Our reality is getting more complicated and a lot of factors are taking part of shaping our lives. As this progresses, the idea of art installations does too—to keep up with its mission to express emotions, thoughts, and visions. Art installations have an undeniable visual impact as they offer the viewers a unique art experience.
What is an Art Installation?
It is a genre of contemporary art. Art installations are usually created by postmodern artists, but that is not the only case. Art installations can either be permanent or temporary, and they can be tangible or virtual. The purpose of such artworks is to serve as an alternative mirror to more traditional types of artworks.
Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
One of the latest impressive art installations is Ernesto Neto’s “SunForceOceanLife”: a hand-crocheted, walkable maza of yellow, orange, and green threads forming the largest chrochet art work and the largest art work created by the Brazillian artist as well.
“SunForceOceanLife” is being displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, stretching 79 feet across the gallery and spiraling 12 feet in the air. The main concept is an elastic installation centered around “fire, the vital energy that enables life on this planet,” as described by Ernesto Neto, sharing that each polymer string utilized is burned at the end to further infuse the piece with sacred, meditative rituals.
Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
“I hope that the experience of this work will feel like a chant made in gratitude to the gigantic ball of fire we call the sun, a gesture of thanks for the energy, truth, and power that it shares with us as it touches our land, our oceans, and our life,”
-Said Ernesto Neto
Moreover, plastic balls fill the pathways of the art installation and shift underfoot those passing through the suspended structure, forcing them to intentionally maintain their balance.
“It directly engages the body as does a joyful dance or meditation, inviting us to relax, breathe, and uncouple our body from our conscious mind. The sensation of floating, the body cradled by the crocheted fruits of our labor, brings to mind a hammock: the quintessential indigenous invention that uplifts us and connects us to the wisdom and traditions of our ancestors.”
Explained NetoCourtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Ernesto Neto is a Brazilian contemporary visual artist, known for creating enormous, fiber-based art installations out of stocking-like materials and nets that he fills with all types of objects, including spices, sand, and shells! His school centers around biomorphism, minmalism, and neo-concretism.
With his works, Neto aims to invite the viewers into a multi-sensory experience, provoking their thoughts and five senses.
Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
More Art Installations
Earlier this year, Ma Yansong, the founder of MAD Architects, revealed two new art installations. The installations express the studio’s diverse futuristic vision. The two installations are focused on presenting contemporary visions of light in completely two different contexts. The first one is called ‘Light’ and is presented in the ‘Art at Fuliang 2021’ art festival held in Jingdezhen, and the second installation is the exhibition design ‘Forma Fantasia’, for the artist Liu Wei’s ‘Nite-Tiered Pagoda’ work of art.
More about light, WOW Inc., which is a design agency located in Tokyo, has created three digital art installations for the Shiseido Ginza store in the Japanese capital. The light installations, that are inspired by neuroscience, are called the” interactive wall”, the “product room”, and the “neuro surge”.
