Kessler, Jon
This is the first commission and the first architecturally based installation the artist has ever done. The HALL OF BIRDS was created with the idea of transforming the atrium into a huge aviary. The artist saw the atrium as a meeting place where one might say, "I'll meet you at the hall of birds at 6 PM and we'll catch a ride home together." The design of the five birds are based on the Japanese art of folded paper, called "origami" and are actually made of sheets of aluminum. Kessler states, "I've always had an interest in Oriental art. I've used origami before and Ikebana, which is flower arranging. I've used Chinese gardens and pagodas, so in a way it is certainly in the lineage with the rest of my work." Kessler provided the fabricators with a cardboard model to illustrate what he wanted. The coordinates of each unfolded bird were then plotted on a computer and cut by laser. The 25 aluminum grids on the wall create a visual and conceptual backdrop for the birds and are meant to evoke abstracted bird cages. Kessler was interested in the birds being very different from one another and each having their own personality. The scale of the birds is an important factor in the way that the installation works. That they are larger than human scale was crucial to them occupying and invading the space aggressively. This added to the predatory nature of the birds. The birds function 3- dimensionally and they change dramatically as you view them from different angles. At one point or another their similarity to birds disappears as they become completely abstract shapes. Although the atrium is a difficult space it awards the viewer with many vantage points and the installation can also be viewed from all four levels. Kessler is best known for his innovative use of materials. It is through this that he is able to draw the viewer in and continually fascinate. One critic explains, "Kessler's work demonstrates the fun and enthusiasm of its own creation: record players, plastic flowers, toy garages, a rubber clown, a fish, Buddhas, a refrigerator, a music box are used to make machines to be watched and stimulate fantasy. Theatrical effects, light, movement and music heighten its entertainment value." Most often there is a mechanical/moving element which lends a playful and accessible feel to the art. Kessler, born, 1957 in Yonkers, NY, graduated from art school (State University of New York at Purchase and the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program) in 1980. He has participated in many individual and group exhibitions throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan including the "International Survey of Recent Paintings and Sculpture" at the Museum of Modern Art, NY in 1984; The Whitney Museum Biennial, NY in 1985; and solo exhibitions at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia in 1997 and The Spiral Garden, Tokyo in 1992. His work can be found in museum collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, LA; Whitney Museum, NY. Kessler currently lives in New York City.