Free-for-all at the MoMA, New York

Did you know that every Friday night at the MOMA (New York, of course) "Target" sponsors an event known as "Free Friday" from 4-8 p.m.? Yep, neither did I, when I showed up to explore the collection's new digs in midtown Manhattan, and to visit my favorites in the painting/sculpture galleries before heading out for a night on the town.

It seems as though le tout New York had the same idea, along with a few outsiders such as myself (and several thousand other tourists). As it turned out, this became more of a social visit than a serious conversation with the paintings, but it was an opportunity to see the new building in action - not just housing art, but welcoming people (and as mentioned before, it was a LOT of people).

If you've never ever been to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this is perhaps not the best time to start. Unless you are wily and your elbows have been sharpened to deadly points, you are probably not even going to make it to the front of the huddles around The Greatest Hits of Modern Art : Picasso's cubist whores, Dalí's melting clocks, Warhal's cans of soup, and Pollock's perfectly composed splatters, etc. , etc. Instead, this was the perfect opportunity to discover the intimacy of lesser known marvels such as one chocolate painting on a metal "canvas" which emanates an irradescent glow in one corner, or the subtle Giocometti statues (Woman with her throat cut, The Palace at 3 a.m.) and drawings in the Estee Lauder gallery. Or still better yet, watch the movement and energy of people moving through the fabulous new building. Designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, the hallways, stairwells, and galleries are centered around a sky-lit atrium, with an adjoining sculpture garden.

Even though I usually detest crowds, it was a pleasure to just watch people move through these zen spaces, and it seemed that for many there, people-watching was winning out over jockeying for position in front of the Picassos.

If you haven't been to the new location, then go! If you not willing or able to choke up 20 bucks (12 for students) for the sake of art (some of it of questionable quality, at least in the humble opinion of a few) then Target Free Friday is the perfect day to go. If you actually want to take a look at the work displayed there, go on a different day.

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