overall, it's rather impressive. the huge outdoor "awning" over their plaza should make planning events (especially when factoring in weather) less of a pain. it was odd, however, walking in and realizing that their colors are apparently red and white - target red and white. i almost felt like i should have been buying some toilet paper.
from what i've observed, i'm guessing that the multi-floor with escalators is a rather modern museum design. musee d'art moderne had them. tate modern had them too (although theirs were indoors). of course, bcam still had elevators - and how! that thing was huge. you could have put two massive elevators on top of each other and it would amount to the same thing. there were sections of it blocked off with posts - my fellow elevator-ridee said it probably had to do with weight/capacity constraints. clever, i suppose, but it seems like a waste of space.
i did enjoy the museum immensely - but i wasn't altogether impressed by the collection. i almost felt like there should have been more, even though each room was packed with the artists' work (especially cindy sherman - that looked like a gallery showing). i did love their use of space and i liked what was there. yet i wondered how often they would be changing the displays, since these weren't exhibitions, but rather a show of their collections and loans. who do you replace rauschenberg with? more rauschenberg? another part i enjoyed was that that many of these artists were still alive (oh basquiat, why did you die young?).
some of my favorite pieces were (all images & video from other installations & shows - not from bcam):
ed ruscha - angry that it's plaster and not milk (sadly no picture of this one)
the painting itself drew me in. the bird was beautifully done. i wish i could describe it better. the title made me love it even more. i'm such a sucker.
damien hirst - something solid beneath the surface of all creatures great and small
this was in a glass case - several different shelves, displaying around 30 animal skeletons. i think it ranged from a small ram to a snake to a bat. the care and detail it took to put that together amazes me and just the idea behind it, showing life in death is wonderful. i want to look up his other piece (something solid beneath the surface of several things wise and wonderful) and see how they contrast.
damien hirst - the kingdom of the father
from far away, these three panels, framed and shaped to look like the windows of an old gothic church, are stunning mosaics, with deep blues and vibrant greens. you make your approach and you realize - these aren't pieces of glass, but rather butterfly wings. i loved it.
as you can probably tell, i like damien hirst - more and more since jas had me look him up when she was doing a project. sure, he might be a little over-exposed and pretty absurdly rich, but he's got some quality work! although, i wasn't too sure about "the collector" - there were supposed to be live butterflies, but i didn't really see too many of those. they probably died.
richard serra - band
ever since i saw his work on the art21 dvd, i've been wanting to check out those massive steel sculptures. there's so much going on in terms of space, curves, perspective... i was so excited to find the first floor of bcam completely occupied by his piece. i walked all along it, practically hugging the lines and absorbing the moments where the steel suddenly - but smoothly - shifts in shape. one minute you're swallowed in by the steel walls and the next you're outside it, the sides sliding out above you.
a few of the other artists featured were: jean-michel basquiat (horn players!); cindy sherman; robert rauschenberg (yay!); jeff koons (i'm not really into him - except for the inflatable flower and bunny sculptures); jasper johns; jenny holzer (where are those inscriptions from??); andy warhol; and cy twombly.
overall, i recommend a look. :)
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