Tomas Saraceno on the Roof: “Cloud City”

The interior appears submarine-like at first, with its steep stairs, small spaces, and scattered nets of elastic rope. But submarines rarely have floors of mirrored steel and clear acrylic, nor do they offer panoramic views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. Perhaps “Cloud City” is a starship. Imagine a craft with multiple pods, and walls that are transparent, reflective, or left open to space. Argentine artist, Tomas Saraceno, created this intriguing structure of 16 connected modules that will reside on the roof of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York until November 4^th. It is well worth seeing. Positioned at sky-level, but anchored to the floor, the site-specific installation is grounded and airborne, dizzying and disorienting, futuristic and fantastical.

A limited number of daily visitors with timed entry tickets are admitted to “Cloud City” for twenty minutes apiece, weather permitting. Safety restrictions apply—rubber-soled shoes are required, for example. Though uncertain how seriously to take these mandates, I was grateful I’d heeded the museum’s warning to wear pants, as portions of the interior are visible from outside and below. This translucence and the abundance of mirrored panels unnerved me initially. I feared that my foot would crash through clear flooring and hesitated to step on a reflection of my torso. Unsurprisingly, a fellow visitor complained of vertigo as she too maneuvered her way up inclines, under arches, and between modules.

That, according to Saraceno, is the intention. We are meant to experience uncertainty as we contemplate our surroundings. “’Cloud City’ is an invitation to perceive simultaneously a multiplicity of realities, making overlapping and multireflective connections between things, affecting and challenging our perceptions,” he has said. The museum reports that the architect-turned-artist “envisions floating or flying cities that defy traditional notions of space, time, and gravity.” This work is based on his interest in developing alternative means of inhabiting the environment, with an emphasis on “sustainable visions for future communities.”