I was driving through Hancock, MA the other day, and saw an interesting art installation in a field at Hancock Shaker Village. The work is called Monodic Flow (Field Totem), by New York-based conceptual sculptor Marko Remec.
Monodic Flow features over 160 convex dome mirrors, 32 inches each, that “flow” over a 200-foot path down the hill. The path of mirrors echoes the flow of water in the underground aqueducts that the Shakers laid in 1818 from a reservoir at the top of the hillside to the village below. Water then powered their machinery, supplied the laundry, and afterward drained into fields to water the cattle and livestock. Nothing was wasted by the Shakers, and the aqueduct is still in use today.
A monody is a song sung by a single voice. Early Shaker music was sung in unison without instrumental accompaniment, the voices of the community coming together to offer a single prayer to God. To Marko Remec, a conceptual sculptor, the Shakers’ presence in American history was like a lone melody against the bustle of society around them, spiritually and culturally.
Remec’s work has been shown at museums and sculpture parks such as MASS MoCA, LongHouse Reserve, Chesterwood – National Trust Historic Site, Museo de Arte de Ponce, Kunsthaus Zug, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, the Nassau County Museum of Art and the Hancock Shaker Village, among other locales.
You can see Monodic Flow from Lebanon Mountain Road (Route 20) in Hancock. It’s across the street from the Shaker Village. You can park along the road, by the installation, and walk over to take a closer look. Monodic Flow is made possible by the generosity of Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia
DATES:
May – November, 2018
LOCATION:
34 Lebanon Mountain Rd.,
Hancock, MA 01237
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This work is part of an exhibition titled, Altered Visions. The exhibit explores how the repurposing of objects or landscapes can change the way we view them. The exhibit also includes work by Henry Klimowicz, and Abelardo Morell. Henry Klimowicz uses cardboard to create organic sculptures that grow out of an inspired process. Abelardo Morell works with a camera obscura and shadows in the historic village to alter our perception of Shaker objects and a historic environment.
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Jeff McKinney is a Realtor in Columbia County, NY. Connect with him on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Pinterest.
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