At the Whitney Museum coat check, I swear my recollection is they just take your bag and give you a plastic chip. At MOMA they make you open your bag, ask you about the contents, and reject certain items! Here's how a recent visit went down:
"Sir, you have to open your bag."
"You're kidding. OK, check it out. There's a scarf in here, a music software manual, my Daytimer..."
"What's in that pouch?"
"Checkbook..."
"I'll have to ask you to carry that."
"You're kidding. Say--when did you start doing this, interrogating people about their bag contents?"
"I've only worked here six months but" (eyes widening) "of course all bags have to be inspected since 9/11."
"Yeah, right, but that was six years ago!"
At this point some tourists were looking over uneasily, wondering what the "scene" was about.
Thanks, MOMA, for setting a friendly, contemplative mood at the entrance to your museum.
I've experienced this at MOMA, too. I think MOMA is trying to save money on insurance by keeping valuables out of the coat check. Last month I had to identify and carry my camera and cell phone.
It's not the fault of the clerks that it seems like an interrogration, though. They would probably get shit if long lines build up.
I could make a list of things they could deaccession to pay the insurance shortfall and make happy clerks, too.
Oh, I blame the public who will throw a fit over anything. They want you to take your checkbook not because of 9/11 but because some bratty clients who forgot their checkbooks at home have probably accused coat check staff of stealing in the past. I very well remember the days of working customer service and it's not pretty.
There used to be an old maxim, "the customer is always right."
The concept is that if you treat people nicely they want to come back, then you make more money. Brilliant! Who'd a thunk it?
just wait standing there till they say thank you. tic, tic, tic, tic, tic....
+ thank god for ATMs.
I'm not sure I'm up to a front page rant about this, so I'll say it here for now. The new MOMA is one of the most unpleasant places you will spend time in. There was something comforting about the old threadbare carpet and Alfred Barr's walkthrough timeline. You could just hang out in one of those rooms looking at stuff and not feel pressured. The new space has a message and it's "move along." It starts with the argument clinic masochism of having some hired goon grill you about the contents of your bag and tell you what's acceptable. The police state vibe continues throughout, with the hovering aggressive guards everywhere. One of them yelled at two people whose fingers were too near the glass in front of a painting. Not the painting, the glass. Just get some Windex and wipe off the prints, Jesus.
Rooms and art movements all interconnect with each other--like, wow, art is not linear, who knew? No one really knows where to look or where to go so they're constantly backtracking through the maze with panicky eyes looking for exits or some idea of where to go next. Every room--not some rooms, every room--has the names of the donors in huge letters just above the level of the paintings. Practically the first thing you see when you enter a new room is The James and Selma Robberbaron Gallery, followed by the The Harvey and Minerva Fleecem Gallery, ad infinitum throughout the museum. It's so nouveau riche and tacky.
The vibe is sterile, chaotic. I suppose Rem Koolhaas would call it delirious but it's not good delirious. There are lots of great works of art but you feel strange stopping and staring at them too long. People look at you funny--"hey you're supposed to be circulating with the rest of us."
Oh yeah, and building triangular supports so the Water Lilies wrap at the ends like a Cinerama screen just looks dumb.
I will probably polish up this rant but those are some initial thoughts.
At the moma in SF they make you use a pencil if you want to take notes. I asked the gaurd if that meant they thought I coudn't fuck up an artwork with a pencil. "Because dude, I could totally do some damage with this thing".
The gaurd wasn't allowed to think it was funny.
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At the Whitney Museum coat check, I swear my recollection is they just take your bag and give you a plastic chip. At MOMA they make you open your bag, ask you about the contents, and reject certain items! Here's how a recent visit went down:
"Sir, you have to open your bag."
"You're kidding. OK, check it out. There's a scarf in here, a music software manual, my Daytimer..."
"What's in that pouch?"
"Checkbook..."
"I'll have to ask you to carry that."
"You're kidding. Say--when did you start doing this, interrogating people about their bag contents?"
"I've only worked here six months but" (eyes widening) "of course all bags have to be inspected since 9/11."
"Yeah, right, but that was six years ago!"
At this point some tourists were looking over uneasily, wondering what the "scene" was about.
Thanks, MOMA, for setting a friendly, contemplative mood at the entrance to your museum.
- tom moody 2-06-2007 8:00 am
I've experienced this at MOMA, too. I think MOMA is trying to save money on insurance by keeping valuables out of the coat check. Last month I had to identify and carry my camera and cell phone.
It's not the fault of the clerks that it seems like an interrogration, though. They would probably get shit if long lines build up.
- F I T N R (guest) 2-06-2007 8:32 am
I could make a list of things they could deaccession to pay the insurance shortfall and make happy clerks, too.
- tom moody 2-06-2007 8:47 am
Oh, I blame the public who will throw a fit over anything. They want you to take your checkbook not because of 9/11 but because some bratty clients who forgot their checkbooks at home have probably accused coat check staff of stealing in the past. I very well remember the days of working customer service and it's not pretty.
- Ali (guest) 2-06-2007 6:44 pm
There used to be an old maxim, "the customer is always right."
The concept is that if you treat people nicely they want to come back, then you make more money. Brilliant! Who'd a thunk it?
- tom moody 2-06-2007 6:57 pm
just wait standing there till they say thank you. tic, tic, tic, tic, tic....
+ thank god for ATMs.
- bill 2-06-2007 7:26 pm
I'm not sure I'm up to a front page rant about this, so I'll say it here for now. The new MOMA is one of the most unpleasant places you will spend time in. There was something comforting about the old threadbare carpet and Alfred Barr's walkthrough timeline. You could just hang out in one of those rooms looking at stuff and not feel pressured. The new space has a message and it's "move along." It starts with the argument clinic masochism of having some hired goon grill you about the contents of your bag and tell you what's acceptable. The police state vibe continues throughout, with the hovering aggressive guards everywhere. One of them yelled at two people whose fingers were too near the glass in front of a painting. Not the painting, the glass. Just get some Windex and wipe off the prints, Jesus.
Rooms and art movements all interconnect with each other--like, wow, art is not linear, who knew? No one really knows where to look or where to go so they're constantly backtracking through the maze with panicky eyes looking for exits or some idea of where to go next. Every room--not some rooms, every room--has the names of the donors in huge letters just above the level of the paintings. Practically the first thing you see when you enter a new room is The James and Selma Robberbaron Gallery, followed by the The Harvey and Minerva Fleecem Gallery, ad infinitum throughout the museum. It's so nouveau riche and tacky.
The vibe is sterile, chaotic. I suppose Rem Koolhaas would call it delirious but it's not good delirious. There are lots of great works of art but you feel strange stopping and staring at them too long. People look at you funny--"hey you're supposed to be circulating with the rest of us."
Oh yeah, and building triangular supports so the Water Lilies wrap at the ends like a Cinerama screen just looks dumb.
I will probably polish up this rant but those are some initial thoughts.
- tom moody 2-06-2007 7:53 pm
At the moma in SF they make you use a pencil if you want to take notes. I asked the gaurd if that meant they thought I coudn't fuck up an artwork with a pencil. "Because dude, I could totally do some damage with this thing".
The gaurd wasn't allowed to think it was funny.
- joester 2-09-2007 1:55 am