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Museum of Arts and Design
Rating Details »
Neighborhoods: Theater District, Hell's Kitchen
2 Columbus Cir
New York, NY 10079
(212) 299-7777
2 Columbus Cir
New York, NY 10079
(212) 299-7777
- Nearest Transit:
-
59th St-Columbus Circle (1, A, C, B, D)
57th St-7th Ave (N, Q, R, W)
7th Ave-53rd St (B, D, E)
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
23 reviews for Museum of Arts and Design
This was second museum membership I bought when I moved to NYC in 2006. I loved the old space across the street from MOMA, but I love their new space even more.
This museum is always very interesting. One of my favorite things about it is that you don't burn yourself out when you go there. So many NYC museums, though wonderful, are just too big. The MAD museum is an easy place to spend an hour getting out of your head and into the quiet of excellent crafts(wo)men.
In the old space, I enjoyed the Eames exhibition - highlighting Danish Modern design and the Eames lounge chair, Simply Droog, then Radical Knitting and Subversive Lace (my personal favorite of all), then Inspired By China, followed by Have a Seat, Totally Rad was in fact totally rad, Klaus Moje: Painting with Glass was a fascinating exhibition, Slash is my second favorite after Subversive Lace, as is Madeleine Albright and now they have opened their permanent collection - can we say TEXTILES TEXTILES TEXTILES folks? It's Dada on steroids!
They have great member events and I love the 360 Young Collector's circle because they aren't the same NYC blue blood under 40 crowd which belongs to MOMA and the MET - though I have both of those memberships too - I never have a problem missing their events, whereas I look forward to going to MAD's.
If you are looking for a good membership to use when friends come to the city for a short weekend and want to go to a museum, don't forget the MAD museum. It really is a fantastic museum in a beautiful new modern building in an ideal location next to the Time Warner Center.
Their gift shop is great too as they don't have all the same "typical gift shop" stuff which everyone else has... they have a lot of hand made artistic items which actually do make wonderful gifts.
Enjoy!
S~
Reviews to date for the Museum of Art and Design or 'MAD' for short have run all over the place namely because:
a) art of course is subjective, modern art x10
b) rotating exhibits mean rotating ratings
As others have noted, the permanent collection is an unimpressive yawner, but I implore you to walk, run, taxi it over to check out two 5-star exhibits starting with this mind blowing genius:
(I) "Slash: Paper Under the Knife" is an exhibition of 45 international artists working solely with, you guessed it, paper. Sound boring? It's not. At the end of your two floor tour, you will reach three conclusions:
a) these artists have OCD
b) these artists are on drugs
c) all of the above
Rather than butcher any attempts at description, I'll just say the works were trippy, morbid and titillating, both head scratching "how'd they do that?" and jaw on floor gorgeous. Here are a couple verbatims from a focus group of two:
a) "that was awesome."
b) "that was f-ing awesome!"
Slash is running until April 4, 2010. Go. Please.
(II) "Read my Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection" is exactly that: 200 brooch pins worn during her tenure as Secretary of State. Wow, that sounds really... dull? It's not. Por ejemplo, did you know:
- That she wore a big ass nuclear missile pin during a visit with Putin? To which he asked "Is that a big ass nuclear missile pin?" ("big ass" added for effect and not because Google: Russia failed to provide a translation)
- That she's an avid fan of Star Trek and Stetson hats? Meaning she is a proud owner of Star Trek and Stetson hat brooches? (cries)
- That she wore a gigantic American flag pin and 2-inch heels when meeting Kim Jung-il...as did he? (minus american flag pin)
As for the show's significance, apparently her choice of pin was strategic - both to match the diplomatic occasion and to send non verbal cues in negotiation/protest. Whether this was even mildly effective I'll delegate to historians, but oh sweet relief because if she really thinks a bejeweled 4-inch lobster pin belongs on a St John's suit, I'll have to pull out the Mr Blackwell handbook.
This exhibit is running until Jan 31, 2010. General admission is $15 but pay as you wish every Thursday, 6-9pm.
