Teens/adults - Lesson 5: Stretching with new genres
Installation Art
If you have walked into a hall of mirrors, you understand the basic philosophy of installation art. As opposed to an installation of art works—which could apply to any space where art is displayed—installation art is an immersive experience that engages the viewer to participate in an art environment. In her book, Installation Art: A Critical History, Claire Bishop describes the term in this way: “Installation art therefore differs from traditional media (sculpture, painting, photography, video) in that it addresses the viewer directly as a literal presence in the space. Rather than imagining the viewer as a pair of disembodied eyes that survey the work from a distance, installation art presupposes an embodied viewer whose senses of touch, smell and sound are as heightened as their sense of vision. This insistence on the literal presence of the viewer is arguably the key characteristic of installation art.” [1]
The movement began in earnest in contemporary art in the late 1950s and gained steam throughout the remainder of the 20th century. Back then, installation art was particularly notable in “happenings,” minimalism, performance art, video installation, and earth works, all of which challenged both artists and viewers. Today, it represents a large segment of Contemporary Art with the additional genres of digital art, time-based art, sound art, physical computing, virtual reality, and more.
Also see: From Margin to the Center: The Spaces of Installation Art, by Julie H. Reiss. This first book on installation art, published in 2001, documents the history of the genre as well as its wide-reaching effect on curatorial practice, institutions, and contemporary artists.
An immersive concept is the foundation of installation art. Could you create a new genre work? Sure. And why not? You might never have the skills to carve marble, but designing a concept in new genre art might be great way to flex your creative muscles. Below are three examples of art installations.
Valerie Atkisson - Family History Wall (1999) In 1999, Valerie Atkisson created Family History Wall at Artists Space in New York City. For five weeks, as visitors to Project Room 2 of the gallery watched, the artist covered the walls, doors, pipes, and floors of the exhibition space (two rooms and five walls) with 72 generations of her family history—2000 years of history, going back to 9 AD. Atkisson hand-wrote each generation in a column and included their vital information. Then, she connected names with additional marks to note family relationships. In all, the installation was 12 x 72 feet.
Susan Krueger-Barber - Empathic Overload (2016) In response to tensions in her community regarding LGBTQ+ members and policy changes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the time, the artist created an exhibition at Writ & Vision in Provo, Utah. The artist said, “I collected quotes from theorists regarding the human experience. The sloganeer balloons acted like a thousand voices yelling, crying, whispering, celebrating, shriveling, popping—even remaining the same—whatever property a balloon happened to encompass during the show’s duration. In addition, reflective emergency blankets covered the walls, mirroring and refracting the viewer as well as ideas from all spectrums. In this way, the gallery acted as a container for people to process their own experience and build empathy toward others.”
L - Special Meal (2013) The artist L created an installation in Thank You For Coming, an experimental food and art space in Los Angeles, based on last meals of death row prisoners. A “special meal” request is their last supper before execution. For the exhibition, visitors to the gallery selected from a menu of actual prisoners’ last meals and their names, which the artist prepared and served to gallery attendees. The artist documented Special Meal with photographs and with large prints with text requests from prisoners including words, “Justice, Equality, World Peace” and “Justice, Temperance with Mercy.”
[1] Installation Art: A Critical History, by Claire Bishop, 2010, (London: Tate)