The expansive atrium in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim museum is the "blank canvas" for various artists to try and find a way to fill in Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum, on display Feb. 12 to April 28. Unfortunately, I think the artists and curators have missed the point. Read more after the jump...
What I think they fail to recognize is that this space isn't ever empty. It's constantly filled with light, sound, shadow and air which draws eyes and spirits upward towards the beauty of the web-like skylight window. This vital, soaring space is the perfect counterbalance to the cave-like galleries—the perfect release to those areas of compression. The rush to fill this space with trampolines and colored smoke misses the point completely.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for creative thinking, and I think the Guggenheim's atium space can be effectively integrated as part of exhibits and not take away from its original splendor. Negative space is the breath of art—cramming it full of pointless stuff is asphyxiation. Read more about this story here.
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