SPACES EXHIBITION OPENS AT MUSEUM OF MODERN ART - December 30, 1969 through March 1, 1970

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa

“SPACES” opens at The Museum of Modern Art, placing five artists and a collaborative Pulsagroup in dedicated ground-floor galleries and the Sculpture Garden. Selected by Jennifer Licht, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture, the works use actual space to shape the viewer’s experience through quiet, light, and environmental conditions. Michael Asher creates total tranquility, Larry Bell uses vacuum-coated glass, Dan Flavin constructs fluorescent light barriers, Robert Morris plants miniature trees to confine movement, and Walther invites visitors to interact with canvas-covered forms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

SPACES Exhibition Opens at Museum of Modern Art

Dates and curatorial selection

Artistic approaches by each featured artist

Technology, sponsorship, and public interaction

133 The Museum of Modern Art # SPACES EXHIBITION OPENS AT MUSEUM OF MODERN ART Five artists and a collaborative group,each given an area of The Museum of Modern Art'sground floor galleries and garden in which to work,have created an exhibition calledSPACES which will be open to the public from December 30,1969,through March 1,1970. Selected by Jennifer Licht,Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture,the ar-tists have created works which employ actual space and encompass the viewer and his ac-tions within their confines. Michael Asher has made a perfectly quiet white tranquil room;the walls,floor andceiling are covered with acoustical panels.Larry Bell has created a completely blackroom,without any illumination,in which he placed huge panels of vacuum-coated glass.Dan Flavin built two free standing barriers of green and yellow fluorescent tubes con-verging at one end of his room.In Robert Morris'room,small spruce trees planted onsteel-faced pedestals separated by narrow trenches create distant vistas for the eyes,confinement for the body.Franz Erhard Walther placed canvas-covered objects whichvisitors are invited to put on,move and hold in his canvas floored room。The Pulsagroup,whose researches are sponsored by Yale University's Department of Art and Archi-tecture and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts,have created alight,sound and heat environment in the Museum Sculpture Garden by use of a varietyof electronic devices that pick up sounds and movement in the Garden which are program-med through a computer and relayed back to the Garden. Because so many of these artists use expensive and sophisticated industrial equip-ment and highly technical services,the Museum could not have afforded to present theexhibition without the generous cooperation of more than twenty companies. While in-dustry supports the arts in a variety of ways,in this instance the Museum sought thematerial and services necessary for the realization of the work on the basis of speci-fic requests made by the artists. 194 Using sound absorbent materia1,donated by Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation onall surfaces of his room,Michael Asher eliminates visual and audial distractions sothat visitors can experience total tranquility,total silence. The room(8'high x23'wide x 21'deep)is dimly lit,bare and entirely white. Speakers hidden in theceiling were lent by KLH Research and Development Corporation. Larry Bell,whose carefully proportioned glass sculpture boxes are familiar toMuseum visitors,used vacuum-coated glass for this show on an architectural scale hehad not attempted before.Large panels of glass are installed in his totally blackroom(14'high x 17'6"wide x 39'6"deep).The only source of light is from outsideso that visitors are dimly reflected in the glass panels and the visual experiencechanges depending on their movements. In contrast,Dan Flavin has constructed his work entirely of green and yellowfluorescent light tubes so that the light itself transforms the architecture of thegallery(14'high x 20'6"wide x 33'6"deep).He has arranged 32 eight-foot fixturesand 64 four-foot fixtures into two separate structures that form interior "barriers"starting in the corners at the entrance to the gallery and converging at the far end.The lights were donated by General Electric Large Lamp Division;the fixtures partiallydonated by Curtis-Electro Lighting,Inc. Robert Morris has created a situation that combines contradictory elements:end-less vistas for the eye;cramped,confined space for the body.On terraced pedestals,he planted at eye level groves of 144 miniature Norway spruce trees,6 inches to 2 feettall,donated by the Lake Mary Nursery,Kimberly-Clark Corporation.The pedestalsoccupy most of the gallery leaving only a steel-faced cruci-form trench which con-stricts and controls the action of visitors. The trees are being kept alive duringthe exhibition by horticultural consultation services donated by Manhattan Gardner L

FAQs

What is the “SPACES” exhibition and when will it be open to the public?

“SPACES” is an exhibition created by five artists and a collaborative Pulsagroup. It opens to the public from December 30, 1969, through March 1, 1970.

How does Michael Asher’s room change the visitor experience?

Michael Asher’s white tranquil room uses acoustical panels on the walls, floor, and ceiling to eliminate distractions. Visitors can experience total tranquility and silence.

What role does the Pulsagroup’s technology play in the Sculpture Garden?

The Pulsagroup programs an environment where electronic devices translate movement and sounds into patterns through a computer. Television cameras and microphones send information to a control booth, which then relays new sound and visual effects back to the Garden.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa