Wednesday, May 10, 2006
REVIEW: Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle
Red Berg (r11i01)
Installation by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle
Galerie Thomas Schulte
28.4 -12.5.2006
(photo credited to gallery's website)
Red Berg (r11i01), based on the original Iceberg (r11i01) sculpture at The Art Institute of Chicago (I actually couldn't find a better link on the web than this one, What's with the archive at the Art Institute? Come on you guys!) is Manglano-Ovalle's second "generation" of the work via sonar information and 3d imaging of an actual iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. This time around the artist combines his scientifically curious art practice with more clues to how he arrives at the final work by inserting a weather balloon literally into the monumental iceberg "wireframe" sculpture, with mixed results.
At first I was awestruck by seeing this sculpture again (the original in Chicago is even bigger than Red Berg (r11i01), and it truly is a monumental work), but then I began to think why did he do it again? The first one in Chicago is different in a few ways, it has black rods forming it's structure instead of red ones, it's significantly larger, and there isn't a weather balloon inside, but other than that it is essentially the same work. Is it a continuation of the first piece or a rehashing of it? Is it an update of the iceberg's condition since the last time he gathered sonar data of it? or is the weather balloon significant because it collected the data for the new 'berg'?
I'm willing to give Manglano-Ovalle the benefit of the doubt and wait untill I can find out more information myself about this piece, but I've seen other really great pieces he's done, so it's not a question of him not having enough fresh ideas. I'm just hoping this isn't the beginning of iceberg 'editions'. It would be a shame, because he's better than that, but if this is trying to work out some other ideas then just start a new piece and go from there. The original Iceberg (r11i01) in Chicago is going to be a classic, leave it at that and move on to the next-- stop fussing with it!
# posted by Ryan : 5/10/2006 01:18:00 AM
