Installation Art

Research installations by artists such as Kiki Smith, Bill Viola, or Jenny Holzer. Choose one of their installations and answer the following: How does the artwork interact with the physical space it occupies? Argue for or against the principles of installation art. If you are unfamiliar with the principles of installation art, do some research!

Jenny Holzer's "Projections" series consist of text projected onto very large surfaces — buildings, bridges, ships, cargo containers, etc. Because of the nature of the artwork -- projected light -- and their scale -- gigantic -- they're very limited as to where they can be effectively displayed. While the text would no doubt be impactful at smaller scales, the size really does add to the power of the artwork, and dramatically increases the impact. In addition, the limits of projection mean that the artwork can only be effectively displayed at night, and preferably in a location without too much ambient external light. Since the light "wraps" around irregularities in the surface it's being projected on, larger smooth areas would be ideal... but that combination of specifications would severely limit the locations the art could be shown, so some compromises have to be made.

For her Boston 2010 projection, an interesting series of decisions had to be made. The projection was made onto the outside of the Institute of Contemporary Art -- a large building with some flat surfaces, some stairs and bleachers, a lot of mirrored glass, and located on the waterfront.  This combination meant that the projected images were reflected, passed through some areas into others, wrapped oddly around the irregular stairs and bleachers, etc.  This combination made it difficult to read some of the type at times, but simultaneously added a fascinating multi-dimensional aspect to the moving type, especially as the scrolling type would move in multiple simultaneous directions -- the type would scroll up, and move up where it was projected on the partly-mirrored glass of the side of the ICA, would move away where it passed through that glass and was projected onto the ceiling inside, would move in a staggered progression as it moved scrolled up the bleachers, and would move downward where it was reflected in the harbor's water.

The text was readable, so that aspect of the art didn't lose its impact; but the probably-unexpected multidimensional movement added another level to the piece.

Installation art sometimes works with and sometimes fights against the space where it's installed. If too much care is taken in making sure that the piece works perfectly in its space, it sometimes feels very sterile and lifeless; if the conflicts are too great, the chaos can overpower the art.   For this particular installation, the balance seems just right -- the technical aspects work in the space, and the unexpected conflicts actually enhance it rather than overpowering it.