“Art” Stuff, 2013-2023


We visited several art installations in Houston in the last few weeks: 1) Museum of Fine Arts Houston, 2) Seismique, and 3) Rice University.  Here is a sample of the art:

 

The “Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity” by Yayoi Kusama, is again on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. To mark her 80th birthday, she created this infinity room that represents the annual Buddhist Toro nagashi (Water Lantern) ceremony honoring one’s ancestors. The room is a cube (about 10 feet cubed) with mirrors on all the inside surfaces, including the floor. There are LED lanterns hanging from the ceiling that change intensity. A couple of people are allowed inside on a narrow path and the door is shut behind you for a minute to enjoy the display. The reflections appear to go on into infinity. The “shadows” in the middle (and reflected around) are me and Karin standing side by side. If you look closely at the figure in the center on the left, you might even see my camera covering my face taking the photo.

 

We visited Seismique in northwest Houston for the first time. Seismique is a museum for “Immersive art installations that affects visitors by use of sound, color, movement & light”.  There are multiple rooms with 40 interactive displays in what used to be an old 40,000 square foot Bed, Bath, and Beyond “big box store”.  Above, Karin is in the “Color Portal” that changes colors.

 

One of the more interesting displays was the “Alien Grass” art work above. The 12-16 inch colored spheres were mounted on flexible poles and responded to touch. The walls and ceiling were mirrors reflecting the images of the spheres. Below is a short video clip to better illustrate the effect – look for my hand tapping on a sphere on the lower left that initiates the changing colors and sound.

 

Another Sesimique room, this one titled Eden.  The “Spheres” and “Eggs” changed color and intensity

 

This Seismique art installation was a bit freaky to walk through. The stationary walkway went through a slowly rotating drum that had the same star pattern as the walkway and the exit wall. The stars on the rotating drum are streaked in the photo due to the camera low shutter speed. The motion in the drum around you vs. the fixed exit image tended to mess with your equilibrium.

 

Karin here is “interacting” with the color patterns on the wall that would change based on your movement and proximity.  This Seismique art was titled “Output Condenser”

 

 

The James Turrell “Twilight Epiphany Skylight” is part of the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion built in 2012 on the Rice University Campus. The art work is constructed of grass, concrete, stone, and composite steel and is equipped with an LED light sequence that projects onto the ceiling. There is an aperture in the 72-foot square knife-edge roof. The lights transition color for about 40 minutes during sunrise and at sunset. Turrell, the American artist, has worked directly with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits (and wonder) of human perception. 

The slowly changing sky color and the changing lights on the ceiling is somewhat mesmerizing. 

 

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White Pelican paddling on a calm Burnet Bay on a grey, foggy day…..kinda dreamy…..  Feb2, 2022.

 

 

We visited Lightscape at Houston Botanical Gardens on the southeast side of Houston. There were light exhibits created by local and international artists along a one mile trail through the gardens (with Holiday music).

Karin inside the “Winter Cathedral”, an arch tunnel with 100,000 lights.

 

The “Jigantic Flowers” – each were about 15 feet high

 

Karin looking up at the “Neon Tree”

 

 

Young girl dancing to the music and light show in the “Star Field”

 

Candy stripes above Karin in the “Triangulate” exhibit – The patterns moved and colors changed on the poles.

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We experienced the “Van Gogh: Immersive Experience” in Houston on November 29, 2021. The exhibition features an animation of many of the artist’s works done in a two story 20,000 square foot building using 360 degree projected images on the 4 walls. Instead of just static images of his paintings, the projections were components of his paintings energetically animated. The “movie” was about 35 minutes long and on a loop with a wide range of music matched to the images. The viewers typically sit on the floor; however, were free to move about. 

This animation was from the painting, “Wheatfield with Crows” and the crows and clouds moved across the wheat field background. The “Wheatfield with Crows” is one of the last paintings by Van Gogh and is considered one of his best. There have been many “interpretations” of the meaning(s) of this painting. He described in a letter: ”They’re immense stretches of wheatfields under turbulent skies, and I made a point of trying to express sadness, extreme loneliness” but in the very same paragraph, he added that “these canvases will tell you what I can’t say in words, what I consider healthy and fortifying about the countryside”.  Three weeks later, he committed suicide close to the spot he painted this painting.  

