Art Event # 4: "Living as an Artist in NYC" Opening

            The exhibition called “Sense of Place:  Living as an Artist in NYC,” was unlike any other opening I’d ever been to.  These artists were so creative in so many different ways.  It was interesting to have pieces that interacted with sounds.  It made the exhibition experience a lot more interactive and fun. 

            One of the most interesting pieces to me was the water bucket in the middle of the gallery. Inspired by performance art, the piece encouraged interaction by having lots of rocks next to it.  When a person threw a rock into the bucket the piece would make sounds (there was an underwater microphone in the bottom).  There were small rocks and larger ones, and when thrown in the bucket the sound would be loud or soft depending on the impact.  The artist also said it attempts to measure the pitch of the stones.  This piece was basically a virtual simulation of a rainstorm.  The storm would start off quietly, then get louder with thunder, then slowly soften again as it passed.  It was really peaceful, almost like hearing rain right above you on a tin roof.  

            There were lots of other pieces in the show that weren’t interactive.  One of my favorite was by an artist names Peter Schroth.  His pieces were very colorful and abstract, similar to my artistic style.  The pieces I enjoyed the most of his were a triptych inspired by dead flower bouquets.  The piece called Orange + Gray almost seemed 3-dimensional to me at times.  The longer I stood in front of it, it seemed like the whole piece was moving.  The piece was very abstract.  I couldn’t see the inspiration of a flower bouquet until after I read the artist statement.  I liked Orange + Gray a lot because the color seemed to pop out.  Outlining his orange abstract parts with blue was a really great idea.  Using complimentary colors helped both of them to stand out better and really pop out at the viewer.

            This exhibition was absolutely amazing.  It really inspired me.  It was nice to see some interactive pieces in Foreman because I’ve never seen any there before.  I loved the whole modern feel to exhibit.  It really made you think.