Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

The full title of the current exhibit at the McNay Art Museum is Limitless: Five Women Reshape Contemporary Art, which promises a lot, delivers quite a bit, and is also fun. The show features the work – installations – by five contemporary female artists: Martine Gutierrez, Leticia Huckaby, Yayoi Kusama, Sandy Skoglund and Jenni Steinkamp. It opened in early March, a week later than originally planned due to the freezing storm that pretty much paralyzed the city and region in late February.

Given that the exhibit showcases the work of women, the March opening seemed quite appropriate, commented the McNay’s director, Richard Aste, in his welcoming remarks during the press preview on March 2.

“At the McNay, every month is women’s history month because we exist thanks to the vision of a woman artist, Marion Koogler McNay,” he said. “So, the show will run not just through March but also through the spring and summer, all the way to September 19. You are going to immerse yourselves in the minds of women of different generations and backgrounds, and practices. What they all have in common is a commitment to excellence and innovation. And that speaks beautifully to Mrs. McNay’s vision for this special place.”

The exhibit starts already in the lobby where Leticia Huckaby’s reverent images of black girls framed in embroidery hoops – an obvious reference to traditional women’s work – adorn the back wall. Textile and photography are combined here to evoke, tell and intrigue. We were told that two of the models for her photos were, in fact, her own daughters.

“You see this very personal imagery with girls from her own family, but she references the political side as well,” said Lauren Thompson, who helped curate the show. “This is part of her series called Five Paper Dolls in which she’s exploring depicting five girls in different ways, sometime they are silhouetted, sometimes you can see their full faces and sometime they are holding protest signs.” The five girls reference the four girls who were killed and one who survived the Birmingham, Alabama, church bombing in 1963. (A bomb was placed right under the girls’ bathroom.) And, also, as young girls they represent the potential of the future generation.”

Huckaby, whose work was recently shown at Artpace, is the only Texas artist in the McNay exhibit.

Upon moving into the main space of the exhibition, you’ll encounter Sandy Skoglund’s Tableau of Winter, a large landscape of sorts with a wall of metallic snowflakes overseeing three owls and a female figure in the center of the installation. On the opposite wall, you can also spot three little human figures, a man, woman and child, bundled up against the cold. According to reports, the artist describes Winter as “a study in perseverance and persistence,” as it took her ten years to complete the work. Her description can very well describe winter as a season as well, something we, San Antonian, just witnessed a few weeks ago. And you’ll feel a whiff “of cold” from her installation. An interesting detail to look for: eyes on the snowflakes. “They are watching. Nothing is as tranquil as it appears,” commented exhibit curator Rene Barilleaux. “There’s a surreal quality to it, like in all of her work.”

Limitless features another of Skoglund’s large works, an older installation called The Cocktail Party which is part of the McNay’s permanent collection. It features realistic human figures at a cocktail party, drinks in hand, socializing. What’s not realistic is that all of them, plus the furniture and the walls, are covered in orange-y Cheez Doodles. Yes, you read it correctly. The idea behind the sculpture/installation is that the artificial food incorporated into everything represents “the artificiality of American culture,” the artist explained back when the work was acquired. The installation is kind of amusing to look at, especially since some of the figures are mechanized and can perform simple gestures. Kids will like it.

But the piece de resistance of Limitless is an all-immersive “house” full of bright pumpkins and mirrors. Created by Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama and named All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, the installation is the first Infinity Mirror Room featuring pumpkins that Kusama has created since 1991 and the only one in an American collection. It is on loan from the Dallas Museum of art. Altogether, Kusama has created more of 20 similar installations in Japan and elsewhere.

When you walk in and close the door, you may be somewhat disoriented by the seemingly endless rows of orange gourds with black dots on them. Some people may feel like a part of a vast, infinite space. We were told that the artist finds this kind of environment soothing. At the McNay, you are allowed to stay inside for only 45 seconds and children must be accompanied by adults.

And the Infinity Room is not the only interactive display. There’s, for instance, the Dance Challenge, which, again, will probably delight older kids. You can step onto the dance floor and follow the moves displayed by the featured characters, or do your own thing and become part of the show.
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Limitless will be on view through Sept. 19. Tickets $10-$20, free for children under 12 and McNay’s members. Free access to the museum on Thursdays 4-9 p.m. and First Sundays of the month, noon- 5 p.m., but you will have to pay $10 for access to Limitless. Safety protocols are followed. The McNay, 6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209, www.mcnayart.org