 

Some animations showed combinations of his paintings as they would progress in nature. Van Gogh produced several paintings of irises. The next 3 photos are of the animation of the transition from the roots of irises, to the plants, to the initial blooms, to an image full of the flowers:

 

Other animations combined elements from different paintings such as Van Gogh’s series on sunflowers:

 

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“Sun Force Ocean Life” by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto was commissioned for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and inspired by the art, culture, and traditions of the Brazilian rain forest tribe, the Huni Kuin. Visitors can enter the complex labyrinth of interior pathways suspended in the air. Yellow, orange, and green “rope” are hand-woven into patterns and sewn together in a spiral formation. The art work is about 30 feet x 79 feet x 55 feet. The pathway is made of plastic hollow balls “sacked” into bundles that deform as you walk through the display. The crocheted “walls” provide handholds to climb and descend the paths; the whole arrangement sways as you transverse the maze. You can see outlines of the other people in the maze. Per the artist: “…the sensation of floating, the body cradled by the crocheted fruits of our labor, brings to mind a hammock: the quintessential indigenous invention that uplifts us and connects us to the wisdom and traditions of our ancestors.

You can see two people on a outer spiral pathway from the center of the artwork. This work is on display until September 26 (but will be exhibited again in the future).

 

 

Moon by Luke Jerram – View of the far side of the moon. This 23 foot replica of the moon is currently at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The British installation artist, Luke Jerram, created this sculpture using detailed NASA imagery of the moon’s surface and projection mapping. The exhibit is at the museum until the beginning of August. The internally lit sculpture has been touring the world. See  Link.

Here is the view of the moon that we see from earth

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Carlos Cruz-Diez at the Cistern: Spatial Chromointerference

Cruz-Diez who is considered one of the fathers of Kinetic and Optical art was commissioned to create this site specific participatory work in the Houston cistern. The artist is 96 years old. Twenty six projectors blanket moving light onto the interior cistern columns. The light also projects onto white floating blocks and visiting people. The display continues through Feb 3rd.

See other photos of the Cistern further down in this post. Although the current display was enjoyable, I think I preferred “Rain” by Venezuelan artist Madgalena Fernndez in 2017. The addition of sound in that display in the cistern was more appealing.

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston was built in 1926 to store water for Houston and has been used for decades. The cistern developed a leak around 2007 and was taken out of service. People who visited the nearly empty cistern recognized what a remarkable space it was and managed to preserve it for viewing. Tours are available.  Jan 2019

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moonGARDEN

A series of 22 illuminated spheres transformed Discovery Green in Houston into a magical moonscape. The spheres ranged in size from six to 30 feet in diameter. Eleven of the spheres had shadow theaters that told the diverse, dynamic story of Houston and Discovery Green, as well as interactive works that allowed visitors to become part of the experience. Mellow “moon music” was playing around the spheres. The display was created by Lucion Traveling Light of Montreal and was the largest they have created. The night that we visited there were many people enjoying the moonGARDEN. The display ended Sunday, Oct 7th, 2018.

 

 

Tibetan Buddhist monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery constructed a mandala sand painting August 16-19 at Asia Society Texas Center in Houston. It was mesmerizing to watch. This artistic tradition of Tantric Buddhism paints with colored sand. Millions of grains of sand were meticulously placed on a flat platform over a period of days to form the image of a mandala. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred cosmogram. The sand granules are applied onto a sketch made by the monks by using small, copper funnels (tubes) and scrapers (chak-pur in Tibetan) that vibrate the sand out of the funnel. In general, all mandalas are said to have outer, inner, and secret meanings. On the outer level they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level they represent a map by which the ordinary human mind is transformed into enlightened mind; and on the secret level they depict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energies of the body and the clear-light dimension of the mind. The creation of a sand painting is said to effect purification and healing on these three levels. After the creation of the mandala is complete, the entire work is dismantled, every grain of sand tossed into the ocean. In the dissolution ceremony at the close of the mandalas creation, a blessing is recited as the sand grains are offered up to the sea. – IMG_82810_Mandala_AsiaSociety

 

 

Big Bambu: This Thing Called Life, Jun 27, 2018

An immersive art work by Mike and Doug Starn was constructed out of about 3000 pieces of bamboo.  Doug and Mark along with 12 rock climbers built this structure with a bamboo bridge into the tangled art work to allow you to cross over in and down into the structure.  Per the artists this structure represents the invisible architecture of life. The bamboo came from a farm in Dudley, A Similar exhibits by the artists have been constructed in Rome, Naoshima Japan, Jerusalem, and Copenhagen. It is a fun structure to explore!  It is available to experience at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts until Sept 3, 2018.  Two more photos of Big Bambu follow:

Big Bambu: This Thing Called Life, Jun 27, 2018

 

 

Island Universe by Josiah McElheny, May 17, 2018

Josiah McElheny Island Universe is a monumental installation of five sculptures inspired by the multiverse scenario of eternal inflation, an extension of the big bang theory. Made of chromed metal, transparent handblown glass, and light, the structures are modeled on an iconic midcentury design object: the chandeliers of the Metropolitan Opera in New York made by J. & L. Lobmeyr in Vienna in 1965. The exhibit is on display at the Moody Center for the Arts, Rice University.