- fin
unrelated ps:
100th review! Or 99 more than I intended to write since boarding the Yelp train 10 months ago. My dining choices have improved dramatically since then and I now make better informed decisions on where I clog the arteries. Sure my pants no longer fit but flowy dresses, wide belts, and snappy leggings have miracle properties. No Spanx for me thanks but 10 stars for new friends - witty writers all of you - who make me chortle on a weekly basis. Viva La Yelp!
This is a great reason to open my eyes when I am walking to meetings. I think I walked by here a few times and never realized what a find it is until my cousin suggested we meet here and check it out.
I absolutely loved the "Slash: Paper Under the Knife" exhibit. Some of the write ups that were posted had insights about the artist by the artist, which I found fascinating. There were some genius pieces and it all comes down to your imagination and personal preferences.
Have you gone M.A.D. yet?
My company sponsors a current exhibit which occupies two floors, "Slash: Paper Under the Knife" and as a avid paper aficionado, Paper Princess, I itch to see how paper is mantipulated, altered in it's original as well as current form to create art which many are extraordinary to view and admire.
http://collections.mad...
As an employee, I was happily able to madly access FREE admission to go M.A.D. even further! Membership does have it's privileges as it pays! My platonic date accompanied me which he sincerely were concern for my current mental state of mind in insuring that I'm happy and free from the poison of losers and Mr. Douche Bags.
The second floor currently exhibits United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Korbel Albright's collection of pins who she wore at speeches, events and public appearances of her work to promote peace and goodwill to the world. A pin for nearly every occassion, is to what my understanding, which also displays a photo for that particular occassion worn.
The restaurants are located on the top floor which is in construction and yet to be open, probably another eternity...
Terrific well curated exhibit (the paper arts exhibit) in an interesting space. Mediocre permanent collection that was not nearly as captivating as the traveling show.
Sort of a strangely laid out museum- you go up via the elevator and wind your way down through the stairs (which aren't all that exciting). You end up on the 2nd floor (which, at least right now, has the Madeline Albright pin collection).
Looking forward to the restaurant debut, which I think will add something new and exciting to the Columbus Circle area.
PSA for people who complain about admission prices. Every single museum in NYC that takes our tax dollars (99% of museums) has to set up a specific time that is free or donation only. In this case, MAD's donation hours are Thursday's 6-9PM. Go in for a buck and enjoy the show!
Not gonna review any of the art there, it's far too subjective for anyone to meet at a common ground. Just gonna say I liked the shopping bag displays the most.
Size of the museum is perfect for me. Kind of smallish, can go through the museum in approximately half hour. I can't stay at any museum for a minute more than that.
Our parents were in town and my brother suggested MAD because there were two glass exhibits (GlassWear and Klaus Moje, running until 9.20.09) and our parents are interested in, and collect glass objects of art.* I was excited because I'd never been, and, Hell, I didn't even know the museum existed.
First off, the building is a spectacular site and a piece of art in itself. It is covered in 22,000 handmade, iridescent ceramic tiles that change ever so slightly at different points in the day depending on one's viewpoint and how sunlight hits the structure. The materials of the facade of the building--glass and ceramic--mirror the general collections that comprise the museum's exhibits. While wandering on each floor I peered out the floor to ceiling windows on to Columbus Circle, Broadway and 8th Ave. I realized that the vantage point through the windows added to the museum experience; the views were works of art in themselves.
I was really impressed with the Klaus Moje exhibit. There was a 20 minute movie that detailed how he made his amazing pressed, layered glass pieces which actually looked like painted glass. The exhibit detailed the transformation and progression of his contributions to the world of glass art.
Glass as an artistic medium might not appeal to all, but I enjoyed it as well as the other floors' exhibits (5 in all). I really appreciated the craftsmanship of the pieces I saw and our parents enjoyed it too...which is the only thing that matters.
Also of note, MAD has a movie theater, and is working in conjunction with the Museum of Moving Image. Check out the film schedule on their website. Currently they're showing French New Wave--films by Godard, Truffaut, Demy and Varda.
On the museum's website, a portion of their mission statement says: "...In its exhibitions and educational programs, the Museum celebrates the creative process through which materials are crafted into works that enhance contemporary life."
