Museums: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden #7

We recently returned to the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum to view an exhibition of modern art.

According to Hirshhorn.si.edu, "What does absence look like? How can loss—of objects, of memory, of yourself—become a tool for artistic expression? In the face of today’s increasingly noisy consumer culture, What Absence Is Made Of answers these questions and more as it mines the Hirshhorn’s extensive collection in search of the mind-bending ways that artists surmount the limits of the material world."

"What Absence Is Made Of marks the first chance for Hirshhorn visitors to encounter groundbreaking new acquisitions by Annette Lemieux, Ed Atkins, and Huang Yong Ping alongside well-known favorites by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Gerhard Richter, Ana Mendieta, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Joseph Beuys." 

"'Absence is far more than nothing,' said Jetzer. 'In an era of increasing consumerism, [absence] has become a compelling way for contemporary artists to surpass the limits of the material world, the latest in the long tradition of expressing transcendental ideas through art.' With this exhibition, 'We’re able to investigate the ways artists make visible the invisible, bringing to light common threads not previously explored.'"

Below is a photographic tour of part of the exhibition.  Enjoy.

Detail of Nomad

In case you want to see to the original, here it is.

The Annunciation by Titan (1535)

Pop Quiz:  Can yarn be used to create modern art?  The answer appears in the photo below.  Susan especially liked this work from the moments she first saw it.

While growing up, Greg endured many home slide shows.  Both Greg's father and grandmother loved to take countless photographs while traveling and then host slide shows to share all of the photos.  The irony is that Greg didn't realize at the time that he was looking at what some consider modern art.  Check out the slide show below.

Like Greg's father and grandmother, Susan made Greg watch the slide show at the Hirshhorn.  He was not too happy about it.  

Some random dude with a big forehead watches a slide show.

Thanks for visiting the Hirshhorn Museum with us.