Water Ways: Interpretations by Nancy Cohen
The Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ
September 4, 2007 to January 6, 2008
As a native of the Southern New Jersey shore region, it is easy to take for granted the diverse landscape that surrounds this area. Spend any length of time here and you will become so accustomed the natural beauty of this area that you begin to no longer see or appreciate it. In your daily travels, you will cross paths with small meandering waterways that feed the rivers which slowly turn into marshes that open up into expansive bays and eventually end their journey at the soft sand that covers our coast. The fragility of this ecosystem and the stress we put upon it seem to be conveniently pushed to the back of our minds. Viewing the sculpture of Nancy Cohen, inspired by the Mullica River Great Bay Estuary and watershed, will quickly bring back to mind the beauty of this region and a new appreciation for the importance of its ecology.
Upon entering the narrow gallery space that currently houses the sculpture of Nancy Cohen at the Noyes Museum, one is faced with a striking piece hanging alone on a wall just above eye level. The title, Shadow, fits this kinesthetic sculpture as its overlapping parts hang about three and five inches in front of the wall and sway with the air currents in the room. The part that hangs closest to the wall is an organic shape of slightly tinted glass with circular striations. In front of the glass is a wire form that weaves in and out of itself and has been coated in a pale blue-green paper. In constant motion, the wire form casts a shadow on the glass structure and through to the wall. The impression it gives is of ripples in the water that are lit by the sun and shadowed on the floor of a pool or natural body of water. As the viewer, the calming effect of water takes over as if you were hearing it or feeling it around you. This feeling continues as you travel through the gallery and past approximately twelve more small sculptures all made of similar materials such as glass, metal, cement, wire, wax, monofilament, resin, paper and sand, but none as stunning as the first. These small sculptures lead to the largest sculpture titled Estuary: Moods and Modes. This piece, constructed of a wire armature and covered in paper, extends at points from the ceiling to the floor and travels the length of a fifty foot wall. As you walk along this wall, the sculpture gradually bends and winds itself onto the floor as it simultaneously gets deeper and wider. The colors of the paper also gradually change from natural sand to shades of blue that deepen as it travels onto the floor. The shapes and colors undulate as if looking down from an airplane at the patterns and colors created by a body of water with its tributaries. Being able to walk in and out of areas of the sculpture bring a feeling of walking deeper and deeper into the water.
The motion of Cohen's sculptures and how the wire is being used to create shapes is reminiscent of the kinesthetic works and sculpture of Calder. Each piece on its own has interest and explores some aspect of the watershed ecosystem, however, I felt the placement and size of the works in the gallery lacked a flow that prepared you for the enormity of the last piece, Estuary: Moods and Modes. Moving along through the smaller sculptures, all of similar size and none larger that a foot or two deep and wide, didn’t visually prepare me for the immense size of the last installation. The entire feeling of the show would have been heightened by a gradual increase in size of the pieces, building up to the largest, as if going deeper and deeper into an expanse of water. The largest success of Cohen’s work lies in the direct translation of the beautiful and ever-changing patterns this watery landscape provides.
The Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ
September 4, 2007 to January 6, 2008
As a native of the Southern New Jersey shore region, it is easy to take for granted the diverse landscape that surrounds this area. Spend any length of time here and you will become so accustomed the natural beauty of this area that you begin to no longer see or appreciate it. In your daily travels, you will cross paths with small meandering waterways that feed the rivers which slowly turn into marshes that open up into expansive bays and eventually end their journey at the soft sand that covers our coast. The fragility of this ecosystem and the stress we put upon it seem to be conveniently pushed to the back of our minds. Viewing the sculpture of Nancy Cohen, inspired by the Mullica River Great Bay Estuary and watershed, will quickly bring back to mind the beauty of this region and a new appreciation for the importance of its ecology.
Upon entering the narrow gallery space that currently houses the sculpture of Nancy Cohen at the Noyes Museum, one is faced with a striking piece hanging alone on a wall just above eye level. The title, Shadow, fits this kinesthetic sculpture as its overlapping parts hang about three and five inches in front of the wall and sway with the air currents in the room. The part that hangs closest to the wall is an organic shape of slightly tinted glass with circular striations. In front of the glass is a wire form that weaves in and out of itself and has been coated in a pale blue-green paper. In constant motion, the wire form casts a shadow on the glass structure and through to the wall. The impression it gives is of ripples in the water that are lit by the sun and shadowed on the floor of a pool or natural body of water. As the viewer, the calming effect of water takes over as if you were hearing it or feeling it around you. This feeling continues as you travel through the gallery and past approximately twelve more small sculptures all made of similar materials such as glass, metal, cement, wire, wax, monofilament, resin, paper and sand, but none as stunning as the first. These small sculptures lead to the largest sculpture titled Estuary: Moods and Modes. This piece, constructed of a wire armature and covered in paper, extends at points from the ceiling to the floor and travels the length of a fifty foot wall. As you walk along this wall, the sculpture gradually bends and winds itself onto the floor as it simultaneously gets deeper and wider. The colors of the paper also gradually change from natural sand to shades of blue that deepen as it travels onto the floor. The shapes and colors undulate as if looking down from an airplane at the patterns and colors created by a body of water with its tributaries. Being able to walk in and out of areas of the sculpture bring a feeling of walking deeper and deeper into the water.
The motion of Cohen's sculptures and how the wire is being used to create shapes is reminiscent of the kinesthetic works and sculpture of Calder. Each piece on its own has interest and explores some aspect of the watershed ecosystem, however, I felt the placement and size of the works in the gallery lacked a flow that prepared you for the enormity of the last piece, Estuary: Moods and Modes. Moving along through the smaller sculptures, all of similar size and none larger that a foot or two deep and wide, didn’t visually prepare me for the immense size of the last installation. The entire feeling of the show would have been heightened by a gradual increase in size of the pieces, building up to the largest, as if going deeper and deeper into an expanse of water. The largest success of Cohen’s work lies in the direct translation of the beautiful and ever-changing patterns this watery landscape provides.