 

 

Flowers and People: Exhibit at Rice Univ, Oct 24, 2017

Karin is enjoying the exhibit at the Moody Center of the Arts at Rice University in Houston. The exhibit is titled: Flowers and People “ Cannot be Controlled but Live Together“ A Whole Year per Hour by Teamlab. The dark room with carpet on the floor and walls have animated projections of the life cycle of flowers, budding, blooming, and fading. The exhibit is free and will be available through Dec 30.  – Img 1038 Flowers People

 

 

Pixel Forest at Houston Museum of Art, Sept 2017

Karin is sitting enjoying the Pixel Forest and Worry Will Vanish art exhibit by Pipilotti Rist at the Houston Museum of Art. Plastic globs are suspended from the ceiling with LED lights that change color. The exhibit was mesmerizing to look at.  Img 60913b Pixelforest

 

 

Light Inside by Turrell, Sept 2017

Between two of the Houston Museum of Art buildings is a tunnel with an exhibit by James Turrell titled Light Inside. You walk through the art exhibit on a black platform where the walls slowly cycle from red to purple then to blue. In the mid-1960s James Turrell pioneered a new art with the phenomena of space and light, often referred to as the Light & Space Movement “painting with light”.  Img 70841 Turrell Mfa

 

 

Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, Apr 29, 2017

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston was built in 1927 to store water for Houston and has been used for decades. The cistern developed a leak around 2007 and was taken out of service. People who visited the nearly empty cistern recognized what a remarkable space it was and managed to preserve it for viewing. Tours are available.  Img 63656 Houcistren

The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, Apr 29, 2017

This shot of the cistern utilizes a powerful light towards the ceiling to bring out the reflection in the water at the bottom.  Img 63672 Houcistren

Rain by Madgalena Fernandez – Houston Cistern

Rain is an abstract video piece by Venezuelan artist Madgalena Fernndez projected onto the 221 concrete columns of the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston. Percussion sounds like rain are coordinated with the light show. It sounds like a rain storm starting, peaking, and ending. This was a separate tour and only available through June 4th  Img 62854 Houcistern Madgalena Fernandez Rain

 

 

Kusama: Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, Sep 10, 2016

We visited an exhibit of Japanese artist Kusama at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The exhibit was an “infinity room”: a small room with mirrors on all sides and the ceiling and a layer of water on the floor with a platform you stood on. The reflections of the hanging lanterns was quite visual. You can also see my reflection as I took the photo and Karin beside me.  Img 61469 Kusama Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity

 

 

Chihuly Mille Fiori, August 21, 2016

The Chihuly Garden of Glass in Seattle is an exhibit of the famed glass artist, Dale Chuhuly. Mille Fiori (a thousand flowers) is a garden on a reflective black plastic platform in a dark room with lights on the organic looking glass forms. To give perspective, the red and yellow vertical structure in the back is about 15-18 feet tall.  Img 60258 Chihuly Millefiori

Chihuly Ikebana and Float Boat, August 21, 2016

Full size boats are filled with colored spheres and other glass shapes  Img 60275 Chihuly Ikebana Andfloatboat

 

 

Intersections and Karin, Nov 20, 2015

Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha (Pakistani-American artist) at the Rice Gallery on the Rice University campus. A light inside a suspended cube of laser-cut wood casts geometric shadows on the gallery walls. The pattern was inspired by the Islamic tile designs inside the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain (a UNESCO World Heritage site).  Iphone image  Img 51305i Anilaquayyum  Link to article on the Rice exhibit and a video about the exhibit and artist: http://www.ricegallery.org/anila-agha/

Intersections, Nov 20, 2015

Intersections by Anila Quayyum Agha (Pakistani-American artist) at the Rice Gallery on the Rice University campus. A light inside a cube of laser-cut wood casts geometric shadows on the gallery walls. The dark cube looks to be about 6 feet on each side. iPhone shot  Img 51299i Anilaquayyum

 

 

Giverny by Mark Fox, Nov 20, 2015

This photo is a still shot of one of 5 panels of video that New York artist Mark Fox captured from underwater at Monet’s lily pond in Giverny, France. The videos from the underwater perspective have an impressionist style not unlike the paintings of Monet from above the surface of the lily pond. You can just make out the bottom of a lily pad in the upper right hand corner. The 5 videos are played in a continuous ~20 minute loop, side by side and mesmerize you. The exhibit is at the Hiram Butler Gallery in Houston until Nov 28th, 2015  iPhone shot – Img 51291i Giverney Mfox Link to Houston Chronicle article: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/arts-theater/article/Beneath-the-surface-with-Monet-6587252.php#photo-8840832

