Blog post by Jennifer “TJ” Carlone

Mass Moca:(Mandatory Field Trip) The entire Modern Art History class of Sage College of Albany attended the Mass MoCA Museum on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014. Although the artworks within the museum were extremely interesting and some even interactive with the viewer, I found that some of the interior and exterior designs of the museum to the building itself and its surroundings were equally interesting. The buildings held many artistic qualities, so I spent some time inside and outside discovering these hidden treasures. The interior walkways inside the museum connecting the floors that went to the other buildings were long, dark, and without windows. The hallways were constructed of wood beam and wood floors and contained no windows. The otherwise long dark tunnels were illuminated by small amber lights and speakers mounted on the upper side walls that were projecting sounds which almost gave an eerie sense that you would get from entering a haunted house. The buildings also had a huge open floor plan which allowed the oversized artwork to be displayed without crowding. The high open windows throughout each floor allowed beautiful natural light to radiate in. Even on a cloudy day, which was the case on our visit, there was and abundant amount of natural light filtering through the window panes that blanketed the artwork on display inside. I would enjoy returning to this museum on a bright sunny day to see what kind of an effect the sunshine flowing through would have on the artwork. The exterior of the museum and the other adjacent structures housing other businesses were located in a old mill style building set up with even the water canal flowing through the middle of the complex. Each one of the buildings were placed randomly together at different angles and were constructed of red bricks which just added more beauty to the structures. As I ventured around and turned the corners of these buildings I found so many photographic opportunities but knew I was on limited time, so I shot fast and furious. I was able to photograph many of the artists artwork inside, but also shot a few images of the natural unintended artwork on the outside of the buildings.