MAKE IT NEW. The Clark Art Institute. Williamstown, MA.

 Make It New: Abstract Painting from the National Gallery of Art, 1950-1975. 

July 8th, 2014. Williamstown, MA.

The dedication of the original building.

I’m back in New England now after a long stressful process of moving all of my stuff over an ocean, cleaning literally all the things, and trying to still enjoy my last few days in the UK. While I haven’t had my last word on Generation yet, I thought I’d celebrate being back by posting about something a little closer to my new home: the recently reopened and refurbished Clark Art Institute.   

As the extensive ad campaign on the drive up made clear, the Clark was back open after

completing a new exhibition space, The Clark Centre, and refurbishing its original building.  I had never been to the Clark before, so their many billboards happily proclaiming to be back didn’t have much effect on me. However, when I was joining my new local library (the most important thing to do when moving, naturally) I noticed that there was something called “Free Fun Fridays” during the summer in Massachusetts.  I can usually be counted on to be interested in going to any museum, but a museum on a free day? Sign me up. 

I went with my mother, who is a wonderful museum companion if only because she’ll listen to me endlessly talk and then buy me lunch at the museum cafe. More than that, while we definitely don’t have the same taste in art, I always like to hear her take as someone who likes art but hasn’t studied it. While Free Friday was certainly a motivator, I was mostly keen to travel the three hours to The Clark because I’d heard that an abstract painting exhibition had just opened (thank you New York Times). Titled ‘Make It New’, the paintings were taken from the National Gallery of Art’s collection and were dated between 1950-1975. Knowing this, I was expecting some of the classics, and the exhibition didn’t disappoint. 

The Abstract Expressionists and Neo-Dada you’d expect from an American national collection were there— Jackson Pollock’s Lavender Mist was just about the first thing you saw walking in. While I was naturally familiar with the painting, I hadn’t actually got the chance to see it before. They also had the necessary Mark Rothko, though I can never help but feel that Rothko’s aren’t meant for group exhibitions. They rarely do well in a brightly lit room surrounded by colourful and chaotic canvases. I didn’t note the name, and it’s here that I should probably apologise for my shoddy note taking. Not long after walking in, I was very nicely chastised by a gallery attendant for using pen and presented with a pencil instead. I honestly tried to use it but… my notebook was made for black pen and nothing else.

Luckily, the exhibition was compelling enough that I didn’t need to take too many notes for it to make an impression. After the first room with Pollock and Rothko, the section titled ‘Color Field’, the work was divided into the categories of ‘Pattern’, ‘Texture’, and ‘Shape’. This was really what made the exhibit stand out for me. As the work ranged over 25 years and was created by artists from different countries and movements, it encouraged me to think outside of the chronological story and to consider new ideas, to make new connections: to find new ways of telling a  familiar story. This is really what all good exhibitions should be seeking to do, but you can never learn that particular lesson too many times. 

It also worked spectacularly with the architecture of the new expansion. Tadao Ando’s design allowed you to easily know where you were supposed to go and where the different themes began, but as it wasn’t really a typical “white cube” gallery space, it also easily allowed me to get glimpses of what I’d already come through or what was still to come and to make connections even across the thematic structure. 

The architecture also worked beautifully with the landscape. Usually when you’re thinking about museum architecture, it’s about how the art works within the space and how the visitors interact with it. Ando took it one step further for me and added the exterior environment to the equation. The Berkshires were lovely outside the many widows, coming in and out of view as you moved through the space and the water elements made the air inside feel so fresh and natural, even when it was crowded with the many many people who were also drawn by the allure of ‘free’. The reflecting pool outside was simply perfect, and I could’ve happily spent hours there if not for the drive home. If for no other reason, this expansion is reason enough to visit the Clark. It’s truly a marvel. 

My mother loved the Rodin's.

Happily for everyone though, it isn’t the only reason to visit. ‘Make It New’ exposed me to so many artists I’d never heard of before while reminding me what was great about so many of the artists that I was already familiar with: Jean Fautrier, Jean Dubuffet, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns. My mother wasn’t as enamoured, but the permanent collection had more than enough lovely Impressionist masterpieces to make her happy. 

It was a lovely day, and it was wonderful to see so many people there taking advantage of the free admission. I’m sure that this is the start of a wonderful new chapter for the Institute, and I’ll certainly be making the trek up there again for the Clark and all of the other fantastic sounding museums around it. It may not be the Scottish art that I love, but it’s still pretty damn great.

Nothing makes me happy like sun and art.

Keep an eye out of a few more Generation reviews and possibly a book review or two!

EXHIBITIONS VISITED: 

The Clark Art Institute. Make It New: Abstract Painting from the National Gallery of Art, 1950-1975. 2nd August to 13th October, 2014. 225 South Street, Williamstown, MA.

For more information about Free Fun Fridays in Massachusetts, visit the Highland Street Foundation’s website.  http://highlandstreet.org/freefunfridays.html