62 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MARCH 15, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
buzz
This optical illusion project will be
installed at Long Island City’s MoMA PS1
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
For the 19th year in a row, MoMA
PS1 in Long Island City will allow artists
to transform its courtyard space into a
“responsive, kinetic environment” as part
of its Young Architects Program.
Jennifer Newsom and Tom Carruthers
were crowned the winners from among
fi ve fi nalists for their project, titled “Hide
and Seek.” Th ey will install their project
at the museum starting in June to serve as
the backdrop for MoMA PS1’s Warm Up,
an outdoor music series.
Th e duo, which creates site-specifi c
installations with their studio Dream the
Combine, were inspired “by the crowd,
the street, and the jostle of relationships
found in the contemporary city” to create
this installation.
“In recent years, Long Island City
has become more vertical,” said Klaus
Biesenbach, MoMA PS1 director and
chief curator at large. “With this project,
MoMA PS1 will engage horizontally,
inviting the neighborhood and our
diverse audience to participate in and
engage with our programs at eye level.
Dream Th e Combine’s proposal addresses
this in both form and content, with participatory
architecture to refl ect, if not to
literally mirror, the here and now in Long
Island City and the country as a whole.”
A series of horizontal structures will be
installed within the courtyard and will
contain two inward-facing, gimbaled mirrors
suspended from a frame. Th e mirrors
will move with the wind or human touch,
which will create the illusion that parts of
the courtyard are shift ing.
“As the vanishing points disappear into
the depths of the mirrors, the illusion
of space expands beyond the physical
boundaries of the museum and bends
into new forms, creating visual connections
within the courtyard and onto the
streets outside,” according to a press
release about the project.
Th e installation will also include a runway
and a large hammock, inviting visitors
to perform in front of the mirrors.
Th e Minnesota-based duo both have
master’s degrees in architecture from
Yale. Newsom is an assistant professor
at the University of Minnesota School of
Architecture and Carruthers co-owns a
metal fabrication shop.
Th e Young Architects Program provides
“emerging architectural talent the
opportunity to design and present innovative
projects” for a temporary outdoor
installation at the museum. Th e program
guidelines also call for designs that
address environmental issues such as sustainability
and recycling.
“As art can and should move through
walls, so too does Jennifer Newsom and
Tom Carruthers’ architecture that restages
how and why communities interact
with the museum,” said Sean Anderson,
the museum’s associate curator. “Th e
materials deployed will not just be its
refl ective ‘runway,’ illuminated overhead
misting networks, or even an expansive
hammock for lounging, but a scaled system
that addresses multiple publics with
the impassioned statement, ‘You Are
Here.’”
The Happy Medium at QPAC
It is a cold, clear Saturday night at
Queensborough Performing Arts Center
(QPAC). Th eir smaller, more intimate
cabaret theatre called the “Showroom”
is packed. Th e eager crowd will soon
interact with Kim Russo, the internationally
acclaimed psychic known as
“Th e Happy Medium”.
QPAC’s executive and artistic director,
Susan Agin, off ers an enthusiastic
welcome to the audience. Soon, the
lights dim. Th e large screen “downstage”
shows segments from some of
Russo’s television series. Minutes later,
Russo enters. She good naturedly warns
the audience that “the spirits have
a sense of humor” and “don’t
be shy” if you are called on
to participate. Yes, there will
be laughter, tears and many
more insights over the next
two hours.
Th ere is little doubt that
everyone in attendance is
either a skeptic, a believer
or just plain curious. Th e
hall is completely silent. Th e
readings are about to begin.
Russo heads half way up
the right aisle of the theatre.
She feels the energy
more strongly at
that point. Is she
merely taking cues
from the subjects’
attire, body language
and verbal
cues? Or is she
genuinely sensing messages
from the spirit world?
As she approaches
the fi rst couple she
answers general questions
—No, there isn’t
any food on the other
side. No, there are no
physical sensations
either. Yes, there is
love. Lots of love.
At times she identifi
es the loved
one by name
or close to it.
S o m e t i m e s
Russo off ers advice that she insists is
from the other side. Oft en she moves
to diff erent parts of the theatre. Can we
believe her conclusions?
Looking around the audience, there
are those who are red eyed with poignant
tears, shaking heads with uncertainty,
watching with rapt attention or
carelessly losing attention. For some,
there is a special meet and greet that follows
the psychic readings. Th e requisite
books and other resources are also available
in the lobby. Th ere will be another
national television appearance in
May. Clearly, the possibility of breaching
today’s rational world for a glimpse
into the unknown continues to fascinate
the most skeptical among us.
For information on this and future
productions, call the box offi ce at (718)
631-6311, click on www.visitqpac.org or
“Like” them on Facebook. As always,
save me a seat on the aisle.
A VIEW FROM
THE CLIFF
BY CLIFF KASDEN
Photo courtesy of
Dream The Combine
A new site-specifi c
installation will be
unveiled at MoMA
PS1 in Long Island City.
link
/www.visitqpac.org
