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Re-opening of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art
By Michael Young
Mordant Wing Sculpture Terrace overlooking Sydney Harbour.
Off-centered and set within the Mordant Wing, the new entrance to the MCA is a triumph of spatial awareness that contrasts with the heavy cubist feel in the rest of the building. The portico pushes through from George Street and descends wide concrete stairs to Circular Quay and a new external space eponymously called the MCA Square, which will accommodate commissioned installations—although the first such work, by Australian artist Brook Andrew, has been delayed. A huge wall painting by Sydney based artist, Helen Eager, lines the staircase and either greets arriving visitors or farewells them, depending on where they enter.
On the ground floor is a large cube-shaped gallery, currently showing the 24-hour video The Clock (2010), by the Swiss-American Christian Marclay, which seamlessly pieces together movie clips of various clocks, watches and other temporal references depicting passing minutes that unfolds across a 24-hour period in real time. Australian artist, Stuart Ringholt, who was in the adjacent upstairs galleries researching the collection for an adults only nude tour he will lead as part of the “Local Positioning Systems” performance series, said the work is: “A masterpiece. And I don’t say that often.”
Circulation within the new wing leads inevitably upwards to the MCA Café and Sculpture Terrace on Level 4, where Australian artist, Hany Armanious’ Fountain (2012), sits before million dollar views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. The Sculpture Terrace will be home to the MCA Sculpture Series, an annual commission for new site-specific installations. Higher still, and set on the roof area of the old building, will be a function area which Macgregor hopes will become an important revenue earner, attracting both weddings and corporate functions.
