I finally got a chance to hit up Design and the Elastic Mind this weekend and I won’t bore you with my own review. Didn’t it seem for awhile that wherever you turned on the internet there was some shout out to that exhibition? People had it covered and you can always check one of those for the rundown. However I will say this, everything you’ve read about it is true, it’s fucking fantastic, with little meat coats grown in vitro for good measure.

Please though while you’re at the Moma for D&EM make sure to checkout “Take your time” by Olafur Eliasson. Prior to going on Saturday I hadn’t seen anything on his exhibition but was happily surprised as I meandered through the space and today I saw a post on designboom that took me right back. The exhibition is the first major survey of the artist in the United States and was previously featured at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The show features fifteen years of Eliasson’s work in large scale installations that experiment with light, space and the elements.

“360° room for all colours” was the standout for me. Check out the image above/below to see what I’m talking about.

‘360° room for all colours’ by olafur eliasson, 2002 (photograph by matthew septimus)

Being inside the piece was such a cool experience. The space naturally invited everyone to stand in a circle facing each other rather than look outward towards the source of the light and color; no one was inclined to stand in the middle. It was actually the first time I had such a strong reaction to color (or at least the first time in a long time). As I watched the different hues wash over the people I noticed such an immediate impact on my mood and thought process, and being enveloped by it naturally made the feeling that much more colossal. Just as I settled into the beginning of feeling something the walls would change to another color and bring me to another state. Needless to say, I was impressed. I’ve always been a fan of Dan Flavin but the dynamic aspect of this made the effect that much more palpable. Now I ask myself, how can I port this?

The show began on April 20th and will continue until June 30th.

Images courtesy of MoMA and P.S.1. © 2008 olafur eliasson

‘1 m3 light’ by olafur eliasson, 1999 (photograph by matthew septimus)

‘reversed waterfall’ by olafur eliasson, 1998 (photograph by matthew septimus)

‘concentric mirror’ by olafur eliasson, 2004 (photograph by matthew septimus)


‘take your time’ by olafur eliasson, 2008 (photograph by matthew septimus)

‘negative quasi brick wall’ by olafur eliasson, 2003 (photograph by matthew septimus)

Via Designboom.