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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > January > 20 > Entry
The Blanton goes blue
The Blanton Museum of Art seems to have found a way to do something with the cavernous lobby of their Michener Gallery Building, thanks to the generosity of far-sighted patrons Jeanne and Michael Klein.
The Kleins have supported a site-specific installation by Teresita Fernandez, a 2005 winner of the MacArthur Fellows Program, a.k.a the MacArthur genius awards. Entitled ‘Stacked Waters,’ the massive piece consists of 3,100 square feet of custom-cast acrylic that covers the atrium walls in a striped blue pattern resembling water. It should be finished Jan. 23 and will be on view long-term, probably three to five years.
The title of the work, Fernandez said last week as she was installing the work, is a nod to Donald Judd’s stack pieces and his exploration of box interiors. And no, it’s not a reference to any particular body of water.
With its changing stripes of shades of blue and white, ‘Stacked Waters’ seems to undulate in the skylit atrium, reflecting the changing light. “I wanted it to be like a portrait of the day and the changing light,” said Fernandez. “I want it to immerse the viewer. Instead of giving visitors an object to look at, I wanted to give them an experience.”
Fernandez said she also wanted to break the stereotype of atrium art — you know, the expected grandiose mobile. Instead, she’s offering visitors to UT’s art museum a tantalizing, beckoning journey, especially as you ascend the 50 steps up to the second floor.
Even seen in mid-installation, “Stacked Waters” looks like a major — and sublime — improvement to the Blanton’s stark atrium — a vexing overly-large space in a building strapped by its conservative, uninspiring architecture.
Michael Klein, for one, has been seeking a way to enliven the Blanton’s architecture since the place opened in 2006. “It’s like the architect forgot the art,” said Klein when he stopped by last week to visit with Fernandez.
Artist Teresita Fernandez and Michael Klein.
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