Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

I’ve been at the IMA for over two years now, and without a doubt one of the most talked about art installations over that time has been Orly Genger’s Whole, which lived mainly in the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion. It stood in a place that ensured each and every visitor who walked through those doors had to confront and acknowledge the installation in some way. I’ve been a huge fan of quietly observing over-the-top drama for all of my life, so this was right up my alley and I’ll miss it for sure.

It seems this exhibition was one of those you either love or hate. I for one loved it. The way it sat and overwhelmed the space and the hefty gargantuan sizes of the pieces made it feel epic every time I rode the escalators up to the galleries. Not only did the finished pieces impress me, but the amount of work put into them was equally as staggering as the size. What I loved is that you get slapped right in the face with a dose of contemporary artwork as soon as you get inside and you are forced you to think.

However, I overheard a lot of people who were irate about the artwork! What’s that, you don’t agree with me?? Visitor comments always show how passionate people are about the art in our galleries, and Whole was certainly no exception. Thanks to @katiezarich and Roz Wells I got access (shhh, don’t tell!) to our comment cards and gathered the best of the worst. In the spirit of transparency I thought I’d share a few…

There’s no place to sit in the Oval. If you’re waiting to be picked up, you can’t see anything. This rope is awful and it’s been here too long!

The “Whole” exhibit disturbs the beauty of the soaring entry space, creating an obstruction with blocks of massive nothingnous with no grace. Take them away, please.

Horrible display in the lobby. Who ever made the decision to display “Whole” needs Prozac!

The stuff in the lobby is offensive and is not perceived by me as “art.”

Orly Genger: This reminds me of the Gordian Knot in the time of Alexander the Great.

I have a comment about the exhibit in the lobby. I really like the black things but why did you put something in the lobby that we can’t touch? We have been wondering for a long time.

I thought the exhibit (Whole) was metal. I really like this and I want to touch it.

The Orly Gener rope exhibit is ugly.

I find the lobby exhibit terribly ugly, depressing, unbelievable & a great waste of money.

I feel like I’m in a fort.

New Exhibit: Takes up too much space in the lobby!

The exhibit in the oval is interesting, but please move it to another area. It does not present a welcoming image of the museum–particularly during the haledays (sic).

While I might not agree, rest assured we are reading your comments and we take them all seriously. If you are still a “Whole hater” I’ll try one more time to convert you with this beautiful video produced by IMA’s Nugget Factory.

Ok, I couldn’t resist so here’s one more beautiful photo set of the artwork on Flickr:

What happens to Whole now?

If you are wondering what happens to the artwork next, I asked Sarah Green that exact question and she said:

One of the sculptures is now part of the IMA’s permanent collection. It’s the one named “Len” that is four square columns that come together to form a larger square. The rest of the pieces are being dismantled and returned to the artist.

Up next in the Efroymson Entrance?

Coming soon to the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion: Judith Levy’s Memory Cloud. The installation will be comprised of a monumental “cloud” made from white plastic photo viewers that hang on strands of microfilament. That won’t be here until July, so stay tuned for updates.

• Tags: Contemporary art, ima, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Judith Levy, Memory Cloud, Orly Genger, rope, Whole
 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 9:50 am and is filed under Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.