Monday, February 12, 2007

Sleepwalking at MoMA

Wake up people! If you've been hitting your snooze alarm too much putting off going to see MoMA's new exhibit "SleepWalkers," then you are out of luck because it ended today. "SleepWalkers" is Doug Aitken's newest art work and it's pretty incredible. Since January 16th, from 5-10 p.m. there have been 5 short films being projected on and around the museum. The films follow 5 different characters lives after 9-11 from the time they wake up at NIGHT, and follow them on their journey in to the city. The characters are a bike messenger, an electrician, a postal worker, a businessman, and an office worker. The stories are told in broken narrative, which really does make it all the more interesting to watch. Because the films are being displayed all around the museum, the viewers have to circle the building in order to get the full experience. You can actually call a certain number on your cell phone and get commentary as you are observing the 5 films (I chose not to do this though). These characters are not perfect, they are not models, they are just people. This outdoor exhibit was a great way of paying tribute to "the city that never sleeps." This became truly apparent, especially when at 10 p.m. there were still crowds of people surrounding the museum trying to get one last look at Aitken's amazing art work. Even though these past few weeks have been absolutely freezing, it was worth being cold to see this radical and unique display of art, and I'm sure MoMA's business went up a notch because of it. Stay tuned for next week...because you never know what I might review next!

Click HERE to check out a preview of the exhibit!

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