Artists often take objects from our lived environment and place them within a gallery. The change in context challenges our understanding of the object’s function and associations within our daily lives; at the same time, the artist is asking the question, what is art? I’m inclined to ask what effect a gallery that has been brought to freezing and filled with snowdrifts and icicles would have. It would, no doubt, be different than having a whole city, state—region—brought to a halt. One role art plays is to try and alter our perception of our known surroundings, our world. Similarly, this blanketing snow has forced us to carefully observe what is there and what is not (because it is now hidden from view).
Snow, of course, is not the result of a creative act. No human hand crafted this installation of snow on the region’s canvas; it is not an expression of one’s imagination. But we can still pause before its ability to bring a new type of life to our everyday—if only for a day.
The Museum serves us in facilitating our ability to see and appreciate art. But sometimes—sometimes—even the Museum must bow down and exhale—in awe.
Share your photos of the Museum from the blizzard on the Museum’s Facebook page.
–Christina Dittrich, Senior Editor