Last Call at the Met: Tomàs Saraceno's Rooftop Clouds

by Margot Bravi, Fashion Publishing

While you climb the stairs, you do not know what will appear in a few minutes in front of your eyes on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museum, located on 5^th Avenue and 86^th Street. The artwork “Clouds”, by Tomàs Saraceno, is a mix between a kaleidoscopic dream of the artist and a giant spiderweb that extend towards the sky. It is a 28 foot-high sculpture of interconnected polyhedrons made of polished steel and plexiglass that are partly reflective or see-through. They are the size of small rooms, and visitors are invited to interact with it. The viewer is able to climb and walk inside, all the while overlooking the magnificient view of Central Park and the uptown skyline.

Saraceno created this constellation following the ideas of his other artworks. Over the past decade he created sculptures based on complex geometric figures that bring art, architecture, and science together. This installation is a particularly beautiful artwork because there is so much to see and so much to do: You can spin around and see yourself in the polyhedrons faces that are mirrors, or you can perch in the ones that are see-through. It is fascinating because it is the perfect combination between the city, the park, the museum and Saraceno’s “avant garde” enlarged molecular structure. If it is sunny, you can go and order a drink or food at the rooftop bar and stay, contemplating the sculpture all afternoon.

And when it’s time to leave, while you climb down the stairs, you’ll feel like you’re the only one who knows that you are coming back to reality from a futuristic funhouse placed on the Metropolitan’s roof. To my mind, it’s the best attraction in the world.

On show through November 4, 2012 at the Metropolitan Museum (corner of 5^th avenue and 82th street)