It was quite by accident that we ran into SAAM! Truly, our destination and plan for the afternoon was to catch a bite at the hip and artsy Jaleo tapas restaurant and head to the Bible Museum to see some cool film of all of the buildings in downtown DC that feature biblical quotes on their facades – or something to that effect. But as we sat there in this trippy Spanish-themed interior, right next to the window, we
watched the staff bring in umbrellas from the sidewalk seating areas as the wind picked-up and the sky darkened. Our plans soon began to change. We dawdled at the table well past our tantalizing tapas feast and watched the rain come down in sheets.
As the time past, it became apparent that the Bible Museum was too daunting a task to embark on after the storm subsided. So we dashed between the drops to the nearby Smithsonian American Art Museum – SAAM!
Having never been there before and not having planned this outing, we entered without a clue as to what we might find – except perhaps the portraits of the Presidents – cool enough. Yet inasmuch as the exhibits were wonderful and many faceted, I want to focus on one inspired installation that pertains directly to architecture and design.
Considered to be perhaps the most compelling architectural artists around today, Do Ho Suh takes nostalgia for “home” to a whole new dimension. He figured out that he didn’t need to wait for enchanted ruby red slippers – no, he re-creates memories of “home” and makes them transportable all over the planet. And by whole new dimension, I mean we walked through fine translucent fabrics – taught and stitched – over concealed stainless steel frames creating hallways of houses where he had formerly lived around the world.
With great attention to detail, he stitched door hardware, radiators, and wood trim details. It was remarkable.
This interactive immersion was thought provoking. I think it is impossible to pass through this presentation without experiencing a few fleeting personal memories of the your own past homes. As Dorothy taught us,”There’s no place like home.”
It was as though the sheer polyester fabric was misty or ethereal as though not really there – a very effective medium to suggest a thought or memory. How fascinating to render a structure with such a diaphanous, fragile sense – tangible yet not. “Almost Home.” There, but not quite.
The time it must have taken to create this tedious textile architectural art-piece, of delicately painstaking work, surely proves his love for these past dwellings.
This presentation will be the most comprehensive of Do Ho Suh’s work ever shown on the East Coast. And wait – there’s more! After having navigated the Twilight Zone of Do Ho Suh’s recollections, I was even more strongly drawn to this large-scale piece of stitched textile work mounted on the wall! It was a colorful and beautifully complex collection of images of people and homes in various states of movement and fantasy.
Colorful threads intentionally strewn from the stitched images of human figures, some sporting houses on their heads, another running with memories flying behind his head…taking the home (s) through life’s stages – memories…home is where the heart is…taking their memories with them…
People parachuting with houses floating through the air…pitched roofs and domes – all manner of interpretations of “home.”
There is a stitched reference to Seoul and a house on a jetty suspended above a wild, choppy sea.
Live – dwell – reside – inhabit…Be quick – it’s only there until the 5th of August.
