Thursday, October 27, 2011

Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo

Recently I visited Philadelphia for the first time. I went there for a conference (Educause -- a conference about technology and higher education), and while I was there I had the opportunity to see a exhibit. It was Laurie Anderson's 49 Days in the Bardo.



The work was a series of very large panels, maybe 10 feet by 20 feet, I don't know. They just looked huge. They depicted the artists dog who had died as it made its way through the 49 days in the bardo. The bardo is the gap between lives, and 49 days is the customary number that beings are expected to be in the bardo.
I really loved the exhibit. The picture here is pretty representative of the style and also the color. I thought the work was done in pastels or chalk but the explanation said that it was a number of things, including ash.

The exhibit was at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1222 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA. It is scheduled to be there through November 19. I encourage you to try to see it. It was stunning.