This year’s National Building Museum’s Summer Block Party features "Look Here," an exhibition by architect Suchi Reddy, who is the first woman of color to collaborate with the museum for its summer display.
"Look Here" was designed specifically for the National Building Museum. The exhibit’s “alternate geometry was broken down from the geometry that exists in the building,” said Reddy.
Upon entering the National Building Museum, visitors see a rotating constellation of reflective large-scale origami-shaped figures resembling fortune-teller toys hanging from the ceiling.
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The contrast between the grand Corinthian columns of the National Building Museum and the metallic sculptures creates a dream-like environment.
The sculptures hang above an oval platform, which visitors can reach by walking through a ramp. On top of the platform, there are pillows where visitors can lie down and admire the sculptures. Embedded in the center of the platform are 8-foot-long kaleidoscopes made from mirrors reflecting the beautiful structure of the National Building Museum.
The architect challenges visitors to try and take two pictures of the exhibition that are exactly the same. According to Reddy, it is impossible to do so. The fortune-teller sculptures are constantly rotating on their axis and thus reflecting different areas of the museum, so the exhibition never looks quite the same.
Reddy uses the guiding principle of “form follows feelings” when developing her art. In conversation with NBC Washington, the architect explained how "Look Here" manifests this idea.
“The thing about that beautiful atrium at the National Building Museum is that it is awe-inspiring, but also makes a person feel very small in it. That is the purpose of the building’s architecture, to house these large gatherings. But for a person to feel at home in it, that was something I thought about rather carefully,” explained Reddy.
“What I did by taking you up on a ramp to a platform and then hanging all these reflective forms around and above you, is that it both raises you in the building and reflects and brings the building down to you. When you are on that platform you feel very comfortable in the center of the space,” added Reddy.
Through reflective figures, Reddy accomplished the unexpected: to make a place so grand and imposing, personal and comfortable.
While visitors are making their way along the ramp to the platform, they see images of pivotal moments in D.C. history, such as the 1963 March of Washington and the 2014 People's Climate March, as well as Black Lives Matter protests.
Although at times not aware, humans are constantly participating in history and playing a role in its development. The "Look Here" display visualizes this concept.
Part of the exhibition prompts visitors to reflect – quite literally – on their individual experiences. While walking along the ramp, visitors can see themselves reflected on the historical images projected onto the metallic sculptures.
“As you walk past them you can see yourself reflected in history. The idea is to not only reflect you but reflect you in history, to reflect you in the surrounding,” Reddy said.
When asked about how she integrated her Indian heritage onto the exhibition, Reddy explained that the display does not necessarily include any direct references to Indian culture, but rather is inspired by Indian traditions and principles.
“The ideas such as the one of being individually and collectively connected, these come from my heritage. You know, you can take the girl out of India, but you can’t take India out of the girl,” said the artist.
“As an immigrant for me these [exhibitions] are really important things, you come from a different country, to make your mark in a different place really means a lot,” added Reddy.
The National Building Museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Reddy’s "Look Here" will be on display until Labor Day, Sept. 4. For more information visit the National Building Museum’s website.
You can also see it during the museum's go-go-themed, after-hours Summer Block Party on Aug. 24.
You can purchase a $7 pass, which allows visitors to see all other exhibitions available at the National Building Museum, such as Warren Elsmore's "Brick City" display.
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