The Revitalist

 
Detail of Wall by Rachel Perry Welty

Detail of Wish Lists by Kelly Sherman

We visited the ICA over the weekend. I have to say that the building is as wonderful as all the rave reviews say that it is. Between the building with its awesome views, the exhibits and the people watching, we could have stayed there all day. My favorite element of the building is the walk between the two exhibit halls that looks out over the harbor and East Boston. It was fascinating to sit and watch the light play over the water and the sailboats dance along. I could have sat there all day. As for the art, there were some very striking, innovative and amusing pieces. The crowd favorite was clearly a video piece called Karaoke Wrong Number by Rachel Perry Welty, a video of the artist lip synching a collection of messages wrongly left on her answering machine. Her deadpan expression and perfect mimicry kept a crowd in front of the monitor laughing out loud. Welty is one of four finalists for this year's James and Audrey Foster Prize (originally the ICA Artist Prize, which recognizes Boston area artists)—I thought the finalists' works were the best pieces in the museum. It was nice to see that on Saturday afternoon, the place was quite crowded (nearly but not uncomfortably so). It's clearly a success, and I'm sure will be into the future.