What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1281647
AUGUST 23-29, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 9 "Vexillology, or the study of flags, teaches us that the essential tension with flags lies in that space between being representative of the biggest ideas and the most intimate senses of self — that flags can fly over capitol buildings and also wave in the hands of a small child," Christopher Meyers reflects. Meyers was invited to create the first flag for the project, and his piece, "Icarus Falling," will be on display through Oct. 20. "And as each community embraces a flag or identity, we must acknowledge that the same flag can mean different things for different people. That being said, all of the flags that I love represent the idea that discourse, conversation, ideas and debate are central to how we think about our own identities," Meyers says. "An identity in stasis is an identity that is no longer useful. The flags that can no longer be debated are the flags that have ceased to inspire conversation within communities. "So ideally these flags, my flags, will encourage conversations, new communities, ways of being together." "There are seven Black figures on the flag, and it's really meaningful to be amplifying those stories right now," Maestas adds. "This moment feels very special to me, and I'm very grateful to Chris for entrusting us with his design and entrusting the Momentary with his story." Presenting such varying pieces outdoors offers visitors myriad ways to interact with the work — from wandering over off the trail, as Neuman noted, to making a special trip to the Momentary after hearing about a new piece. However the viewer is interacting with the piece, Maestas notes how outdoor art encourages a different type of engagement than an indoor experience. Encounters with the outdoor pieces will also be affected by time of day and weather, as well. "There's certain works that are really activated during the day, with the sun," she attests. "If you think about Chris Myers' flag, it really comes alive in the afternoon. There's a beautiful breeze that comes through, and you see the flag fully extended, waving in the sky. "And then Kusama's 'Narcissus Garden,' which we just installed, that catches the reflection of the sky. But then at night, there's this wonderful moment that happens where you see folks who are maybe finishing up dinner at the Eighth Street Market, and they'll wander through the Momentary Green onto the courtyard, and then they'll see 'You Belong Here,' which really anchors the whole campus, and then come to Iván Navarro's water towers. "So I think people are also still discovering that the Momentary has this artwork that they can encounter. I love going out there in the evening hours and seeing how people navigate the space." Yayoi Kusama's "Narcissus Garden" is an exciting installation on the Momentary campus that is in partnership with OZ Art. The work comprises nearly 900 mirrored spheres, and the Momentary's display is the first time the piece has been installed in an industrial, outdoor setting since its inception in 1966. "I have been thinking, alongside the rest of the country, I guess, about what constitutes a hero, what icons, symbols, moments and people are worthy of celebration," artist Christopher Meyers says of his flag "Icarus Falling" for The Momentary Flag Project. "So often public monuments are meant to rewrite history, to render the dynamic, ever-changing worlds around us into static, concrete markers of what we wish had been the truth. Part of what I like about flags is that they have all the resonance of monuments, but they're personal as well, you can carry one in your hand. They're formally less static, flexible. And in that they're perfect to celebrate an icon like Icarus of Greek myth, who is celebrated as much for his failures as his triumphs and ambitions." (Courtesy Image/Christopher Meyers) See Momentary Page 10 "Part of the experience that you don't understand until you're there is the experience of actually tilting your head and looking up," Maestas says of Iván Navarro's "This Land is Your Land." "There's not a lot of artwork, and there's not a lot of sculpture, specifically, where your gaze is drawn completely upward. It's not until you actually stand beneath them and you raise your head up that you actually have the full experience that the artist intended." (Courtesy Image/Iván Navarro and Kasmin Gallery)