From a Mill to an Expansive Museum

review by Mike Templeton

3/14/17

The title should give the reader of this review an intriguing idea of this unique place. This was the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, MA. This museum is situated in a beautiful location in the Berkshires.  This area is quite special because of the isolation in location from the more thickly settled areas of Groton and the surrounding towns which are closer to Boston.  Western Massachusetts is much more sparse and less developed even now which is something I immediately noticed upon arrival. This Museum was right in the center of this rich sparseness and scenic beauty. The museum is incredibly large and is currently growing and expanding its boundaries as we speak.  This building has been in operation as a museum since 1986 however, the 26 buildings which are on the property have served numerous purposes before this time most notably a textile mill and an electric company. The mill was first opened during the colonial period (late 1700's-early 1800's) and when the visitor is walking through this museum the preceding history of the space is noticed without a question particularly as a result of the large windows and rooms in the space and the historical artifacts some of which are on display in the museum itself.

The art in the museum is truly astonishing and fascinating. This artwork is very different from standard art considering it is in fact contemporary and offers the viewer with a different perspective or understanding than that of modern art.  Two pieces of work in this museum which were both truly extraordinary yet very different were the multiple bead strands hanging from the ceiling of one large room in the museum. The beads were of a multitude of different colors and shades which from afar or even from up close was an incredible pattern to see because of the obvious message being conveyed by the artist which to me, resonated with positivity and brightness.  This artwork had a message which means that in even the darkest of times art and positivity can brighten our society and world.

  The 2^nd piece of art in the museum which truly captivated my attention and opened my eyes to a degree of truth was Tanja Henderson's exhibit Are You Really my Friend?  This was a project in which Henderson, a Maine native embarked on a journey in 2011 where she personally traveled to and visited the homes of all 626 of her Facebook friends to properly distinguish the juxtaposition between a virtual relationship and a personal relationship and what truly defines a friendship and a mutual connection between two individuals. The results she received from this five year experiment were truly incredible. In the exhibit Henderson emphasizes the commitment and sheer tenacity this project required in order to make it a possibility. This project required a courageous degree of confidence and admiration for different people and personalities and the idea of understanding how a person feels when they invite you into their home on a first time basis. Discovering these questions was a true goal of Henderson's and all of the photographs which are now on display at the museum help to answer these ideas and questions the artist asks of the viewer. This is based on the rich emotion of the faces of the people conveyed in the images.

 This was a truly unique, special way to create art of off one idea that almost all of us have in common which is Facebook/social media friends. This is one of the many amazing pieces of art that visitors get to experience at Mass MOCA and the impression of the museum is truly positive and astounding because of the wide range of different material available to a visitor of the museum. There is just so much range.