Ernesto Neto: Navedenga at The Museum of Modern Art

By: James C. Kao

 

 

 
Ernesto Neto, Installation View of Navedenga, 1998, polyamide stretch fabric, sand, styrofoam, cloves, cord, and ribbon, 144 x 180 x 252" (365.8 x 457.2 x 640.1 cm). Image courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art. Photo © 2010 Jason Mandella.

 

  Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto (b.1964) uses polyamide stretch fabric to create large sculptures and installations that inspire interaction. He also uses bags of spices and Styrofoam pellets to add structural elements to his installations. Neto’s work creates immersive experiential spaces. He changes the environment of the space the work is installed in, shifting a rectangular man-made room to an organic landscape. The visitor feels as if he or she is going inside the body of a creature. Neto plays with abstraction and minimalism to negate geometric confines. His works are at once organic and architectural, and they appeal to multiple senses. For some projects he creates an exoskeleton to support the fabric, such as the Anthropodino (2009) installation at the Park Avenue Armory.

Navedenga (1998) at MoMA is an older work. Visitors enter the installation through a sliver of an opening, stepping on the stretchable fabric. When I entered, the project felt fragile and delicate. I wanted to touch the insides but I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to. The color of the fabric and its material inevitably reminded me of stockings, but this association did not last. What I then experienced was tranquility. Although the fabric was not soundproof or opaque, it slightly muffled the visual and auditory chaos of the museum. The spice held within the fabric, which I could not identify, was, according to another visitor as well as the website’s explanation, cloves. I admit that at first I was slightly disappointed by the size of the project and how quickly it took to explore. It was less memorable than the other works of his I have seen because the experience of the installation was not as immersive. This may be because Neto’s later works became more ambitious. Though it failed to leave a lasting impression on me, Navedenga is an intimate project, a demonstration of Neto’s early explorations, and a good introduction for visitors who have never experienced his work. If the line is not unpleasantly long to enter the installation, it’s worth a visit.

 

Ernesto Neto: Navedenga at MoMA until April 5, 2010

 

The Museum of Modern Art

11 West 53^rd Street

Take the E or V train to 53rd Street/5^th Avenue, the B, D, or F train to 47-50 Street/Rockefeller Center or the 6 train to 51st Street

Museum Hours: Sat-Thurs, 10:30 – 5:30; F, 10:30 - 8:45  

Museum Website: www.moma.org

Comments

[Sarah]

I love Neto's work and can never pass up a chance to see any of his installations. What I loved the most about this one was that despite it's small size, everyone who took the time to remove their shoes and walk through came out smiling.