detail of Puryear's "Desire" (1981)
details of Puryear's "Desire" (1981) in foreground and "Ad Astra" (2007) behind it
I know the show has now closed, but while I was looking at some images to accompany a post on a very interesting visit to PS1 last Sunday, I found these quick snapshots of a part of Martin Puryear's retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. They may give an indication of their creator's intensely-worked craft more than they reveal much about the art itself, but they probably suggest something of how much I loved these pieces - all of them.
I'm not feeling energetic enough to stay vertical long enough to do the post I had started to do. I'm fighting a cold. I think I'll go take a nap instead, right after I put up these two shots taken in MoMA's atrium.
Photography of loaned work is still forbidden by the Modern's directors, but apparently it's simply too difficult to keep visitors from pulling out their cameras on that large floor and in all the openings which overlook it from the several levels above. If cameras do no harm there, how can there be any justification for continuing the ban elsewhere? I did get to use my camera at PS1 on Sunday, but more about that in my post on the visit itself.
Anyway, I think the Puryear was one of the best shows MoMA's mounted since the new building was opened. There's a lot on their web site, but it's still nothing like being there with the work.