There was a great turn out for the 2016 Wisconsin Triennial held at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. It was so inspiring to have the pleasure of seeing the work of UW professors. Students here are lucky to have the privilege of learning under them.
Assistant Professor, Meg Mitchell’s piece (pictured below) contained an added bonus for museum goers, editioned prints that they could take home with them. This added an additional layer of interaction to the artwork that is typically something that is frowned upon at art galleries: touching the work (and taking it home for that matter). The hesitancy of the museum’s guests was apparent until they witnessed others carrying around these artifacts. Then others flocked to the location for one of their own.
Seeing 4D artworks in person seems necessary, especially when it comes to fully interactive and changing ones such as the work of Laurie Beth Clark’s (pictured below). This is one of the reasons I find it important to attend exhibition openings. One often gets to see the full functionality of a piece that would otherwise be left to the full interpretation of the lone viewer. It was an enjoyable experience to see Laurie Beth changing up the configuration of the table and seeing its functionality.
The one downfall of attending an opening reception is that installation works, especially those with sound, are lost to the mass mingling of the exhibition’s guests. I find that it is essential to attend a second time to fully appreciate and experience a piece such at Stephen Hilyard’s three channel video installation (pictured below). His editing and technical skills were incredible and I highly recommend seeing this work from start to finish.
“This year’s Wisconsin Triennial will open with a reception beginning at 6 pm on Friday, September 23. The exhibition will be on view in the museum’s lobby, State Street Gallery, Imprint Gallery, main galleries, and rooftop sculpture garden through January 8, 2017. A cornerstone of MMoCA’s exhibition programming, the Triennial captures the richness and variety of artistic expression across the state, and showcases significant themes being addressed within the contemporary art world. Visitors may see new work by artists included in previous Triennials, as well as discover emerging artists.
The 2016 Triennial will feature several site-specific sculptures and installations designed for spaces in the museum, as well as completed works transported to the museum from artists’ studios. Paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, and video are among the media represented, reflecting the diversity of approaches artists undertake in their explorations of process and content. The included artworks will address topical issues such as the consequences of environmental destruction, the staging and representation of social and cultural identity, and the impacts of our current political and racial climate—all hallmarks of artistic concerns in the twenty-first century.“
-MMoCA
On view from September, 28th 2016 through January, 8th 2017
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
711 State Street
Madison, WI 53703