The eccentric and stunning MASS MoCA
I know this blog is supposed to be focused on food, but there are many kinds of sustenance to be savored in this world. This week, we were treated to a feast for our eyes and our souls at the brilliant MASS MoCA in its complex of late 19th century factory buildings in North Adams, Mass. An entire three floors of the museum house this retrospective of Sol Lewitt’s astonishing wall drawings and the old brick of the buildings plays off the sleek surfaces of the art in a stirring dance of line, texture and color.
We almost knew Sol Lewitt. He and his wife, Carol, lived in Umbria not far from where we have a house. Many of our ex-pat friends were close friends of theirs.
Many are artists who drew inspiration from Sol. But by the time we arrived, Sol had returned to the states for health reasons. He and Carol lived in Connecticut until he succumbed to cancer in 2007.
Everyone who knew him talks of his generosity, his modesty and of his appetite for all aspects of the good life — friends, food, wine and the beauty and pace of rural Italy.
His art is ecstatic; it asks you to open your mind; it urges you to allow yourself to see what actually stands in front of you. So few of us have the courage to do that.
Yes, sustenance it is . . . full of beauty. Thanks for posting this blog – I loved it. (Beautifully, written, as usual.)
Today, out of respect for all this beauty, I am going to try darned hard to use the images you posted to “urge myself to see what actually stands in front of me . . .”
Mike
See you and Jill tomorrow night in Cape May! We’re looking forward to hearing some good stories….
Tom and Bev
Can’t wait to see you again in Cape May….tomorrow. Loved “After Annie”….laughed and cried….and could hear your voice while reading Herbie.
See you tomorrow.
all the best,
Leslie Martel
Hello, you may want to visit Whirls and Twirls 1 at the Reggio Emilia’s library next time you’re in Italy. :-)
http://www.comune.re.it/iat%5Ciatre.nsf/pagine/57945D833708BE96C1256F1C00332BD8?OpenDocument&lng=eng
orietta
Mikey, this is a gorgeous piece, as sumptuous and lucid as any so far (which is saying a lot, given your great gift for clear, sensual prose). You take us right there, where we can almost taste it. Ecstatic and urgent indeed! Bravo, my friend. A presto…xxo Gianni