the new museum sucks
i don’t mind the facade’s bulky, out of place style that proves that fat, glass + steel buildings can be farted out anywhere in ny because it is the manifest destiny of big businesses. what i do mind is that the architects focused all their design efforts to make a ‘revolutionary’ building instead of focusing how people and art will interact within the space.
the exhibit focused on 4 different aspects of collage, sculptural assemblage, 2D works, sound, and digital/online collage. i visited the museum when the first 2 aspects were on display. here are my take on the whole experience (my focus is on the negative as my experience was underwhelming).
- STAIRS + SPACE
- there was no staircases in between floors, only elevators (except for emergency staircases and a narrow one in between floors 3 + 4). where are we, target? you know, not everyone hates walking.
- the narrow staircase had a small side room off the middle of the stairwell. this makes 1 piece of art completely inaccessible to people in wheelchairs / with a walking disability.
- the side room off the narrow stairwell was so small that people watching the video in there spilled out into the stairwell and blocked others from using the stairs.
- the ’sky room’ on the 7th floor looked like an afterthought. the ikea-esque chairs and bar diminished any feeling of luxury the wall to wall windows may have created.
- AMBIGUOUS LABELING
- the labels for art were neatly lined up on the edges of the walls. this would have worked great had the artwork not been scattered throughout the middle of the room or had half the pieces not been labeled ‘untitled’. why not place a label on the floor next to the artwork? or how about placing a number next to the artwork so you know which label to read?
- the labels for art had NO information about the art piece itself. perhaps the museum wants people to make their own interpretations on the artwork, but most people will move on if they can’t create some meaning within the first minute. also, i personally would be interested in seeing how the artist’s (or expert’s) interpretation of the artwork fall in line with my own. was the art piece part of a larger collaboration or movement? the world will never know.
- there was NO differentiation between which floors/sections of the museum were dedicated to which aspect collage. the ‘about’ text painted on the wall was the same for each floor and the visitor had no idea which floor to begin the tour on.
maybe this poorly architected user experience was purposely planned to elicit the same feelings of uncertainty, confusion and ambiguity as the collages created, but at a macro level. either way, i was thoroughly disappointed more by the space than the unoriginal, uninspiring art that used it.