Thursday, January 7, 2010

flagrant color


this week i bundled up and visited the denver museum of art to see its most recent and temporary exhibit "embrace" . the museum asked 17 artists to make instillations throughout the museum in response to the building's shape and feel. it is a fascinating exhibit and i enjoyed moseying around the museum happening upon the various installations.

one of the pieces was done directly on one of the large slanting walls using spray paint. i turned the corner to find myself enveloped in a sea of greens, blues, and purples punctuated by splashes of reds and yellows. it was truly a flagrant and massive display of color.

perhaps it is because i was raised in the inner-city where graffiti was the most common form of art, but i have to confess that i love the idea of using walls or found objects as canvases. when graffiti is done well it is as if the wall it is painted on is crying out the song of the community in which it resides. admittedly graffiti can be done very poorly and be used as an act of intimidation, but often it is a true and striking expression of a person, a group, a place, a time...

this piece in embrace is not per se graffiti, but it evoked the same emotions. the colors and the way they dance together in the style that only spray paint can create took me to a place of wonder.

do you ever feel this way about a piece of art?
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