Jenny Holzer's Projections

On Saturday I went on a last minute adventure to MassMOCA to attend the gallery opening of Jenny Holzer's Projections. She's well known for projecting various poems, political statements and "truisms" on buildings but this is the first time that her projections have been displayed inside. It's a pretty neat effect, and always fun to become part of an exhibition yourself. As Jenny Holzer says on this Web site, (which also has some nice slideshows), "I show what I can with words in light and motion in a chosen place, and when I envelop the time needed, the space around, the noise, smells, the people looking at one another and everything before them, I have given what I know."

For up to date "truisms", visit her Twitter page

There are two projectors, one on each end, so the entire football sized room is bathed in text. Standing up in the balcony you get the best perspective. The text starts out tight and legible on the hard glossy floor, then undulates over bodies and giant stepping stone beanbags, then expands and wraps around the side walls (competing a bit with the projection from the opposite wall but not too much) and then stretches out over the white ceiling beams before it disappears.

My camera miraculously resurrected itself to work long enough to take some photos and movies and didn't eat a single image.

Here are a couple of the entire room:



A rare fairly empty vista:

Another example of people becoming part of the artwork:

A view across the floor from and of one of the huge comfy beanbags and a great example of what happens when the text hits the beamed ceiling:

The beanbags are covered with thermally sensitive material. We spent an embarrassing amount of time making heat impressions - here's a creepy one of my face: