Image via Complex Original
With the convenience of smart phones and apps like Instagram, showcasing monumental events from our daily lives has never been easier. And if you're art buffs like us, surely Instagram has snuck its way into your art experience, too.
From famed installations like Random International's Rain Room at MoMA 's "EXPO:1" exhibition to BUCKYBALL by Leo Villareal in Madison Square Park, it almost seems like some art installations were made to be Instagrammed. Weigh in below with your favorite one of our 15 Striking New Art Installations, and learn How to Photograph Them with this quick guide.
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Rain Room
Rain Room by Random International, 2012
Location: Museum of Modern Art, New York
How to Instagram it: If you want to be like everyone else in the Rain Room, feel free to demonstrate those yoga moves and show off how flexible you are before the camera. It'll probably make for the most interesting-looking photo. And if you happen to be with your significant other, you'll probably want to take the iconic "couple in the rain" picture. After all, you're only in the Rain Room once.
There's been a lot of hype amongst New Yorkers about Random International's Rain Room since it opened at MoMA in May earlier this year. If you don't already know, Rain Room consists of a field of falling rain and 3D cameras, which detect a person's position so that heor she can walk through the installation without getting wet. And while Rain Room is something to rave about, let's be real, the only reason many people are waiting 8+ hours in line is so that they can snap a photo of themselves striking a yoga pose for their Instagram. #realtalk
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The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi
The Roof Garden Commission: Imran Qureshi by Imran Qureshi, 2013
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
How to Instagram it: Get out your iPhone or whatever smart phone you have, face the lens towards your shoes or shadow, click, and voila. Be sure to use the handy little function where you can shift the focus of the image onto the art.
Right now, Imran Qureshi's beautiful, floral-patterned splatter paintings decorate the entire floor of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum. For the Pakistani artist, the installation represents his sentiments on war and violence in his home country. On the other hand, the 8,000-square-foot space also presents spectators with an ideal setting for Instagrams of their feet and shadows admist a meadow of blood-red flowers.
Aten Reign
Aten Reign by James Turrell, 2013
Location: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
How to Instagram it: We hope you've practiced your serious selfie face—you know the one we're talking about. Here's where that expression will come in handy.
James Turrell is known for his experimentations with light and space, and Aten Reign may be one of his best works yet. Visitors have taken note of his use of both artificial and natural, out-of-this-world light, which fades into different colors and fills the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum. Naturally, this calls for some serious selfies of viewers gazing dramatically into the light.
Universe No. 26
Universe No. 26 by Zhan Wang, 2012
Location: Frieze Art Fair, New York
How to Instagram it: For art like Universe No. 26, move or zoom in for a close-up selfie.
Chinese artist Zhan Wang works primarily with abstract forms, creating his own modernized version of the "scholar's rocks" of traditional Chinese gardens. The sculptures' stainless steel surface integrates visitors of Frieze New York with the art, offering them a distorted view of the world around them. These trippy mirrored projections will surely take your average mirror-shots to another level.
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A Few Golden Moments
A Few Golden Moments by Tom Burr, 2011
Location: Frieze Art Fair, New York
How to Instagram it: Forget about selfies in the bathroom. With Tom Burr's reflective folding screen, you can take a pic of you and your OOTD (that's outfit of the day) in the great outdoors.
We're all guilty of uploading an occasional mirror selfie, but Tom Burr's latest sculpture for Frieze New York gave viewers a good excuse to snap a body shot of themselves in their outfits of the day. Burr's golden folding screen was set outdoors in the Sculpture Garden, and thank goodness. Instagrams of fashionistas inside their bathrooms are so overdone.
The Web
The Web by Jon Kessler, 2013
Location: Swiss Institute, New York
How to Instagram it: With help from multiple cameras and Apple products, Kessler's piece allows you to take picture of yourself taking a picture of yourself. #inception
The Web by Jon Kessler is an entanglement of televisions, cameras, machinery, all things Apple Inc., and a web of blue yarn that ties together the entire installation. It's Kessler's attack on pop culture and the way the Internet has intervened on peoples' lives. Even if you've never understood contemporary art, it's not hard to miss his message...or take advantage of the opportunity for a super meta selfie. Oh, the irony. Throughout the installation are tons of cameras, from which you can take a photo of yourself taking a photo of yourself, or whatever.
Theresa starting to show she will die, and other works
Theresa starting to show she will die, and other works by Bjarne Melgaard, showcased by Gavin Brown's Enterprise, 2013
Location: Frieze Art Fair, New York
How to Instagram it: With a work like this, kids are the main focus. Be sure to watch kids attentively, then Instagram at the opportune moment. Your Instagrams of cute kids will be sure to rack up likes in no time.
