The Gates: Tonight on HBO

If you're one of those very lucky people who has HBO, you should strongly consider turning on your TV tonight at 10pm and watching the TV premiere of The Gates. It follows artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude in their 26-year campaign to convince the City of New York to allow them to create a massive installation in Central Park, from their first request in 1979 to the realization of The Gates in 2005. I saw the documentary back in October at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and I can't fathom why it wasn't nominated for a Best Documentary Oscar.

The first half of the film documents the artists' extremely long and frustrating quest to gain approval for this project, which arguably became the most successful piece of installation art in modern times. It's truly unbelievable how many art-hating, curmudgeon-y New Yorkers tried to stand in their way for no good reason, and generated a controversy out of nothing. The second half is pure aesthetic joy. I imagine it approximates the feeling of visiting The Gates in person. Don't let yourself be bored just because there's no dialog. The simple beauty of the sunlight filtering though the saffron-colored nylon, or the wind whipping through the fabric's pleats, will be more than enough for Christo and Jeanne-Claude to win you over. I recommend that you watch it in your pajamas with a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate, and you'll go to bed relaxed and with a smile on your face.

Here's a little preview:

Everybody Hates Richard Serra

…Except, it seems, the Museum of Modern Art. Much of its new Yoshio Taniguchi-designed building was conceived specifically with his work in mind. MOMA is showing “Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years” through September 10^th.

This is a bad idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, Richard Serra's art is oversized compared to everything else, and the gargantuan space MOMA created on the second floor to show off his sculptures will not work well for other artists. What are they going to do with the space once the Serra exhibit is over in September? As New York Magazine puts it, even his smallest pieces are roughly the size of a car. The largest pieces are like twisty buildings that you can walk through and experience from the inside. It’s art that envelops and consumes its viewer. And secondly, in my opinion, most of Serra’s works belong out of doors. It’s horribly confining to plunk them in a big room and expect viewers to relate with them the same way as they can with his public sculptures.

Unlike a lot of people, I actually do like Richard Serra’s art a lot. I agree that sheet metal can be ugly when it oxidizes and turns that ruddy, rusty color, and Tilted Arc in NYC’s Federal Plaza in the ‘80s was generally a bad idea because of where it was placed. I’m convinced he put it where he did just to piss people off—and, well, it worked, and now it’s scrap metal. But his sculptures are more than just big pieces of oddly shaped metal. They’re cool because they’re both minimalist and maximalist, if you will. They’re so simplistic in shape, but the experience of viewing one is so huge and complex that the sculptures are almost too large to comprehend. My personal favorite is Sequence (2006), which is on the exhibition catalogue and poster (shown above). The curves and tilts are so sensual.

There’s also a neat video of Torqued Ellipse IV (1998) and Intersection II (1992) being installed in the sculpture garden:

Martin Firrell and Nathan Fillion's Super Secret Thingy

http://www.martinfirrell.com/supersecretthingy.html

I heard about this project some time ago, but the details were just released a few days ago. The actual title of the work is Hero: the future of gods, icons and heroes, and what's on the web site is just a preview of a larger public art project to be shown sometime later, likely in London. (Martin Firrell works exclusively in London. I'm not sure exactly why.)

Firrell proposes a "new model for male behaviour" in an audiovisual presentation, an ideal that eschews violence in favor of gentleness and compassion. He shows Fillion in slow motion from the neck up and projects light patterns onto his face. The piece is accompanied by a cappella female voices and the phrases "Thought before action," "Strength without force," and "Clear light in the sky." The last phrase is kind of cryptic, but the gist is that in order for modern society to survive, men must take it upon themselves to create peace. In a time of war, terrorism, and continued violence among men (and especially against women), it's more important than ever to empower men to become part of the solution, rather than just viewing them as a problem.

At risk of gushing about Nathan Fillion--I've been in love with him since Firefly, and even more so after his portrayal of the sweet Dr. Pomatter in Waitress--I'm so glad Firrell chose him to play the new hero. It's especially meaningful because Fillion has primarily been known as an action star in the past. Ironically, I think it's his background as the violent hero in Firefly, Serenity, and SLiTHER that gives him the masculine credibility to portray a new kind of ideal man without being perceived as too effeminate. I wonder if the Firrell piece will change the public perception of him as an actor, as by all accounts he's an incredibly kind and warmhearted person off screen.