Breaking Things and Pounding Nails at Reykjavik Art Museum

How often do you get the chance to go into an art museum and touch the artwork?

What about break the artword?

What about vandalizing the art with your graffiti?

What about pounding nails into a canvas?

In Reykjavik, this was all possible. 

When I last visited Reykjavik in 2011, I was deeply sad to be leaving after only four days with still lots of see and explore. One of my deepest regrets was passing by a gallery on our bus to the airport and thinking “I bet Reykjavik has an awesome art scene and I didn’t see a bit of it…” 

When I returned last winter, I had an ambitious itinerary which included an unexpected 3-day jaunt to the west fjords, meaning that I had even less time in the city than planned, so I didn’t get to go on my great art tour as expected, but I did manage to go to the Reykjavik Art Museum. 

With a few exceptions, I usually don’t blog about museums because I can’t take photographs and the experience is pretty standard but I was pleasantly surprised by an exhibit at the Reykjavik Art Museum which was much more interaction than I imagined. 

This exhibit was designed by Yoko Ono, and in her own unique style, it featured lots of curious weirdness. 

A canvas you can create

Visitors pasting broken ceramic back together

Hammering a nail into the canvas...it was very loud

Created by museum visitors

Messages from visitors

Map of the world, were you can stamp "peace" in the places that need it

Hello Yoko, is is me you're looking for?

Wall of testimonials from woman who experienced sexual assault

Wishing tree, write a wish and hang it on the branch

In addition to the Yoko Ono exhibit and another floor of artworks by Icelandic artists, the museum also featured a pretty cool art library. And we know how I feel about art libraries...

Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders

I passed by the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders every day on my way to Artisan, my favorite cafe in Chiang Mai. The nondescript building makes it easy to miss, and I would have overlooked it were it not for the mosquito silhouettes in the iron fence or the name etched into the concrete nearby. 

The entrance on the ground floor recedes into darkness. Is this a real place? Is it open? All questions that go through your mind when you approach the doors. The answer to both is, of course, yes, and upon opening the doors you are greeted kindly by the welcoming staff. 

I'm not sure what I was expecting to see. A lot of dead bugs, perhaps. And that expectation was surely met. I think I expected the museum to be an ode to scientific research around insects. Indeed its founder is one of the leading experts on mosquitos in the world. I thought I would learn a lot about malaria and mosquito-born diseases, as the installation on the first floor promises. But there were curious other things to observe....

WTF is happening here? Mermaid elephant with boobs?

Oh, ok, dead bugs. That's more like it. 

Ew gross, nevermind

a big hoarder's dream

What I did not expect was the ode to mother earth, the crystals, the religious overtones, the love of life and nature, and perhaps most surprising: the family portraits. 

The museum is the product of the lifelong work of Dr. Rampa Rattanarithukul. She is not only a world renowned expert on mosquitoes, but also a loving fan and admirer of them. Throughout the museum is a series of commissioned paints of landscapes, woman in tantric poses, and portraits of herself and her family. But each painting features another companion, that of the beloved mosquito. 

Can you spot the mosquito in each painting?

mosquito on the flower

mosquito in the trees

mosquito on her leg

mosquito on the modesty leaf

mosquito on the holy book

mosquito on the water

mosquito riding a horse

mosquito family

mosquito companion

meditative mosquito

mosquito gaze

Dr. Rattanarithukul's love for mosquitos and all life can also be seen in the literature in the museum. A printed note hangs on the wall next to dead bugs in glass displays:

Notice how Nature and Insect are respectfully capitalized. Who is this sign intended for? Is it supposed to make the tourists feel better about all the death they are looking at? But I suspect it may be more to ease the conscience of the researcher, who would not want the bugs' deaths to be in vain. 

Perhaps the greatest lesson is that all life is sacred at the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders. Thank you Dr. Rattanarithukul, for your work and for this valuable lesson. 

Experiential Art in LA

When I lived in LA I almost never visited museums. This is strange because I have always been a lover of art, and I have always visited museums in cities I travel to, but in over three years in LA I never went to the LACMA, or the MOCA, and only once to the Geffen.

When I returned to the city about 6 years, I wanted to see it all, and not just the museums of the exhibits, I wanted to do every experiential art exhibit I could. None of these exhibits were easy to see. I had to book tickets for all of them one week-3 months in advance and wait for hours.  I planned my day around these exhibits I was strategic – and you have to be. Demand definitely exceeds supply. 

Experiential art is basically the fifth dimension. 

