The Bridge Inc. & The Museum of Modern Art invite you to view the exhibit “Reflections.” For 10 weeks this summer, MoMA’s Department of Education and The Bridge Inc. participated in their 4th annual extended partnership. Through this unique collaboration, artists from The Bridge and their art teacher / art therapist met with MoMA educators every other week to explore new ideas and approaches to art at the Museum. This exhibition presents a selection of that work. (image above: “Self Portrait” by Michael Blamo)
OPENING RECEPTION:
Wednesday, October 7, 4-5:30pm
EXHIBITION INFO:
The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building
The Museum of Modern Art
4 West 54th St View Map
Open daily except Tuesday, 10:30am – 5:30pm
You can download a printable invite here (PDF). If you’re interested in learning more about what The Bridge Group Artists have done, there is more information below, you can read the article, Battling Mental Illness with a Paint Brush, from the Village Voice in NY, and you can “meet the artists” from a past exhibition.
About The Bridge
The Bridge is a 55 year-old nonprofit rehabilitative agency that has been helping New York’s most vulnerable including people who are mentally ill, substance abusers and the homeless. Their mission, as stated on their website, is:
The Bridge’s mission is to change lives, by offering help, hope and opportunity to the most vulnerable in our community. We offer a comprehensive range of evidence-based rehabilitative services, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, housing, vocational training and job placement, healthcare, education and creative arts therapies. Bridge services are tailored to each individual we serve to support his/her recovery and independent living goals. Thousands of men and women have benefitted from Bridge services, helping them lead more productive, independent and satisfying lives.
Check out The Bridge’s website and blog.
“Discoveries” by The Bridge Group Artists
The Bridge was kind enough to supply us with some images and information from last year’s exhibition. I’ve displayed a few examples below, but you can view the whole PDF here.
Exquisit Body Drawings
As you can see in the last 4 images above, the Bridge Group Artists were particularly interested in the work of Salvador Dali that they experienced in the exhibition Dali: Painting and Film at MoMA.
Inspired by Dali’s interest in the subconscious as well as his formal precision, the group experimented with the ideas and techniques of Surrealism through both collaborative “Exquisite Body” drawings (above) and individual paintings.
About the The Bridge Group’s Work from 2008
The Bridge Group Artists began 19 years ago under the direction of Judith Raskin Rosenthal, ATR. Many of the artists had very little or no formal training. Eventually the group attracted individuals with some art education or experience. The artists’ inner desire to create is in itself an expression of mental wellness. The art created here is both individual and extraordinary.
“Discoveries”
For ten weeks this summer, MoMA’s Department of Education and The Bridge Art Department participated in their third annual extended partnership. Through this unique collaboration, artists from The Bridge and their art teacher/art therapist met with MoMA art educators every other week at the Museum to view and discuss works of art and to create a new body of work influenced by the Museum’s collection and special exhibitions.
Through guided gallery tours and independent visits, The Bridge Artists located works within the Museum’s collection for which they felt some affinity. The group learned about different artists’ perspectives through visits to different exhibitions, including Take Your Time: Olafur Eliasson, Color Chart, and Dali: Painting and Film. After researching the conceptual and technical approaches of the selected artists and works, participants began their own process of reinterpretation, exploring new possibilities of artistic and personal growth. Between their visits to MoMA, the artists continued these explorations by making art at the Bridge Gallery 300 Studio.
During the studio sessions at The Bridge, the artists explored color theory as it related to portraiture. Using mirrors, they studied their own faces finding many varied colors in each of their skin tones. They were surprised to find that they were not truly a single color. The group also continued to discuss the Olafur Eliasson exhibition and his NYC Waterfalls. No one had ever thought of architecture or the environment as art. At MoMA, the artists explored Eliasson’s large and tiny rooms, and climbed steps that seemed to take them outside the museum into the air. At the Bridge studio they talked about how proud they were of themselves because they overcame their fears of participating in the Eliasson exploration. They were thrilled with all they saw and experienced. The Salvador Dali exhibition also proved to be important for the group. The artists discussed how Dali’s mysterious paintings and films validated the mystery in their own art. We all agreed it was a great 10 weeks.
The artists’ work will be exhibited in the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building in 2009.
Carrie McGee, The Museum of Modern Art
Judith Raskin Rosenthal, The Bridge Inc.
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