I Want You to Want Me

Last Friday I was in the city with a little extra time on my hands and so I decided to hit up a museum. I was on 43rd and 8th so wanted something nearby since I didn't have a huge chunk of time, so I thought: "What about the MOMA?" So I walk the ten or so blocks and, yes, it was crowded but that quickly didn't matter as I was granted free admission - yay for being a SUNY student....

I had never been to the MOMA and am somewhat snobbish when it comes to "Modern Art" - whatever that hasty generalization may mean - but I was quickly taken by the breadth of work present in the museum. Monet's "Lilies" were absolutely stunning; those full murals are, truly, breathtaking. I ventured through the grossly advertised Tim Burton special exhibit and after a few minutes of New-Years-Eve-in-Times-Square-like crowds I headed out; you've seen one Tim Burton cartoon, you've seen them all....though I love his work. (Alice in Wonderland? Um, hello....)

Anyway, there was this rather fascinating interactive installation that I happened upon by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar titled "I Want You to Want Me." (Thank you Cheap Trick circa 1977...) Here's a description of the installation as it appears online: "I Want You To Want Me explores the search for love and self in the world of online dating. It chronicles the world's long-term relationship with romance, across all ages, genders, and sexualities, using real data collected from Internet dating sites every few hours." Here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZUaXDm4qik

It was a great installation and pleasantly topical to my whole research.....visitors at the museum seemed to love it as well, always a sure good sign.

My two hours alotted for museum exploration had expired by the time I encountered the Cezanne, Matisse, Munch, Van Gogh and others of that era.....and I left knowing I had to return.