National Design Museum

It was time for everyone to take in a bit of culture so we ventured uptown to museum row. We were planning to get into the Jewish Museum and see the last few days of the Modigliani exhibit. Unfortunately the line was about 2 blocks long. Not happening.

We opted for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. The museum is housed in the Carnegie mansion on 91st and 5th Avenue. You can close your eyes and think about what it must have been like living there years ago. There is a tremendous yard adjacent to the Museum that is prime for enjoying the fresh air.

What a great place. Only 2 floors so the exhibits are small. We saw the Design/Art exhibit. The kids were into the fact that the majority of the original work in the museum had been knocked off a variety of times so they recognized the design. We are all fans of modern art and design so it is always fun to hear the kids comments and reactions. The museum had put quotes on the walls from Thoreau and Wilde and other people which were fun to discuss. Wilde said “it isn’t what you see but how you look at it.” Thoreau’s quote which I can not remember exactly was about what is art? If you sit in it, it is a chair, if you walk around it, it is a sculpture. So, again, what is art?

Outside on the lawn was a FutureShack. A small home/room that was built for Architecture for Humanity which is a nonprofit organization that promotes design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises. This small house can be erected in 24 hours and lived in. It was very cool.

I will absolutely get back to this museum. We all loved it. In the end, everyone was glad that we had pursed a day of culture. There is an exhibit of Albers coming up in October which I won’t miss.