I say ignore the negative reviews from others and just go visit MAD...it's not a huge museum so you won't be overwhelmed, and you just might find something that appeals to you and really enjoy yourself.
*Now, when I say this I mean our parents are hardcore collectors. They know more about Fenton and other glass houses/factories and artists and their knowledge blows my mind.
This museum cost 15 dollars to get into..think it is a rip off consider there is not much to see...It is a small museum spread of over a few floors...when I was there one floor was closed. Frankly, I wanted my money back! Read other reviews for more information on what the place contains...ohh and the cafe was closed...I was looking forward to at least seeing the view over Columbus Circle and Central Park!! The highlight for me was a light fixture by a Finnish named person right outside the ladies room in the basement!
after living near columbus circle for a year and passing by this building almost everyday, i finally made it inside. not without paying $12, of course (i'm a student btw, so it's a couple bucks more for "adults").
from the outside, i do like the building. i know it may not be for everyone, but i'm big on the whole modernist thing and i think it's fitting for an arts and design museum to be housed in building that could equally be considered an exhibit as well. i do admit though, that the "HI" imprinted on the facade takes it a little too far.
from the inside, well, i started off impressed. there's a total of five floors, four with exhibits + lobby, and they tell you to start off at the top. however, as i descended, so did my interest. the top two floors were the most compelling; the fifth floor consisted of industrial ceramics (i have no clue if that's the official description or not), and the fourth floor was an exhibit on klaus moje mosaic glassware. i can't even remember much about what was on the third floor, except for a frank gehry wooden chair and a beaded aunt jemima stuffed pillow. by the time i was at the glass jewelry exhibit on the second floor, i was ready to leave (no disrespect to the exhibit, it just really wasn't my thing).
i'm glad i finally checked this place out, but for the $12 student price, i'd rather spend the day at the MoMA.
I went here with my parents a few weeks ago, sort of on a whim since we had some free time before dinner at Shun Lee Palace, and it was a surprisingly cool museum. The space is very large and airy, and there is basically a different exhibit on each floor with some sort of a studio/workshop on the top floor. We mostly checked out the painted glass works of Klaus Moje and the Art of Industrial Ceramics (tons of pieces from Scandinavia, Japan and Israel). Both were pretty cool, and there are also short video-documentaries of some artists making their creations in their workshops which are really interesting to check out. In general its a pretty cool and different museum with a varied collection, especially if you get tired of the usual art galleries in town. However, young teens and children will probably find it quite boring.
Interesting. Although it could be better...
I guess my gf and I were both a bit tired after skating on plastic for about an hour. So we walked around like how ppl go through their work routine on a Monday. I don't remember many exhibits that really caught my eye, except for the lounge chair made out of quarters, the armoir that changes like a transformer and spits out a vanity table and chair, and the paper trees made from Paul Smith and other fancy designer shopping bags. The touch screen displays that operates like an iPhone w/ Coverflow is cool, but I wish this place had more energy. This place just felt too tranquil. But if you really spend time on each exhibit, you definitely need more than a few hours to cover this place. You also need a cup of coffee before coming here.
Went there today while my family was in town. I didn't get to see the entire permanent collection, but did visit floor 2, 4 & 5. Got to see the jewelry exhibit, and this really neat 2 floor temporary show called second lives.
The second lives part is only there until February, so if you have some free time and a chunk of change (it was $12 for a student ticket! which my parents paid for..but still!), go visit. All of the second life stuff uses nontraditional materials, and there is some unbelievable work. Go see it..and then you'll understand why I desperately want to stack buttons.
Thank you, yelp, for steering me to the two floors of importance when we did a fly-by through this museum on pay-whatever-you want (and we did) Thursday night. Whoa...what sculptures...gotta give a blue ribbon to the tapestry made of designer labels, and another blue ribbon to the leveled silver objects that were suspended in air.
Wait a year for this museum to 'fill out' and then pay full price. Otherwise, just go now and imagine...
If it were possible, I would actually split my review. I would give the permanent collections at the Museum of Art and Design two stars and the rotating exhibition (currently titled "Second Lives") a five star rating.
