Bass Museum of Art was unfortunately under renovation when we visited in December 2016, but guy's don't miss the big opening in Spring 2017, when it will re-open after renovation, as the largest art museum education facility in Miami-Dade. What we managed to visit is the temporary exhibition at the Miami Beach Regional Library space, in conjunction with the outdoor exhibits laid gracefully in the park by the entrance. Out of them all, the colossal colorful stack by Ugo Rondinone stole my heart.
Ugo Rondinone (born 1964) is a Swiss-born mixed-media artist living in New York. His work frequently employs the experiential qualities of the everyday, often reflecting on the boundaries between fiction and reality. The cairn in Miami is small sample of his work, with the masterpiece Seven Magic Mountains, currently on display along Interstate 15 just south of Las Vegas (May 2016, May 2018). This installation of seven neon stone cairns painted in artificially bright yellows, purples and other colors is constructed from car-size stone cut from a Nevada quarry and stacked 10m high.
A cairn is a man-made pile or stack of stones. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: Càrn (plural cairn) which translates to "heap, pile up, accumulate" or more literally "heap of stones". Cairns historically have been used for a broad variety of purposes, from prehistoric times through present day. Dating back to prehistory, examples of cairns can be found having been used for many functions including those built as burial monuments, defense and hunting structures; ceremonial assemblies; astronomical formations and location markers (specifically for buried items such as caches of food or objects) as well as trail markers, among others. In modern times, cairns are most frequently used as trail markers throughout many parts of the world, in diverse climates and terrains. They vary in size and complexity, from loose conical rock piles to delicately balanced sculptures and elaborate feats of megalithic engineering. Occasionally, cairns are also decorated, either for increased visibility or religious reasons.
In addition to Rondinone's work, the park is full of interesting pieces - being the lady of Avocado our second favourite!
For other cool spots, recommendations & maps - check out our Miami guide post!
Do not miss the visit when it's open again!
The firemen truck is a piece of art in itself - not particular to the museum area but worth bringing up!
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