Taryn Simon’s large-scale outdoor sculpture The Pipes is on long-term view on the MASS MoCA campus. What began as an oversized concrete instrument for a cacophony of global mourning in Simon’s work An Occupation of Loss (The Armory, 2016) will be populated by the sounds, collective call and response, and movements of a living public. The 11 structures that make up the installation – which Simon designed in collaboration with Shohei Shigematsu of architecture firm OMA – are an immersive experience, offered to the public as a sacred space for reflection, impromptu performance, and stargazing.

The Pipes joins MASS MoCA’s growing constellation of long-term outdoor artworks sited throughout the museum’s campus and downtown North Adams, including works by Jenny Holzer, Martin Puryear, James Turrell, and Franz West. This will be Simon’s second project at MASS MoCA, following her acclaimed 2018 solo exhibition A Cold Hole + Assembled Audience.

The installation of Taryn Simon’s The Pipes at MASS MoCA is made possible in part by the Michael G. and C. Jane Wilson 2007 Trust, Gagosian Gallery, Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte, and David Zicarelli and Virginia Troyer.

Pre-installation view of Taryn Simon, The Pipes, 2016|2021