Right now, I’m speechless. Not just about this exhibition, but the fact that I can go to these types of things in the city. I have been so inspired here, there are so many artists, so much art that is in your face all of the time…great music..great food…ah. Every Thursday starting at 7 is free admission to the New Museum of Contemporary Art. I heard that there was a ‘slide’ in the building so obviously I had to go. Even the restaurant that I went to before was a piece of art: this tiny Mexican restaurant on the lower east side that is designed in a way that you feel like you are outside during the 1950’s. The chef even makes your tacos in a tiny bus! Should I do a plug? I think I will.. its called Tacombi.
Anyway, so YES there is a slide in the new museum and YES I did go down. There is also a carousel, an aquarium that you can stick your head into, a container that you can strip down and float in, giant mushrooms…the list goes on. This artist is insane. It’s all about how the viewer experiences the work; how placing things in the environment will manipulate the way that you experience space and time.
The slide is a tube. With your chin tucked down, you go race down two stories and in five seconds you arrive to a room with all of the walls covered in blinking, bright lights. From the enclosed slide your visuals suddenly explode into this bright, flashing room. Another part of the exhibition were these goggles that changed your visual perception so that you see upside down. Basically, I was kind of dizzy from all of the visuals when I left.