MASS MoCA Audio Guide Podcast: Sol LeWitt Retrospective

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With the longest podcasts reaching at three minutes and fifty seconds, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art explores their collection of Sol LeWitt art.  The podcast first gives a back story on LeWitt’s influences and the themes behind his art.  Then it gives the origins behind the retrospective itself, talking about the logistics of putting together this show.  A nice little behind the scenes look at how a museum puts together a show that must have looked daunting, given how large the drawings LeWitt created.  When you download the podcast, you can see you the art the narrators talk about.  I have always felt a little ambivalent towards LeWitt’s work, but I really enjoyed some of these paintings.  I love his ideas on lines and shapes, and I can imagine feeling overwhelmed if I saw them in person.  I consider Wall Drawing 1261 as a favorite.  When the podcast discusses this piece, they considered this one a triumph.

The narrators themselves consist of a vast array of workers who created the art under LeWitt’s instructions.  The podcast that focuses on each drawing focuses on where LeWitt originally had the work installed, with thoughts from the workers who had a hand in putting up the work at the MoCA.  The workers also explained what kind of materials and tools used to create these drawings.  The use of crayons and inks to create these large projects amazed me as I listened to the audio.  I have always had the status of such materials in my head as made for small, more intimate works, but this experiment proved me wrong.  On a final, cute note: at the end of each podcast, a little ding sound occurs.  As of 2008, the MoCA has not updated this podcast.

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