The Center of an Art Mecca in the Middle of Nowhere

review by Mark Bedetti

3/14/17

Mass MOCA

            The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA is at the center of an art hub where artists are drawn to for one of the most fascinating contemporary art experiences in the state. The museum is housed on a thirteen-acre campus houses both year round exhibitions and some open just during specific seasons. Regardless of whether or not all the exhibits are open, there is still a massive collection to be viewed. These collections consisted of anything from the usual wall art, to three-dimensional and interactive sculptures hanging from the ceiling, or even pieces held outdoors. 

            Tanja Hollander’s exhibit “Are you really my friend?” explores what friendship means to her and what it means today during the age of social media. She set out to photograph all 626 of her Facebook friends while immersing herself in each of their lives and experiencing the difference between the digital lives and the “analogue” lives they lead. Out of all of those 626 friends, Hollander was able to take portraits of 430 of them and step into their own lives. One of the best aspects of this exhibit is the fact that none of the pictures are sugarcoated in anyway, but rather kept as realistic as possible. For example, in some pictures, people might be seen in their everyday clothes, with their families, or even in the middle of doing something like building a house. This only adds to the reality seen in real life as opposed to what may be seen on the internet. Hollander experienced difficulty along the way. Traveling alone taxed her quite a bit as well as her traveling non-stop. However, she felt that she wanted to accomplish this task she set for herself and persevered through. This project turned into the exploration of contemporary culture, relationships, generosity, and compassion in family structure. Tanja Hollander explained how when this project was over, she felt that it changed her personality to be more pleasant, and she hoped that she would be able to spread what she learned to others as well through her documenting.

Arguably one of the most fascinated pieces in the museum was Nick Cave’s installation of “Until”. A massive cloud made out of crystals and chandeliers hangs from the ceiling and is topped with a garden made up of ceramic and metal models of bits of life such as birds and flowers all tangled together. There are multiple step ladders in place for the piece to be viewed from a higher and closer vantage point. Surrounding the installment was an assortment of wind-spinning lawn ornaments and metal reflectors hanging from the ceiling and filling the room. Some of the ornaments hanging make up the shape of guns or bullets. Paths are made specifically to walk in the midst of these ornaments creating an atmosphere like no other with all sorts of colors and light reflecting around the room. At the end of the room, there is a web made up of shoelaces covered in bright and happy colored beads creating an enormous piece that is draped down from the balcony. Cave intended for this space to be seen as one that is dazzling, provocative, and optimistic in order to spark up the discussion that pushes toward the question of, “Is there racism in Heaven?”. He considers himself a messenger trying to spread the awareness around these issues and heal through art.

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art consisted of a wide range of artwork that was both educational and entertaining.