We Finally Made It To MASS MoCA

We made it to MASS MoCA on Saturday, and we invited out friend and Ian McRae to come with us. Ian is our also our shearer and a poet and musician.  He’d never been to the museum before and Jon and I both thought it would be a place he should see.

Ian hasn’t been to many museums, but he fit in easily, walking and looking, taking it all in.

Since MASS MoCA is a Contemporary art museum it’s not the same experience as a traditional museum. I never know what to expect and can’t wait to see what will speak to me and what will touch me.

I only read about the art if it is visually captivating enough for me to want to know more about it.

Jeffrey Gibson’s installation was mesmerizing and I’d guess we spent the most time there, watching the videos that hung from screens on the ceiling and just experiencing the space.

The ceramics, sculpture and video were all visceral enough to make me want to know more about the meaning of Disgust that the artists were exploring in the exhibit Dirty and Disorderly: Contemporary Artists on Disgust.

The idea is that we are made to feel that certain cultures or people are dirty or disgusting in order to separate us from them, making them “the other”.

I think those skinned and bloody place setting will stay with me for a long time.

I would be very content walking around a museum by myself.  Jon and I have a way of visiting museums that has naturally evolved.  Since he can’t walk as easily and long as I can, he finds a place to sit in a gallery and I walk around while he watching the people, art and takes pictures.

It works out really well.

I didn’t know what it would be like having another person with us, but Ian was as interested in the art as both Jon and I were.   We talked a bit about some of it as we saw it and we also went our own ways and talked about the art when we came back together, or not.

Ian is 24 years old, the youngest person that Jon and I spend time with regularly.  I love the idea of introducing anyone to a museum, but Ian being so much younger than me and knowing it might make a difference in his life, that he might get something from seeing the art, or just being in a place with other creative people, sparks a nurturing part of me.

It’s a wonderful thing to be able to share with him, and I have a feeling we’ll be doing it again.