The permanent collections here are interesting but somewhat cluttered, eclectic, and dis-unified. There are, to be sure, some very cool individual items. But, overall, nothing coheres (even in sections with a similar theme).
The rotating collection is awesome, though. I felt it was well worth the $15 admission price to see the two floors dedicated to the exhibit "Second Lives" (which runs through April 2009). This exhibit is composed of everyday materials that have been re-purposed into art (everything from jewelry and sculpture to furniture and installation art). For example, there is a sculpture that resembles beautiful, translucent coral made entirely of sewing buttons. There are amazing, tiny tree cut-outs made of designer shopping bags. There is a gorgeous necklace made of triggers and a gleaming Korean suit of armor made of dog-tags. My personal favorite was the chandelier made of eye glasses.
Check out "Second Lives" - its really cool. Then head over to the Bouchon bakery in Time Warner for a cocoa.
Though I'm neither an artist nor designer, I was inspired by the creativity behind MAD's second lives: remixing the ordinary exhibit. my favorites pieces included a chandelier made of prescription eyeglasses, an enormous and delicate flower sculpture made of plastic forks and q-tips, and totem pole-like carvings from stacked phone books. Many of the "everyday materials" used to create the art are near unrecognizable in their altered form.
beyond this exhibit, the museum's offerings are sparse and might not live up to the expectations you get from looking at the exterior of the large, modern building that is the museum's new home. I look forward to seeing what the museum does in the future inside this new space!
This place is a complete waste of time and money. The new building is a travesty- why does it say "hi" in the facade?- and it feels completely cold and dead inside. Why would a museum that is supposed to celebrate handicraft try so hard to one-up the Apple store in corporate banality?
With this new and bigger building, the museum was very excited to finally have the opportunity to display their permanent collection for the first time- so now we can all reap the benefits of two floors filled with boring 1980's glass bowls and vases and ugly geometric jewelry. The patrons are mostly the type of rich old lady who worship Dale Chihuly and wear ostentatious and "funky" jewelry made out of diamonds and dominoes.
the temporary exhibition that is up now, "second lives", is a bunch of sculpture that is lumped together on the premise that it is all made out of re-purposed junk like buttons and old shoes. walking through the exhibition you overhear people saying, "cool" a lot, and "wow, it's made out of plastic spoons!". not exactly stimulating conversation. what was the curator thinking?? obviously not much. it is as though he or she went into google and put in "found object art" and then sent out a bunch of letters.
Overall, the work on display fits neatly with this museum's apparent goal of continuing to champion boring, inoffensive, vacuous objects for idiots with too much money to "ooh" over. If art isn't going to look good, shouldn't it at least inspire a conversation? Oh wait- that's not the point. buying things at the gift store is.
I have an idea- use the 15 dollars you'd spend on admission here and buy a bunch of toothpicks and marshmallows instead, then make your own sculpture. Who knows, it might be in the next show at The Museum of Arts and Design.
We visited MAD on grand opening day and got in for free, which may explain why my review is more favorable than those that paid a $15 entrance fee.
That said, "Second Lives - Remixing the Ordinary" was ultra-modern and had many interesting examples of how everyday items such as shoes, vinyl records and combs could be repurposed and transformed into aesthetically pleasing art. The higher you go (floors that is) the better it gets.
there were 2 levels closed, so that made for only 3 levels of stuff. 2 of those levels were probably 85 degrees! guess they still have some kinks to work out.
regardless of the heat, i loved that they were showing really cool pieces made from all recycled objects. some things i thought were stupid, (actually thought that the permanent collection was kind of na-na) but i really liked the awesome sculptures and installations. i am a sucker for modern art museums, and this museum reminded me of the ICA in boston, only missing that spark. they definitely had some awesome stuff in there, but some stuff was just OK. next time i go, i hope to be in awe 100% of the time, not 60%.
i will say that their space heater exhibit was super creative and i loved seeing all the cool industrial designed ways to...heat a space!
the museum of arts and design opened yesterday in columbus circle. here's a rundown of this somewhat small new museum:
9th floor: restaurant. didn't check it out but heard another visitor go on and on about the view of central park, if that sort of thing is important to you.
