1. Temple for Tomorrow
- Author
-
Betye Saar
- Subjects
Cultural Studies ,Exhibition ,Sculpture ,Visual Arts and Performing Arts ,Smithsonian institution ,National museum ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Visual art of the United States ,Art history ,Throne ,Art ,Third Heaven ,media_common - Abstract
On a visit to New York City in 1976, I went to see the Whitney Museum of American Art. As I walked toward the elevator, something flashing on my left caught my attention. For me, this was what Robert Farris Thompson calls the "flash of the spirit." I turned and, beyond the entrance, saw a room filled with light-glimmering, shimmering light reflecting off gold and silver forms. The room beckoned me. As I entered the room, I felt a rush from sensory overload. My heartbeat increased, and I felt light-headed and giddy. My eyes couldn't focus. They darted around the room at the many unusual shapes-tables, chairs, and pedestals transformed into dazzling altars of gold and silver. I had happened upon James Hampton's Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium Assembly, then part of the Whitney's bicentennial sculpture exhibition and now permanently ensconced in the National Museum of American Art. Every once in a while, art affects me physically. Visionary art, in particular, can James Hampton, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly, ca. 1950-64. Gold and silver tinfoil, Kraft paper, and plastic over wood furniture, paperboard, and glass, 180 pieces in overall configuration: 3.2 x 8.2 x 4.4 m (10 1/2 x 27 x 14 V2 ft.). National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of anonymous donors
- Published
- 1994