click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Okay, before I get cynical I'd better let the signboard do the explaining:
Di Suvero often incorporated cast-off industrial objects in his work. Here, three round sea buoys are suspended from a diagonal I-beam. Their forms are echoed in the cluster of circular discs that joins the arrangement of diagonal beams that extend outward, up, and back to varying degrees depending on the viewer's position, In the context of the work's delicately balanced asymmetry, the buoys read as a nautical reference and as a guide, modeling the lightness and buoyancy to which even di Suvero's most imposing sculptures aspire.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Okay... Who can I dis first--di Suvero, or the person at SF-MOMA who wrote the text for the signboard? Oh hell, but who am I to judge? I'm just a lowly photographer without any credentials in "art appreciation", and besides--I will have to admit having loads of fun shooting these massive sculptures.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Ah, but come on... Who is fooling who? I suppose these eight steel mis-mashes succeed in echoing the nearby Golden Gate Bridge, but while our beloved GGB has a bit of grace and style, all I see here is a confused mess that ONLY can be explained by the chief wordsmith at SF-MOMA.
More "info" on di Suvero and these constucts at sfmoma.org/disuvero.
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5 comments:
I am with you on your assessment. I look at "art" such as this and think "I can do that".
Philistine.
As for the signage, ArtSpeak almost always sounds like a parody of itself so your reaction is perfectly sane. Not a big fan of di Suvero's work, and positively hate his huge sculpture near the fountain at the Legion of Honor parking lot, which merely blocks the great view from the top of the hill. At least these pieces at Crissy Field are temporary, only up for a year.
Yeah, Sinbad's Dad (John) -- time to put all those years in high-school metal-shop to good use.
And oh yeah, Mike, I didn't link these up with the monstrosity at the Legion of Honor -- totally out of place.
You sure nailed it. I trudged over to Crissy Field trying to keep an open mind. All I could think of is how ugly these macho phallic pieces are. How and why he got so popular is beyond me. Well, I have my theories but should probably not sprout off on your blog. Mike is right about the abomination at the Legion. That orange monstrosity should go under the wrecking ball. Not only does it block the beautiful view, it destroys the beautiful circle of the fountain. Somebody thought they were being really chic and trendy to buy this. Somebody was wrong.
Right on, Nancy!
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