The Institute of Contemporary Art

Last week, I visited the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston. A couple of years ago, the ICA moved from its former location on Boylston Street to its present location at 100 Northern Avenue along the Boston Harbor. On Thursday nights, the Institute offers free admission. When I visited the ICA it happened to be on a Thursday night. I had only been to the new location of the ICA once (in June of 2007) before to see a modern dance performance. I had also been to the former location of the ICA. The new location has a larger building and many more amenities. I was very impressed by the varied works of art, including: paintings, artistically oriented video clips, sculptures, and furniture. At the exhibit on the fourth floor, there were works by Gerard Byrne, Paul Chan, and Kader Attai. The latter of the three had a video on display called Oil & Sugar. The video showed a set of small sugar cubes in the beginning, followed by oil being poured down onto the cubes, consequently melting the cubes. The description of Oil & Sugar explains how our current society is over using natural resources and this has led to the excessive use of food and oil.
At the exhibit I picked up a pamphlet listing the finalists of The James and Audrey Foster Prize. Each of the four finalists (Catherine D’Ignazio, Rania Matar, Andrew Witkin, and Joe Zane) had their artistic work on display.
The ICA is just one of the many museums that are in Boston. I had a great time visiting the ICA. It was founded in 1936 and at the time the ICA was one of America’s first museums devoted solely to contemporary art.

Comments

  1. SMSChicaFebruary 4, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    Yes! I do have to agree that the ICA is a "one-of-a-kind" museum. There is just so much to see and so many talented artists. I had the joy of experiencing this museum likewise :-)

    P.S. That Oil & Sugar video display was simply the best for sure!

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