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So glad to have found this building as I would not want to walk through the heat any longer |
Been traveling but have not been spending quite enough waking hours blogging about my adventures in the Middle East.
Please excuse my later than latergrams and here we go!
@ALRIWAQ DOHA
Passage of Time (2012)
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Al Riwaq. It looks bigger on the inside - trust me. |
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My dear family enduring me on this Serra tripping journey. |
I wandered into the curved passage and found myself unable to see the path ahead as I turned and changed directions in a smooth wave-like motion. Serra's intention was to involve his viewers with his work through their own rhythm and time. In a brief moment, it was as if a snippet of time in itself had taken a physical form. By walking through the curved plates, I had become a traveler and each turn lead to a new destination. It worked out particularly well as a participatory experience, one which I thoroughly enjoyed.
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I came, I saw, I walked the Passage of Time. |
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A lone visitor walks the hull of 'time'. |
@QMA Gallery Katara
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The quietly hidden Building no. 10 at Katara. |
Locating the building which housed the QMA Gallery took more effort than expected. We asked several people in the vicinity before finally arriving at the gallery which was situated behind the amphitheater. Finally, we arrived at Building 10 where Serra showed off 10 pieces of work. Several of which could easily make the list of most dangerous installations. The collection is a cohesive culmination of Serra's extensive fifty-year career.
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The 4 Rifts (2011 - 2013) |
Not to be outdone by the limits of gravity is Serra's "One Ton Prop" House of Cards (1969) on rare loan from the Museum of Modern art in New York and the Inverted House of Cards (1969).
Looking for a larger test of equilibrium? Behold, "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8" (1987). From above, it resembles the blades of a fan. Rust molted and grainy, the sculpture is a monster to behold. Looking at the thick steel plates, it embodies a certain strength in its oppressive scale and circular precision. Like many of Serra's pieces, visitors were welcomed to slip in between the steel plates and engage with the sculpture by walking alongside and spending time within the space.
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Piece entitled '1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8' (1987) |
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There's no telling what's behind this identical wall... |
How does an American sculpturer's work fit into the stark Qatar desert? Seen as a departure from the other more 'human' pieces of the QMA's commissioned pieces of Damien Hirst's Miraculous Journey and Adel Abdessemed’s Coup de Tête, Serra's enormous steel plates take on a heavier, almost unnatural stance. However, one might also argue that you cannot deny the impact his participatory pieces have upon one's relationship with space and form. For that, I salute Serra for being a master of abstract spacial manipulation.
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