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