ICA Boston

The Grotesque, the Alluring, the Contemporary

by Franchesca Kiesling

3/7/2014

The moment you walk in to the ICA this enormous wall instillation by Matthew Ritchie confuses the eye. It may be a dinosaur or a flower or just a random scribble is painted along the wall. In no way is it an average piece of art and in no way at all is it only one thing. Then you walk into the rest of the museum and are stunned by the mildly grotesque, the painstaking beauty, the glorious view and the almost hypnotizing gallery pieces done by William Kentridge and Nick Cave.

            The ICA has four stories and each has a different purpose. The first level sports the café and main lobby filled to the brim with natural light and the warm sunshine. Riding the enormous glass elevator to the fourth story you will find the William Kentridge Exhibit, the Nick Cave exhibit and a beautiful view of the ocean. Along with the art, the fourth story also had a media gallery with computers that give options to see some of the Nick Cave costumes in action, some history of the ICA and more information on other pieces. Right behind the media gallery was an interactive felt wall where creative visitors could express their own inner Nick Cave and make a soundsuit themselves. The fourth level also has a permanent collection with paintings and two videos. Some were very classic and traditional, but most of them were very abstract. One of the paintings by Mickalene Thomas was not photographable, but the most popular in the room besides the grotesque video called Green Pink Caviar by Marilyn Minter where a mouth was portrayed basically making out with the camera.

            Mickalene Thomas is a phenomenally gripping artist, though. She takes photographs of what inspires her, breaks it up and takes the patterns she finds to re-piece the photograph in a new way. Then, after the new collage is made she paints the work with acrylic, oil, and enamel paint. Once she is through the piece is layered with different transparencies, textures and clarities. After all that work, Swarovski rhinestones are added. This makes the piece have depth and is what really draws the onlooker to it. Just enough rhinestones are added to add depth, but not too many to look gaudy. There is no wonder why her work is unable to be photographed. The pictures do not do the piece justice at all. The sparkle is worth seeing in person though. The employees at the ICA take their work very seriously when it comes to protecting art though. After being yelled at twice, 1) for trying to take a picture and 2) being falsely accused for writing with pen, you can tell the artist’s work is well protected and never put to shame by any clumsy onlookers.

            Overall, the ICA is a great place to come and spend an hour or two. With more artwork, you could easily spend the entire afternoon. With work from William Kentridge that is completely indescribable, and soundsuits from Nick Cave that are impossible to grip without seeing their enormity in person, the ICA is a perfect place to expand your knowledge of contemporary art and continue to grip the changing art world. Both the Nick Cave pieces and the William Kentridge enhibition will be available to see through May 4^th 2014. The gallery where the Mickalene Thomas painting is held will be open until October of this year.