The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is proud to participate in Open Spaces, a city-wide arts festival that will stretch from August 25 to October 28, with Swope Park as the hub and Dan Cameron as the curator.
“I am thrilled that the museum is part of Open Spaces, which will showcase the city’s commitment to the arts and the power of creative minds coming together,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell Director & CEO.
The Nelson-Atkins is participating by featuring a video installation called Retinal by Jennifer Steinkamp, a Los Angeles artist who works with video and new media to explore ideas about architectural space, motion, and perception.
Her installation glows through the windows of Lens 2 of the Bloch Building and is visible at night from the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park and from Rockhill Road. Visitors can see the installation come to life as the sun sets and until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
The art is in direct response to the design of the Bloch Building, design, its lighting, and the “lens” nomenclature used by architect Steven Holl to describe the sections of the building. The animation imagery conjures the idea of the retinal veins in an eye as refractive and liquid.
Jennifer Steinkamp’s work has single-handedly changed the art of video projection. An expert in computer animation, Steinkamp’s projects often take the form of portals or liminal spaces that beckon toward an expanded visual reality.
Also as part of Open Spaces, on Sunday, October 7, the museum will welcome the string quartet ETHEL with the group’s moving performance of Documerica, featuring striking images from across America.