top of page

How has art made a viewer Think about Movement?

  • Isaac Thomas
  • Jul 14, 2017
  • 2 min read

Has a work ever made you think of how to move or engage with it? In most galleries there are signs posted that read do not touch, then comes along a work that makes me jump with glee. Those are the works that encourage touching or moving or some kind of physical interaction with the work. The work that I remember most is an exhibit at the Nasher Sculpture Center in which the viewers were allowed to enter a room that was filled to the ceiling with balloons. This seems kind of simplistic and juvenile on the surface until you enter the room. Moving through the installation of balloons was not easy as one might think. Vision is obscured and the act of moving itself was made difficult by the size of balloons. Moving through the obstacle course of balloons seemed easier when arms or hands were outstretched. Using the floor as a guide to the exit was near impossible as the balloons covered the floor, walls and ceiling. Moving and walking through space is taken for granted. We don't really think of how we move or the pace at which we move until an installation like this comes along and we are forced to change our pace, motion, and space between steps. One is forced to constantly changing direction by the size and static electricity generated by rubbing against the thousands of balloons in the space. It is amazing to experience the amount of physical effort needed to maneuver past a balloon filled with helium. Walking upright was difficult. Crawling seemed like a good idea until your face is repeatedly slamming into rubber balloons. The balloons themselves weigh only a few ounces but hundreds of them against your face became irritating. Walking through the space morphed into more of a cross between a skip, slide, crouch, forward fall. In the end it had me laughing as if I was a kid again. I couldn't wait to go to the end of the line so I could go through it again.


 
 
 

Comments


Featured Posts
Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Recent Posts
Archive
Search By Tags
Follow Us
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page