MoMA! (Floors 1-3)

That is an ice cream scoop. It's pretty damn similar to the one that I have at my apartment. It's also very similar to the one on display at MoMA. The only real difference between the one in my apartment and the one at MoMA is that I can touch the one in my apartment without facing prosecution.



That is a piece of paper folded into squares. It too is on display at MoMA. In fact, its sign proudly displays "RECENT ACQUISITION." This means that sometime in the recent past, a group of people paid a reasonable sum of money because they felt that it belonged on display in the same building as works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet.



That is horse shit.



I think I might try to sell it to MoMA.

Okay, I understand. It's art. I'll give it that. But come on, who comes to a museum that is host to priceless works of art and gets excited about seeing an ice cream scoop or a piece of paper folded into squares?

Can't they find better stuff to fill up the museum? I know its a pretty big place but modern art must have more to offer us than just that.

This is not to say that MoMA sucked. There were plenty of amazing pieces of art there. In two and half hours, we only managed to make it through half of the museum and had an absolute blast in the process. The amazing part is that it the most renowned works are in the top floors which we didn't see.

Although the questionable art bothered me in principle, it didn't lessen the experience all that much. If you don't like a piece at MoMA, it's pretty easy to just move on. After all, there is no shortage of artwork to see.



This is by Max Beckmann. It's part of a portfolio called "Hell." It's not exactly an uplifting collection but it was pretty damn amazing. One of the downsides of going to MoMA on free Fridays is that you have to put up with a lot of crowds. Beckmann's work was nice because it was right next to some rather unspectacular Picassos. So everyone in the room was hoarded around them and completely ignoring everything. It was one of the few times where I was able to really relax and look at something that I enjoyed.



I have no idea what my baby cradle looked like but it definitely wasn't as cool as that thing. It looks like it was taken out of a Tim Burton movie.




Kara Walker took Civil War images and put silhouettes of slaves on top of them. That doesn't sound particularly amazing but it works well in execution and was really thought provoking.

Anyhow, I'm probably going back next Friday for the top floors. God forbid I actually pay $20 to see priceless art work.