To me, there’s 2D art - paintings, drawings – which are only viewed from straight ahead. Like this:

3D art  - sculpture – which had be viewed from multiple angles. Like this:

Jeff Koons  - Balloon Dog

 4D art: Installations – which take up entered rooms or sections of room, where you are immersed in the art, but you are still viewing – not participating. Like this:

Robert Therrien - Under the Table

 And then there is experiential art, which immerses you in the art the way an installation does, but also invites you to participate, to feel affected by the art and to affect the art in return.  This is an entirely new level of interacting with art.

Infinity Room, Broad Museum

“Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room, a mirror-lined chamber housing a dazzling and seemingly endless LED light display, will be featured in the inaugural installation. This experiential artwork on the museum’s first floor has limited capacity, accommodating one visitor at a time for approximately 45 seconds, and will require a separate free timed ticket, which general admission ticket holders will be able to reserve after arrival at the museum.”

-       From The Broad’s website

The room itself does not take reservations, but you should make reservations at the Broad 3 months in advance. Try to make a reservation for the time the museum opens, then go 15 minutes early and wait in line. When you arrive, you’ll be able to enter the queue by signing up at a kiosk. The Broad is so professional and organized that we had no problem seeing this exhibit – so we went back and saw it twice!

Panorama shot

Classic selfie

Rain Room, LACMA

“Random International’s Rain Room (2012) is an immersive environment of perpetually falling water that pauses wherever a human body is detected. The installation offers visitors an opportunity to experience what is seemingly impossible: the ability to control rain. Rain Room presents a respite from everyday life and an opportunity for sensory reflection within a responsive relationship.”

- From the LACMA’s website

We booked tickets to the Rain Room 3 months in advance, and they were sold out by the time we fly to LA to see it. With times tickets, we didn’t have to wait in a queue, we just showed up 5 minutes before going into the room. It was definitely a cool experience, but a bit 22 people in the room felt like 5 too many. If people stand too close to one another then the rain doesn’t fall between then – so with a big group it hardly rains at all. The lighting was also really dramatic and enhanced the experience  of being in the room, but made it hard to take photos. Also, they tell you not to wear black clothing because the sensors have a difficult time detecting dark colors. But, well, I have black hair…so I got rained on a lot.

I ended up getting more than a little wet

Break Bred, Think Tank Gallery

"The duo built a 7,000-square-foot cake castle and candied urban block party called “Break Bread,” which opens Saturday in downtown L.A.’s Think Tank Gallery. The six-room cake maze -- made from delicious-looking spackle and house paint topped with real candy – resembles ornately decorated, pillowy white cake with sugar cream frosting. Chandeliers made of shimmering hard candies and gumdrops dangle from the ceiling. Circus mirrors embedded in cake give the illusion that the sugary oasis stretches on for infinity."

- Deborah Vankin, LA Times

The Think Tank Gallery happened to have an interesting exhibit while we were in LA. This tiny gallery is located through a discreet passage in the midst of busting Santee avenue. Up a flight of stairs and into a maze of walk-in cake room made out of clay, this was another interesting experience. It was extremely crowded and I couldn't help but wish the cake was real, but at least I can check another thing off my bucket list. 

Breathing Room, LACMA

“James Turrell, considered one of the most important artists of the Southern California Light and Space movement, was born in Los Angeles in 1943 and attended Pomona College, where he studied art, art history, mathematics, perceptual psychology and astronomy. He took graduate courses at the University of California, Irvine, and received a master's degree in fine art from Claremont Graduate School. Breathing Light is one of the artist's Ganzfeld pieces: an installation designed to entirely eliminate the viewer's depth perception. James Turrell’s art is a nexus for the worlds of art, science, architecture, astronomy, mathematics, archaeology, and spirituality.”

- From the LACMA’s website

This is probably my favorite of all the experiences, and it is the one that was easiest to see. No reservations are needed, but when you show up to the LACMA, you should write your name on a kiosk to be added to the queue as soon as possible. A note about the kiosk – it’s often wrong. Both times I saw the Breathing Light room, my expected was 85 minutes – and ended up being 120 minutes, and 45 minutes – which turned into 90 minutes. Though the kiosk is  inaccurate, it’s well worth the wait. This room truly feels like you are breathing in light. It fluctuates from deep blue to violet red in intervals, and 5 minutes in the room is just about enough time to experience one interval. The shift is so subtle it’s hardly noticeable. Everything about your perception changes when you are inside the room. I feel differently, I think differently. It is transformative.  

Unfortunately I was not allowed to take photos in the Breathing Light Room, so I am showing some that others have taken.

Photo courtesy of http://hyperallergic.com/74499/inside-the-light-james-turrell-in-la/

Photo courtesy of http://www.nbclosangeles.com/entertainment/the-scene/Breathing-Light-Enjoys-Longer-LACMA-Run-260369051.html