"Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout" by Dan Graham with Günther Vogt takes over the rooftop of the Met this summer. Photo by Hyla Skopitz.
Compared to Jeff Koons’s larger-than-life balloon dogs from 2008 and Tomás Saraceno’s futuristic, climbable “Cloud City” structure from 2012, this year’s Met Museum rooftop installation appears to run on the subtle side. On first glance, it resembles the rolling gardens of a modernist estate. But artist Dan Graham's “Hedge Two-Way Mirror Walkabout,” on view through November 2, 2014, has its own mind-bending powers.
The exhibition features Graham’s signature, two-way mirrored glass walls—but in this case, they meander around ivy hedgerows (the handiwork of Swiss landscape architect Günther Vogt). By dissecting the rooftop, these walls raise questions about the limitations of open space, and the highly manicured nature of urban landscaping. (Perfectly clipped turf surrounds the glass walls.) The reflections that the installation creates—of both visitors and the buildings visible from the Met's high perch—are likely to become the subject of many Instagrams this summer.
Click through the slideshow to see views from the exhibition, and check it out at the Met’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden through November 2, 2014. More info here.
