During this Wednesday’s essay seminar class, the students and I discussed last week’s trip to MoMA. We wanted to think about what worked well and what didn’t, and figure out where to take the Review Hive next.
MoMA is a big place known for sprawling exhibitions, but I think none of us expected the Kentridge show to be so massive. In my case, I think that past exposure to his works in more modest surroundings led me to expect a much less imposing presentation. The scale of the show meant that by the time we had seen it all and were ready to write, we were already completely overwhelmed and exhausted. Scheduling our visit during class time also made things feel a little cramped.
However, I was really pleased with the writing that everyone contributed. The tweets that made it into the feed span a pretty wide range of views about the works we saw, and I liked the insights and emotions that each student brought in. I was also happy that the feed slowly but organically moved along to other things (including the Marina Abramovic show).
Our experience with the first set of tweets hasn’t changed the original plan for round two, but it did influence the decision on what to view next. This time, we’ll look at something a little more modest and focused (in concept, at least), though still open-ended enough to allow for a wide range of comments. Students will be going to look at the next artwork on their own time, offering them a chance to linger at the site and let the work sink in before they have to commit anything to writing. I’ll be announcing the next assignment on this site and the VCS blog soon.
