Something New at MMoCA
Imprint Gallery Now OpenAs the fall weather nips at your heels, duck into the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art’s newest space—the Imprint Gallery.
The gallery was recently revived with the help of Associate Curator Leah Kolb (See BRAVA’s story on Kolb in our October edition.) The space got some technological updates so it can present its multisensory, contemporary works in less traditional artistic mediums, such as moving images, experimental sound and light and digital technologies. MMoCA spokeswoman Erika Monroe-Kane says the gallery is one of the few in the region dedicated to this kind of art.
Its inaugural exhibit is “Have You Never Let Someone Else Be Strong,” showcasing the work of Los Angeles-based artist Kim Schoen. Schoen works with “performative” and experimental texts, photographs and video installations, Monroe-Kane says.
The centerpiece is a 22-minute looping video focusing on the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Schoen pairs her imagery with songs that accompany the hotel’s rotating water shows, but filters the music through an automated vocalization software program.
Schoen’s second video in the exhibit, “The Second Oldest Amusement,” is filmed in Copenhagen, Denmark’s Tivoli Gardens. In this piece, the fountains are under construction in a chilly landscape, and the garden’s peacock ambles into the frame to perform his own display.
The result is a mesmerizing way to spend a chilly fall day here in Madison. Through Jan. 10, 2016. 227 State Street, Madison. Hours vary. Free admission. Mmoca.org.