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day 2015

Happy Valentine’s Day! This an example of the photographic “technique” called Bokeh Effect where the background is out of focus and can be shaped by a pattern placed on the camera lens – IGM46570

 

 

Karin in Houston Penetrable, June 20, 2014

“Houston Penetrable” by Venezuelan artist Jesus Rafael Soto is on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) through Sept 1st. The exhibit is 24,000 tubes hung from the ceiling with an image of a large yellow “orb” created by color applied to the tubes. 8+ million inches of tubing – 7 tons. You can walk through and be immersed in the exhibit as Karin is doing. The exhibit was commissioned by MFAH in 2004 and Soto passed away before his concept was completed. Img 0661

 

 

Vortex – June 7, 2014

Interesting echo sounds inside Richard Serra’s Vortex, a 67-foot-tall rusted steel sculpture outside the Modern Art Museum Fort Worth – Img 40500

 

 

Fort Worth Japanese Gardens – June 8, 2014

Fort Worth Japanese Gardens are part of the Fort Worth Arboretum. The Gardens was the site of a gravel pit – Img 40406

 

 

Fort Worth Watergardens – June 7, 2014

Steve and Randy at the bottom of the Active Pool of the Fort Worth Water Gardens. This site was also used in the Sci-Fi movies Logan’s Run and Lathe of Heaven – Img 40282

Fort Worth Watergardens – June 7, 2014

The Aeration Pool of the Fort Worth Water Gardens – Img 40303

 

 

Dallas Skyline – June 5, 2014

The glass Fountain Place building in Dallas as taken from the Nasher Sculpture Gardens – Img 40067

Dallas Fountain Place – June 5, 2014

Dancing fountains below the Fountain Place building in Dallas – Img 40146

Dallas Fountain Place – June 5, 2014

Karin at the upper right corner sitting among the dancing fountains below the Fountain Place building in Dallas – Img 40136

 

 

 

Centre Dome of Miracoco – March 17, 2014

Centre Dome of Miracoco. Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38434

 

Miracoco Red Dome – March 17, 2014

Red dome of Miracoco. Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38387

 

Miracoco – March 17, 2014

Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38362

Sean and “Tree” of Miracoco, March 17, 2014

Tree of Miracoco. Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38337

 

Blue Dome of Miracoco – March 17, 2014

Blue Dome of Miracoco. Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38311

 

Centre Dome of Miracoco – March 17, 2014

Centre Dome of Miracoco. Miracoco is inflatable art you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38307

 

 

Outside Miracoco – March 17, 2014

Miracoco From the outside at Discovery Green. Miracoco is inflatable “art” you can walk through from Architects-of-Air (England) inspired by Islamic architecture. Located at Discovery Green until March 23rd – Img 38276

 

 

Unwoven Light – Soo Sunny Park, July 29, 2013

Unwoven Light – Sculpture by Soo Sunny Park at the Rice Gallery at Rice University until Aug 30th). Suspended and contorted chain link fence segments with iridescent coated plexiglass squares illuminated by natural light – Img 34204b

 

 

Child’s Wonder – Exxopolis – May 1, 2013

Exxopolis in Discovery Square Houston  Img 32631. –  Exxopolis is a sculpture that people enter to be immersed in light and color created by the sun shining through colored plastic in an inflated series of spaces. The sculpture was created by Architects of Air in Nottingham, England

 

 

Exxopolis Tree – May 1, 2013

Exxopolis – Discovery Square Houston – Img 32643

 

 

Exxopolis – Cupola – May 1, 2013

Exxopolis – Discovery Square Houston – Img 32565

 

 

Exxopolis – Green Dome – May 1, 2013

Exxopolis – Discovery Square Houston – Img 32495

 

 

Exxopolis – Karin’s meditation

Exxopolis – Discovery Square Houston – Img 32417

 

 

Exxopolis Blue Dome – May 1, 2013

Exxopolis – Discovery Square Houston – Img 32355

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4 comments

  1. Wow. Nice photo and art. Even in Houston! (“Centre Dome of Miracoco – March 17, 2014” photo)

  2. Now this is cool! I’m going to see it! (“Karin in Houston Penetrable, June 20, 2014” photo)

  3. Very spooky (“Intersections and Karin, Nov 20, 2015” photo)

  4. These photos are beautiful! I took my godson to see the Ernesto exhibit had a blast!

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