Tiptoe through the Pipilotti Rist

I was in New York over the weekend and while I was there I went to MOMA and saw the really great Pipilotti Rist exhibit, "Pour Your Body Out." It's up for just a little bit longer (Feb. 2nd), so if you happen to be in New York then, I highly encourage seeing it.

Taking over the atrium at the MOMA, a video piece by Rist is projected on the four walls as the floor is covered in a purple carpet and the centerpiece is a large blue doughnut-shaped couch, where people lounge and stare and basically live inside this environment that Rist has created. The exhibit can be seen from all floors and as you go up, you can see the crowds lying down recalling the Olafur Eliasson installation at the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. There's a hyper-femininity to Rist's work that changes the atrium. Prior works that I have seen in there have been done by male artists (Dan Perjovschi’s graffiti drawings, Barnett Newman's obelisk) and when it's fully lit, the atrium is cold and not terribly inviting. By dimming the lights, playing music, putting in carpeting and furniture, Rist drastically changes the daunting space of the atrium and makes it more inviting and even otherworldly.