8th floor: mysteriously absent
7th floor: events. whatever that meant.
6th floor: the first floor we checked out. a bunch of kids were working on crafts. some guy was spinning a pottery wheel. we got the hell out of there, and fast.
5th floor: (gallery, non-permanent) the wow factor started. greeting us from just past the staircase was a perfectly shaped giant pyramid made from plastic spoons and rubber bands. called simply "spoons" by jill townsley, the description indicated that, over time, the elastic would be comprised, snapping and causing the pyramid to destroy itself. beautiful! there was even a little video nearby displaying what it would look like when it happened. .
next was tara donovan's "bluffs." from a little ways away it looked like a very large piece of coral. when you got closer, you realized it was all made from thousands of pearl colored buttons. it's way prettier than i can articulate here, so i won't try.
it seemed most of the things on this floor were everyday objects repurposed to make art: rulers, combs, rolled up magazine pages, buttons, combs, chopsticks, rulers, quarters, and way more than i feel like typing here.
4th floor: (gallery, non-permanent) the title of this floor was "second lives: remixing the ordinary" and we immediately thought, weren't we just on that floor? still, more of the same, especially considering the caliber of what we previously viewed was welcome.
my favorite things here were jean shin's "sound wave" a 5' x 8' tidal wave, shaped entirely by curled / warped records. do ho suh's metal jacket, an american military jacket covered by 3,000 us army dog tags. it looked like some kind of modern armor and was something to behold, but this was the last piece of interest to me, and ultimately where the excitement would end.
3rd floor: (permanent collection) lots of vases and plates. a few interesting chairs. wholly uninteresting.
2nd floor: jewelry gallery (sponsored by tiffany & company) yawn.
1st floor: gift shop. a gift shop that has no books, but tons of jewelry you wouldn't want to see on anyone.
a the moment, it's worth visiting to see the galleries, as whoever is doing the curating is doing an amazing job. when they start charging (it was free this weekend) it might be hard to justify spending fifteen dollars for only two small floors of interesting art.
galleries: 5 stars
the rest: 1 star
every geeky person's dream! make art out of everyday common objects! but don't ruin the guess factor for people around you... take some time to guess what it is before reading the caption! makes it all the more fun...
so this museum has a lot of potential and i understand that it just opened... so i'll give it the benefit of the doubt...
9th floor restaurant, i'm curious what will go on here
6th floor : hands on person at work making art...
5th and 4th floor: coolest floors cuz u can relate to the objects used!
all other floors really kinda not interesting at all...
took us literally 45 minutes to go through the entire thing... hope that it puts in more exhibits!!!
oh and btw its free with suggested donation on a certain day at a certain time if u do ur research =)... and if u're cool enough u can drop it like its hot on some crazy expensive items in their gift store... i mean where else wouold u do it but right near central park duh!
i'll give this place 3 stars for hiring pentagram for their identity design, the awesome touch screens that make you feel like ironman, and for their jewelry floor. but honestly, $15 for a museum that really only has exhibits on 5 tiny floors is reaching.
the current special exhibit on art made of found objects felt like a reach. in the entire museum, only 2 pieces really stood out to me. one being a huge upside down mona lisa composed of different colored thread spools, and when viewed through a special lens, she became tiny, as if looking at her from a distance, right side up and she had a camera in her hand.
that in addition to the informational touch screens (i really did feel like ironman!) that was about all that really interested me. and i swear, i'm SO easily amused and an art person. i love museums, i love art, i'm a designer, but this place really did not satisfy.
if you want to see arts & design, head over to moma. the ticket price there is actually worth what you'll see.
I haven't been to the new location of this museum, which probably makes me a terrible fan. However, I loved visiting the old location near MoMA. Rather than just a museum of stuff on the walls, I felt like this place told you both about the art and the artisan.
Avoid. This museum has no clue about interesting art & design... They changed their name from the American Craft Museum to "MAD" and they are mad indeed. They purchased and then destroyed one of the quirkiest and most interestingly designed building in NYC... Edward Durell Stone's building at 2 Columbus Circle. Boo to them!!
