Cadence
Photo by Photo: Emile Askey for MOMA
Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) NYC
Oct 10 2024-June 8 2025
Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn for New York Times
My Role: Fabricator and Anthrcacite Design and team management
Lead Stone Carver and Metal Worker
I had the incredible opportunity to work as the lead stone carver and metal worker on the anthracite coal (big rocks) in this piece. The Fabrication took over 2 months based out of Powerhouse arts and was led by the incomparable Art Domantay could not have done it without the assistance of Hana Jackson and her hard work! The raw materials was 21,171lbs total and had to be designed to be easily moved by the moma exhibitions team, support raku vessels, thread cables and rope through the center and respond to the larger installation.
It was an honor and pleasure to support this work coming into the world. This is a show you do not want to miss!!
Process
Some Highlights of the fabrication Process;
We flattened each stone, determined center of gravity, weight loading, cut grooves with a grinder, cut four grooves with a 12” diamond tipped hand pull saw, hand chiseled out the channels for 3 sizes of pallet jacks, custom welded and plasma cut to fit metal steel channels, used epoxy resin to secure petal pieces and polypropylene rubber on the bottoms to protect the slate flooring, flipped the rocks, drilled through the center using a 6’ core drill, then carved bowls to precise fits for the ceramic vessels and then water cut anthracite pieces to plug channels and assisted with install and placement on site.
Press
“The tapestry opens up to a more three-dimensional space, with sculptural pieces made of clay, smoked raku, and glass hanging from ropes and sitting on anthracite rocks,”
“the installation centers on a monumental, multi-paneled tapestry that suggests sprawling ecosystems and galaxies.”
“all- encompassing environment of sculpture, sound, and text that addresses the rhythms of both ecological life cycles and social upheaval”
““Otobong Nkanga has changed the way we understand the Earth and our place in it. Her art confronts both the beauty and the degradation of the natural world—and its upheaval in the wake of industrial revolutions, resource extraction, and war,””
Exhibition calendar and full list of people involved — MOMA Calender
“What is the sound of a Teardrop?”
Team
It was incredible to meet and collaborate with so many people and their deep knowledge of different ways of making. The people I worked most closely with were Art Domantay who did an outstanding job of managing this project and caring for the team and work, @mariedianeucci and Jacob Olmedo who finger knit the hanging ropes, @cuba_cubicle (assembly and digital renderings), Roberto Flores (cleaning, forklift, project support) and @lucycolebroo.k (Management assistance). Grace Whiteside and their team @getstickyglass fabricated the mesmerizing glass work. Tapestry fabricated @textielmuseum in the Netherlands, Raku vessels from a ceramics team in Spain, sounds design from @brooklynsoundandimage and rigging by @sapsisrigging. There were many more folks involved and so much to say about the work so I am adding links below. Otobong Nkanga was truly a joy to work with and an artist making beautiful and meaningful work with such insight and care.
Full List of People Involved:
Organized by Michelle Kuo, Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, with Elizabeth Wickham, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Helena Klevorn, Curatorial Assistant to the Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, and Aimee Keefer, Senior Exhibition Designer.
With thanks to the TextielLab team at the TextielMuseum, The Netherlands (Hebe Verstappen, Stef Miero, Noortje van den Elzen, Gerard Kuijpers, Babette Pörtzgen, Nicolien Hekking, Frank de Wind, Alonso Muenala Vega, Michel Leermakers, Perry van den Hout, Frans Verbunt, Ron van de Pol, Jim Rollé, Lise Verbunt, Annette Jeronimus, Wil van den Heuvel, Liesbet van Gestel, Miranda Horsten, Hans van Gool, Gonny Vingerhoets, Ardie Smeulders); Art Domantay Artworks (Art Domantay, Lucy Colebrook, Jacob Olemedo, Marie Ucci, Cybi, Roberto Flores); Domanises (Michal Andrzej Grzemski, Juan Carlos Iñesta Perez); Powerhouse Arts (Em Flaire, Jeremy Gender, Daniel Quinn, Cuba, Brittni Collins, Hana Jackson, Dennis Hrehowsik); Sticky Glass (Grace Whiteside, Diego Brindis, Molly Burke, Alix DeFabbia-Kane, Emily Doerflein, Foley, Liesl Schubel, Isaac Tecosky, Alex Kruger); Sound Design, Brooklyn Sound & Image (Neil Benezra); Contemporary Sound; P4 Studio.