The piece I am choosing to respond to is the Scenes from the House Dream by David Hoffos at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I walked into the exhibition with low standards. The staff introducing the exhibition showed us through the black curtain and into a dark and unknown space where he directed us to the first projection piece. My initial reaction to the first piece was that it was of poor quality and it didn’t grab my attention. In my opinion the projection of a blimp over a night time skyline didn’t seem to have a particularly strong relationship in terms of the subject and setting to give off a meaningful experience, especially when the resolution of the project appeared to be of low quality.

I didn’t realize how much I had relied on the staff’s flashlight to find my way to the first piece. I cautiously felt my way through the blackness of the mysterious space. I felt that this was a flaw in the presentation that could have solved by some dim lighting along the floors much like they have at movie theatres. It would have improved the value of the experience without having to sacrifice the mystery of it. I believe that it would also potentially open the doors to a wider audience because I can’t imagine anyone without 20/20 vision navigating successfully through the exhibition without destroying it.

The second piece was refreshingly engaging. Hoffos reflected and projected images of real people moving, and situated them to appear that they were interacting with the space created for them. His use of mirrors and televisions forced the viewer to position themselves around piece and engaged them to search for the action within. The idea of peering through windows into the various miniature worlds gives you a feeling of divine power over the characters trapped inside. I love how Hoffos played with the aspect of size because as you feel empowered observing the dioramas he also has life sized projections that can be experienced as a group. When experiencing Absinthe Bar, the first life sized projection in the exhibition, the group I experienced it with was in belief that the projection was a real person. It made us extremely nervous, not knowing if it was projection or a real person, which is a contrasting feeling to the confidence over the diminutive dioramas.

Lastly, the scenes and situations Hoffos shaped were beautifully executed. They caused you to think about the past, present and future of the story being told. The stories were left open for interpretation, to allow the audience to creatively think what happened, what is going to happen, or why are they doing that? Finally, the last piece in the exhibition he projected real time video of the audience within a scene, virtually putting you into the story.

Overall, although I was firstly sceptical, Hoffos successfully caught my attention and convinced me that going to art galleries and exhibits can actually be pleasurable.