30 in 30: #27

Sleepwalkers is a video installation by Doug Aitken that is currently on display (until Feb. 16) on the facades of the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan. The images project "the nocturnal journeys of five city inhabitants," played by Tilda Swinton, Donald Sutherland, Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Seu Jorge, and Ryan Donowho.

Sleepwalkers

The piece is described as a broken narrative, without beginning or end, where the characters "entwine across the building's surfaces in combinations that change cyclically throughout the course of the evening." On my visit this entwining was apparent as movement was consistent across the different images or stories. Unfortunately it was way too cold to stick around and take in the full cycle.

Sleepwalkers

This is not only the first large-scale public artwork in the United States for the artist but also the first artwork to engage MoMA's latest expansion by Yoshio Taniguchi. To fully experience the piece one must walk from the 53rd side, along the western end of the museum, and end in the courtyard where the most images are displayed.

Sleepwalkers

In the courtyard five of the eight images are displayed. These images are projected onto the museum's glass curtain walls. I'm guessing that by darkening the interior spaces that the effect of a readable image is created, rather than adding a film to the glass to achieve the same. Regardless of technical details, the impact on the courtyard space is undeniable.

Sleepwalkers

Directions:
MOMA is located at 11 West 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It can be reached by the B,D,F,V to 47-50 Sts Rockefeller Center.

Previously:
#1 - Church of the Crucifixion
#2 - 40 Mercer Residences
#3 - Dichroic Light Field
#4 - Juan Valdez Flagship
#5 - IAC/InterActiveCorp
#6 - South Court of NYPL
#7 - Louis Vuitton Store
#8 - Ironworkers Local 580
#9 - Korean Presbyterian Church
#10 - Roosevelt Island
#11 - Stabile Hall (Pratt)
#12 - Terian Design Center (Pratt)
#13 - Higgins Hall (Pratt)
#14 - Broken Angel
#15 - Alessi Store
#16 - Irish Hunger Memorial
#17 - Issey Miyake Tribeca
#18 - Stuyvesant Town
#19 - Shake Shack
#20 - Socrates Sculpture Park
#21 - Skyscraper Museum
#22 - Taschen Store
#23 - George Washington Bridge Bus Station
#24 - George Washington Bridge
#25 - skinklinic
#26 - Blue Condominiums

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