People love to Instagram pictures of kids, whether they are of a relative's newborn or throwback photos of themselves. People love photographing kids because, well, they're a whole lot cuter than us old folks. That's why this installation of abstract portraits and a sea of fun-colored blankets by Bjarne Melgaard seemed like the perfect place for kids to run amok and pose for the camera. That is, until you do your research and find out the installation is actually dedicated to Theresa Duncan, an artist who committed suicide back in 2007.
Heard NY
Heard NY by Nick Cave, 2013
Location: Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, New York
How to Instagram it: It takes skill to be able to capture a decent photo of something in motion, but skill comes with practice. Just keep trying.
Recall that back in March, Nick Cave designed a herd of multicolored horses, which would erupt into dance at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. inside the Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall to celebrate the station's centennial. The fifteen horse sculptures, constructed from raffia, together with the dancing students from the Ailey School and the choreography of William Gill are probably the only things that can stop a New Yorker dead in his tracks to snap a photograph. It's just too bad Instagram video hadn't been invented during this time.
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Paul McCarthy's Balloon Dog
Balloon Dog by Paul McCarthy, 2013
Location: Frieze Art Fair, New York
How to Instagram it: Stand back and snap.
Instagrammers love taking photos of contemporary art, y'know, to show off their worldliness and taste for fine art. And it doesn't get much more contemporary than a work by Paul McCarthy. This inflatable balloon dog by McCarthy sold for $950,000 and seemingly pokes fun at fellow artist Jeff Koons, known for creating the shiny, metallic versions of these works.
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A Clean Sweep
A Clean Sweep by Lucien Smith, 2013
Location: Suzanne Geiss Company, New York
How to Instagram it: Point and shoot. Or you can be a noob and pose with the brooms, noob.
Likewise, Lucien Smith's latest sculptures, featured in SoHo at Suzanne Geiss, were simply screaming to be documented on our Instagrams. The New York-based artist brought the free standing brooms to life. The brooms combined with a series of polaroids Smith took of fire hydrants, store signs, and other mundane objects, represents his sentiments on gentrification in New York and his nostalgia for old times. Indeed, there's something magical and photo-worthy about the seemingly ordinary objects even at first glance.
BUCKYBALL
BUCKYBALL by Leo Villareal, 2012
Location: Madison Square Park, New York
How to Instagram it: Wait until night time, because lights at night look cooler than during the day. On your way back from taking this super rad photo, get yourself some Shake Shack, too.
Back when Leo Villareal's BUCKYBALL still sat in Madison Square Park, New Yorkers and newbie tourists alike took to Instagram to show off their love and pride for Manhattan. Instagram flourished with photos of Villareal's LED-lit, geometric sculpture in front of the iconic Flatiron Building and tall skyscrapers.
Spreading Joy Around the World
Spreading Joy Around the World by Florentijin Hofman, 2013
Location: Hong Kong
How to Instagram it: You could do a lot of things with the giant, inflated duck. You could pose a mini duck on your head, take of photo of it swimming down the Victoria Harbour at night, or settle for posing next to it.
Dutch artist Florentijin Hofman's latest project is entitled Spreading Joy Around the World, and it does just that. The massive, blown-up duck last swam through Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and will take on Pittsburgh next. Consequently, lovers of the cute, giant duck lead to many waterscape shots on Instagram.
Gang Bust
Gang Bust by Bjarne Melgaard, Big Fat Black Cock Inc./William Copley/Allen Jones, 2013
Location: Venus Over Manhattan, New York
How to Instagram it: Take the photo, plop a cool filter on top, and watch as your Instagram flashes with likes.
Instagram is the place to show off "cool finds." And really, to reduce Gang Bust to a "cool find" would be a serious understatement. Created by artist Bjarne Melgaard and his Big Fat Black Cock Inc., these unconventional pieces of furniture were inspired by the erotic sculptures of British artist Allen Jones and William Copley's portraits from back in the day. Dope.
Olek's Crochet Trains
Olek's Crochet Trains by Olek, 2013
Location: Lodz, Poland
How to Instagram it: With art, you can simply snap a photo of it OR you can stand awkwardly next to it in the photograph. We recommend facing away from the camera like the people pictured above.
If you appreciate street art, you're probably a down ass dude (or chick). Instagrammers were quick to hop on this trend, taking photos and adding cool filters to Polish artist Olek's crochet-covered trains.
Various Works by Andy Warhol at The Brant Foundation Art Study Center
Various Works by Andy Warhol at The Brant Foundation Art's Study Center
Location: The Brant Foundation Art Study Center, Greenwich, CT
How to Instagram it: As mentioned before, you can photograph the art or pose next to it like a total awkward turtle.
And last but not least, no one can resist anything Andy Warhol, especially not when it's on display at The Brant Foundation of Art's Study Center. In case you didn't know, Brant began collecting Warhol pieces when he was 20-years-old, annnnd he's the guy who bought and owns Interview magazine.
