I spent a few transforming minutes with Spencer Finch’s installation in the museum of The Rhode Island School of Design. I had spent too many previous hours of previous days trying to understand the impact of the recent Facebook changes for businesses. (I create multi-media content for social and print media when I’m not in art museums) I had no idea how I needed to be transported to Monet’s water garden in France till I entered the room.
This artist had created this installation after returning from a visit to Monet’s water garden in Giverny, France. He could have painted it. He could have photographed it. Perhaps, he’s done both as well. But, this diaphanous 3-D experience was a bit of a miracle. The movement. The simplicity. The interaction of the pieces to one another was essential to the experience. The brochure says, “More than 100 panels of suspended glass become a lens to view a color-filled, 150-linear-foot mural; light shifts across the highly reflective surfaces of the gently swaying panels, evoking the movement of Monet’s pond and transforming viewers’ perspectives from one moment to the next.”
I want my work to give this same experience. To sew all the moving pieces together so each is seen through the prism of one another AND, most importantly, changes as you move.
Given how often Facebook changes the rules of engagement, I’m in the right business to capture that firefly.
This installation is on view until July 29, 2012.
