words fail me, so take a look at these photos instead

I wish I was enough of a wordsmith to describe how overwhelmed I was when I walked into the Park Avenue Armory to view Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto's anthropodino, the installation currently running through June 14. If you’re reading this and you live in the area, you really owe it to yourself and to your kids (if you got 'em) to pay a visit. The New York Times called it magical and that’s the best way to describe it.

The Armory is starting a program of “big-room” installations. The Tate Modern in London has had a series of successful exhibits in the turbine hall that require a large open space. New York wants to get into the act and the only space in Manhattan big enough to accommodate artwork of this scope is the Park Avenue Armory. It’s not as sexy as the Tate Modern, but it’s functional.

Neto’s hard-to-describe exhibit uses yards of stretched, translucent Lycra to create forms, labyrinths and weird objects. To wit (clickable pics):

It’s both mounted on the floor and pours down from the ceiling.




Here’s the view as you walk into the beast.


The tunnels are filled with soft white, blue and gold light. The sacks hanging down contain spices—cumin, ginger and cloves—so the fragrances permeate the air.




The wooden lattice work is made to look like bones.


Here’s a large purple sack inside a Lycra enclosure that’s filled with tiny Styrofoam pellets. You can take your shoes off and go inside to relax.


Of course I, child that I am, couldn't resist.