On View through January 2nd, 2011.
Have you ever wanted to take a trip into an alternate reality? Well here is a perfect opportunity. My museum buddy Antoinette and I were long overdue for another trip to the museum. We both had a taxing day and were primed for a voyage to an alternate reality.
We jumped on the #1 train to 42nd street, where we changed for the express #2 to Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. Yep we were chatty catty all the way, as there was much to talk about. The last time we went to the Brooklyn Museum together, was for Mr. Extraordinaire Takashi Murakami http://www.takashimurakami.net. As a sidebar, that trip was like being inside a video game of intense color saturation, while chewing strawberry bubbalicious. … seriously!
Anyhoo! We exited the station in Brooklyn, paid our entrance and took the elevator express to the 5th floor. Are you strapped in people, because we had no idea we were about to fall into such an esoteric mindscape and fall right in we did… We strolled into the welcoming chamber greeted by “ Octillo Nocturnal ”- details: 1993 Synthetic polymer, resin, pills and plant leaves. Instantly, we were transported magnetically into this deep purple enchanting landscape, with shadow tree limbs and floating, illuminated constellations. So much so, we stood captivated a few centimeters away from it, as we giggled at the clever use of pills and hemp leaves. The fact that the piece was finished with a resin coating, gave it the feeling of being set in Jello. This was just the beginning of our stroll through the psychedelic collage corridors of Fred Tomaselli. I wont give away too much, because this is a must see exhibition.
What I will leave you with is that Mr. Tomaselli in his very clever collage approach peels back the veneer into man’s anatomical, psychological, multi-dimensional and multi faceted self, to reveal the complexity of what we see, feel and believe in.
