Tensegrity Run Amok? Still Cool, Though.

June 9, 2010 12:26 PM

Tomas Saraceno's architectural geometric installations. Some are eerily spider-like. Others are Buckminster-Fulleresque. My favorite is his Flying Garden, in which his geometrical inflatables are covered in grass and other living matter. Anyway, his Lighter Than Air exhibit was organized by the Walker Art Center and is in Houston at the Blaffer Gallery this month. Thanks, Minneapolis!.
posted by cross_impact (13 comments total)

You're welcome.
posted by Think_Long at 12:32 PM on June 9, 2010

Awesome!
posted by dhruva at 12:41 PM on June 9, 2010

Giant dustballs.
posted by Faze at 12:49 PM on June 9, 2010

In the same vein, shipping tape spider web.
posted by travis08 at 12:59 PM on June 9, 2010

Flying Garden reminds me of Super Mario Galaxy.
posted by Brentusfirmus at 1:33 PM on June 9, 2010

I stumbled across that exhibit at the Walker and LOVED it. Like, one of my all-time favorite turn-the-corner-into-the-gallery-and-WHAT-THE-FUCK-IS-THAT?!? moments.
posted by COBRA! at 1:34 PM on June 9, 2010

<3
posted by cristinacristinacristina at 1:42 PM on June 9, 2010

These remind me of Ernesto Neto, a similarly architectural installation artist. His installation at Pantheon was remarkably site-appropriate, I also saw an installation in Australia of hanging spices that was remarkable for its smell as well as its appearance.
posted by Nelson at 1:45 PM on June 9, 2010

Could someone please explain why these are "architectural"? I get that they are sculptures at a huge scale, but calling them architecture or even architectural makes no sense to me.
posted by daniel striped tiger at 2:28 PM on June 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Warning: Flying Garden link commits egregious browser resize. Why do some sites insist on doing that?
posted by conifer at 2:35 PM on June 9, 2010

I don't think you quite understand the concept of tensegrity. You might want to refer to the sculptures of Kenneth Snelson. That is tensegrity.
posted by charlie don't surf at 2:57 PM on June 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Could someone please explain why these are "architectural"? I get that they are sculptures at a huge scale, but calling them architecture or even architectural makes no sense to me.

They're architectural because they deal with some of the same issues that architecture is concerned with, namely expressive structure and the manipulation of space. I'm curious as to why people (not you, just in general) recoil once something gets labeled as architecture. Maybe the architecture world is partly to blame, but it's as if some people think there's a conspiracy to make them look foolish -- as if as soon as you (again, generalized you) nod your head approvingly someone in black is going to jump out and remind you that this doesn't even have a door. I think helps to keep in mind that "architectural" is just one of many possible adjectives for this kind of work, and not a strict category to the exclusion of all others.
posted by Pork-Chop Express at 12:34 PM on June 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

*S, dogfoodsugar, TRex and I saw this today. It was next to the conference where they had TedxHouston. I can't speak for them, but I was whelmed. It was interesting but more technical than magical.
posted by pomegranate at 6:47 PM on June 12, 2010