Luhring Augustine Gallery “The Visitors” 3/15
The night before, after Coco and I had both gone on our solo adventures seeing museums and galleries, we talked over dinner about our favorite pieces. Coco raved about the video installation piece at the Luhring Augustine gallery by Ragnar Kjartansson, “The Visitors.” With little persuasion, she convinced me to go to Chelsea on the last morning in NY to see it.
The piece was the only thing showing at this particular gallery, and was set in a dark room with several large video screens with a projection on each.
Each screen had a different video taping of a musician, who was part of a larger group of musicians (including the artist, Ragnar Kjartansson, who was playing a guitar in a bathtub.) The setting was in a luxurious, old mansion on a farm in upstate New York, but all of the musicians were dressed in clothing that seemed to be what they would normally lounge around in.
Each musician had a different instrument, but all were in sync and could hear one another through a set of headphones. The piece started slowly, with everyone walking into their respective rooms and setting up their instruments. Eventually, everyone started to play to a melody that went along with the line “Once again, I fall into my feminine ways.” Some musicians would hum along, some wouldn’t sing at all; but everyone’s efforts were in harmony and made this absolutely beautiful composition of intense emotion. There was so much variety in the piece in terms of high and low intensity moments, yet there were only a couple lines being recited. The other line was “The stars are exploding around you and there’s nothing, nothing you can do.” This line in particular was so punctual to me, because it spoke about universality in relation to our inherent mortality as humans, which is something I often think about.
The piece lasted nearly an hour, and I was mesmerized the entire time. It was such a wonderful experience to have, especially with other people. Everyone who was in the room during the piece was in awe as well, and many (including me) were brought to tears at parts because of the intense emotions present. There was one elderly couple that were embraced in each others arms, swaying to the melody of the refrain. Though I didn’t verbally interact with the other people, it was sort of a bonding experience because I felt we were all having these intense feelings at the same time.
I could go on and on about the piece, but I feel it is hard to explain in words exactly how and why the piece moved me so much. However, I know the feeling will always be inside of me as I think about the piece from time to time.
Seeing this piece was extremely inspiring, and was a great way to end off the trip. I left New York feeling giddy and sentimental about the ways art can be impactful. Combined with all of the other discoveries and connections I made during the trip, it was the icing on the cake of an incredible time spent.
Cheers,
Adrienne
