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| all utopias fell, by Michael Oatman |
Back in November I told you about my family visit to
MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), but I never got around to telling you about one really special installation at the museum. Later that same month I attended my state conference, and was very excited because
Michael Oatman, the artist responsible for this remarkable piece, was scheduled as one of the speakers at the conference. He didn't disappoint!
The installation I am referring to is called
all utopias fell, and and includes a 'crash-landed satellite' (actually a 1970's era Airstream trailer) pictured at the top of this post and directly above. To reach it, you have to walk up a scary staircase in a creepy boiler room, and head out on a catwalk up in the air where the Airstream sits, tattered parachutes blowing in the air around it. We were there on a particularly nasty day, which added to the surreal effect of the location of the piece.
The stairs in the boiler room, going back down
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| one of the parachutes |
Inside the Airstream is the
Library of the Sun, also part of the installation. Michael Oatman invented a whole story around this installation, and I can't begin to explain it all to you here, but I was thrilled that he spent a good part of his talk at our conference discussing this particular work of art. He spoke about the whole theme of the piece, and the whole process of creation. Totally fascinating. I wish my photos did it justice!
Which way is up? There were many reflective surfaces inside the Airstream. The hooded young man in the photos is my son, and next to him below is my husband. And that's me taking the pictures, of course.
Unfortunately, due to a camera glitch, I have very few photos of the rest of this piece, and all the totally outrageous stuff you encounter in the Airstream, so I recommend, if you ever have an opportunity to visit Mass MoCA during the spring/summer/fall months, make sure you look for this piece. It is outside, and a little funky to find, but totally worth the effort for the marvelous experience.
