A Visit to the Chinati Foundation - Reflective Essay

Introduction

In the modern society, art plays a key role in transforming culture into reality by linking art and the surrounding environment which is then preserved for future generations. My visit to the Chinati Foundation shed more light on the modern, innovative art approaches of preserving contemporary art designs in relation to the time and place as a way of making history. The Chinati Foundation for modern art museum focus on the ideologies of its founder, Donald Judd, who had a deep desire to preserve and showcases to the public creative permanent large-scale installations designed by 12 artists . The central purposes for the display of these modern design are to highlight no the inextricable link that exists between the surrounding landscape and art.

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Visiting the area can be very challenging especially for individuals who require special assistance or those who experience difficulty walking. The reason for this is that this modern art museum is located in the high, uneven terrain of the Chihuahuan desert. The collections in the museum were developed by various artists such as Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Roni Horn, Ingolfur Arnarsson, John Chamberlain, Robert Irwin, Donald Judd, Ilya Kabakov, Richard Long, John Wesley, David Rabinowitch, and Claes Oldenburg. The collections are situated in 15 buildings which cover over 340 acres which require visitors to walk from distances that range from 0.5 to 1-5 miles on rough terrain.

The Foundation began as a site that would preserve the art designs works of Donald Judd, Dan Flavin and John Chamberlin in the year 1986. However, over the years, this non- profit organization has been expanded to accommodate fifteen outdoor concrete pieces together with 100 aluminium works placed in an artillery sheds by Judd. Addition to this there are 25 sculptures by Chamberlin, works by ten other artists mentioned above are spread in different parts of the museum and an installation by Dan Flavin spreading across six army barracks.

The purposes of this foundation are to display permanently installed modern monumentally crafted works by the desert landscape and environment surrounding the artists. Some of the works in the museum include the Chinati Thirteener by Carl Andre which is made up of 13 strips of rolled steel plates laid in equal intervals. What is interesting about this artwork is the distinction between the rough gravel and the smooth steel surfaces. Second, Ingolfur Arnarsson works consists of two artwork on concrete together with a series of thirty-six graphite drawings on paper placed on the wall in a single sequence. The third installation is by John Chamberlin which consists of 22 sculptures in chromium plated steel and painted in different colours and is located in the former Mohair and Marfa Wool building. Dan Flavin's work consists of coloured fluorescent lights on six buildings in the museum. Roni Horn's art is made up of solid copper in two similar truncated cones. Robert Irwin's work is a large-scale artwork that is designed as a permanent freestanding structure. Richard Long's art consists of three equally spaced concentric circles made of stones that area is touching each other. One thing that is unique in all of these artworks in the museum is the authentic feel they create as they relate to the immediate environment and represents modern ways to represent culture through art.

Conclusion

However, of all the twelve artists the one that I found to be most compelling in his work is Judd Donald. His work contains 100 works designed in mill aluminium. Each of these designs has similar outer dimensions that are 41 by 51 by 72 inches but different unique interiors. Judd's work is special for it gives the view a different perception of the modern world which is captivating and intriguing at the same time. Judd's work is important for it helps preserve the modern art designs for future generations which can easily be lost or forgotten like historical artworks. The visit to the museum is adventurous and entertaining, and I would recommend my colleagues to pay the place a visit.

References

https://www.chinati.org/visit/visiting