i am often underwhelmed and disenchanted by contemporary art. as a creative person, this feeling comes with a certain complex guilt. but every so often, i am astounded by something in such a way that it blows that thought away. the Anthropodino installation by Ernesto Neto at the Park Avenue Armory was one of those things.
a truly interactive piece deserves exclamations: you are allowed to touch it! you are allowed to run around barefoot inside of it! you can be there as long as you like! there is tons of space for everyone to enjoy it! it smells like cloves! and curry!
it is an awesome structure, built in an amazing way, it has a lack of color, it has an abundance of color. little kids are delighted by it, adults of all ages seemed captivated, it would be incredible to be alone inside of it, but was still fun to explore with a group of friends. it was built to withstand the rigors of human curiosity, it sparked conversations between strangers.
in short: rad. i’m glad i got to see this thing on the last day of the exhibition. hooray for restoring my faith in contemporary art!
6 months ago