Last week, I went to the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA. It was a freezing and wet day, and so I wasn't able to explore the outdoor pieces comprehensively. However, the weather did allow me to engage more fully in the indoor pieces.
I was only able to see this briefly as I drove by, but the sculptures that were outdoors really engaged and interacted with the space they were in. Living in a city, space is limited and sculpture is displayed only occasionally and singularly. So, seeing a whole "sculpture park" dedicated to displaying these modern works was exhilarating. I thought the pieces they had on display really spoke to one another as well.
Inside, artist Julianne Swartz's work was curated in an exhibit called Julianne Swartz: How Deep Is Your, which is on display until December 30, 2012. The exhibit is a survey of the artist's work, with pieces that were created or modified exclusively for the space itself.
One piece I was drawn to is Line Drawing (2012), which uses "plastic tape, lenses, Plexiglas, mirrors, lights, fans, materials found on site." The piece is a site-specific work that was originally made in New York, but then re-evaluated and re-created for the deCordova. The piece consists of a blue line, made of tape, that wanders across the gallery walls and leads to holes in the wall. As you can see in the photo above, the blue line actually runs across the wall text of the whole exhibition (which was on a different floor).
My eye followed the tape from the wall and into a hole. I looked into it for several minutes, walked away, and walked back to look in again. The blue line seems to go into the hole and through the wall into another dimension. Looking into it, you seems to be staring into another world, the "behind the scenes" of the museum. Swartz uses mirrors, lights and lenses to distort the perceived space. She uses real space and alters it to create a fantastical location.
The piece utilizes space in a remarkably non-obtrusive manner. Line Drawing is a simple, and airy exploration of space and depth perception. The piece was compelling, puzzling and inspiring. I cannot wait to return to the deCordova when it becomes warmer (or perhaps just another day of the week since the climate fluctuations are maddeningly unpredictable).
