A Delicate Balance
Only two days left until Infinite Island opens here at the Brooklyn Museum! I have enjoyed regaling you with descriptions of huge, complicated installations, and the most unlikely materials ever to be found in a Museum. I assure you, however, that the level of exactitude for which we aim holds true for the other installations as well. For example, take a look at a detail from Tropical Night, by Christopher Cozier, below:
This piece is comprised of 200 drawings on paper, each 9″ x 7″ and hung in a grid, secured to the wall with binder clips and simple pushpins. It is a fairly straightforward installation, and yet preparation for it began months ago with the selection process for proper hanging hardware. I even sent a sample pushpin and clip overnight to Cozier in Trinidad; we wanted to be sure everything was in line with his vision for the completed piece.
Ultimately, we decided to invite the artist to complete the installation here at the Museum, since his preferred placement of each drawing is ever-changing. Though he had shipped the piece to us months ago, he arrived with a stack of alternate drawings to work with so that he would have more variety in creating the final layout. It took the artist two days to construct the grid of drawings.
Drawings to supplement the completion of Tropical Night, by Christopher Cozier.
The completed piece, though installed with everyday office materials and almost childlike at first glance, is actually a complex narrative about repression. It is at once understated, accessible, and very beautiful in its subtlety – and one of my favorite pieces in the show. I’m thrilled to share it with you, and look forward to seeing and hearing your reactions to it.
Christopher Cozier constructs the grid for Tropical Night.
Infinite Island opens this Friday, August 31st. We look forward to seeing you there!
