Over the weekend I was able to attend a Ramapo field trip with my Intermediate Drawing class to Dia Beacon. The museum is known for its vast sculptures and the preservation of artists and is built on ideas from artists in the former Nabisco box printing factory. The artwork displayed was all from artists that were popular in the 1960s to 1970s.
My class was met with a very brilliant tour guide who explained the history of the artwork and what it could be to us. We saw art from Rita McBride, Louise Bourgeois, Michael Heizer, Fred Sandback, Richard Serra, Steve McQueen and Andy Warhol.
The museum was ginormous and we went through almost everything we could in the time allotted. The museum was very much interpretive of what you personally saw in each one — the emotions you could feel and what you observed. I went through the museum with an open mind knowing that everything might have many meanings.
Heizer, one of the featured artists, created giant holes in the ground with two levels, each about 12 feet deep. Going about 24 feet into the ground, the giant holes created a sense of depth and unnerving feelings.
With these large indentations, they looked like a second representation of the fountains where the Twin Towers once stood. I was able to get a closer look into the sculpture to see the bottom, it was interesting to get an unnerving feeling from something so simple. It was the concept of depth and a feeling of helplessness if you were to fall in.
The second artist that I observed was Sandback. His piece was an interpretation of space and how he used it was very interesting. He took about two pieces of yarn and put them together and connected one side to the wall and the other side to the floor. How I interpreted it was you are physically in the space with the sculpture and you are part of it too. Our tour guide demonstrated that you could be standing with the sculpture and become a part of the art. This could be very interpretational for everyone because there is not much to look at.
Another sculpture that I got to experience was the immersive installation by McQueen. This was my favorite because it was performance art that allowed observers to take part in it. The installation was in the basement of Dia Beacon and had huge floor-to-ceiling pillars with box lights on the ceiling that alternated colors. When walking through the installation, you were met with one solid color and different sounds playing like knocking and banging.
The lights were the main focal point where it physically changed how you viewed people around you. Since there were red lights, when your eyes adjusted you would see green instead. Green is the complementary color of red so since all you see is red, when you close your eyes you’ll see green. After a while people started glowing green. This made me think of a dystopian society like those of “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” and “Maze Runner.” Everyone in my class agreed that this installation was something you would see in a movie.
Lastly, Bourgeois is a sculptor who created a huge creepy spider like something you would see in “Stranger Things.” This giant sculpture created an eeriness where you know it’s just an art piece but you might be scared to approach it.
This museum is highly impressive for anyone who would like to go, but the only thing I would suggest is to ask for a guide. If you were to go without one you may not like what you see. This museum is meant to represent artwork that was made in the ‘60s and ‘70s, so you may not understand why it is there. Even though it is all interpretive, there is some underlying information that will allow you to understand it more thoroughly through a guide.
3/5 stars
jbarnes5@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jenna Barnes
