Weird Art

 

(Photo by info.usa)

I started out yesterday just walking around Long Island City to get a feel for the place. On my way back I decided to duck into the PS1 MoMA Museum which is only a few blocks from my apartment. Before this museum became an extension of the MoMA (Modern Museum of Art), it was an independent display space for for large installations. And before that, a school.

I'm going to talk a bit about the installations I saw during my visit in these next few entries. I'll start with the topic of modern art itself.

When was the last time you went to a contemporary art museum? It's not high on your list, I'll bet. I think of modern art as something that takes you out of your comfort zone. Sometimes that is a pleasant thing, and sometimes it is very unpleasant. But either way, it changes how you see things, if only for a few minutes, an hour or perhaps the rest of your life.

Recently I overheard someone remarking how strange it is that people viewing modern art tend to read the explanation of the exhibit before experiencing the art. That is, they want to understand it before they look at it. Or perhaps the art is so weird they wonder why it was created in the first place.

(Continued next entry.)