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A Visit to the Hirshhorn - Ori Gersht Wows me

January 26, 2008

Schutte

Mueck

I had a couple of free hours not too long ago so I dropped into the Hirshhorn, interested in seeing “Strange Bodies”, a selection of figurative works from the permanent collection that has been installed in the basement. That turned out to be mostly mediocre; I love Thomas Schutte’s maliciously expressive little men, the originals displayed in high vitrines and big photographs behind. And I am always caught flat-footed despite myself by Ron Mueck’s huge naked man, each pore on his skin delineated. But most of the rest was essentially ho-hum.

Gersht

The big surprise was just across the hall. I had read about Ori Gersht’s work, which includes two super-slow videos of Renaissance-looking still life paintings with the fruits very very slowly exploding. And cool they are. But the real revelation was the video inside the Black Box.
The screen is large and it displays a beautiful forest in the early summer light. The viewer’s vantage point is in the trees about ¾ of the way up. The camera pans slowly around, the only sounds are muted natural sounds of wind rustling and the occasional bird. Without any warning, one of the massive trees starts to fall and you can hear the sound of it scraping against the others as it descends surprisingly slowly and with immense dignity. Breaking branches as it goes, it finally lands on the forest floor with a rumbling boom that can be felt as much as heard. Then all returns to silence and the camera starts to pan again. After a few moments of exquisite suspense, another tree is felled. This continues and, instead of being boring, it is spectacularly engaging. After a time, I defy any viewer to avoid thinking about mortality and the randomness of life – one moment a majestic example of nature at its most impressive, the next moment a dead inert pile of wood. See this while you can.

Bye Bye, Wheelchair Willy

p.s. - I've been out of town for a bit. Did something happen while I was away?

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