For many young college students, the thought of spending an entire day trekking around a museum does not sound particularly interesting or pleasant. Up until quite recently, I too was not convinced there was much appeal in museum exploration. I thought there were more exciting activities I could fill my free time with. However, over winter break I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City and had an amazing time.
A friend who is much more artistically inclined than I am asked me to go with her; begrudgingly, I agreed. I did not anticipate how much I would genuinely enjoy exploring the museum and learning about the various pieces. Each floor featured different yet equally impressive exhibits. In roughly two hours, I was able to see Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell Soup Cans, numerous Picasso paintings, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and many other interesting works of art.
Every piece in the museum was labeled, making the works easy to learn about and understand. The majority of the art pieces had compelling deeper meanings. The MOMA even had a beautiful gift shop filled with fun art related trinkets.
Modern art museums are not like typical museums – they have an inexplicable spunk, making them perfect for college students. If you are not an art history buff, going to a modern art museum is the perfect way to dip your toe into the world of museum exploration. Modern art focuses on artistic exploration and regularly includes carefree and progressive themes. These characteristics make modern art exciting, especially for younger people who have yet to fully discover what their taste in art is.
The RISD Museum is extremely close to campus and a great starting point for modern art exploration. If you want to plan a larger adventure, you could take the train up to Boston for the day and visit one of Boston’s many modern art museums. Two of the most famous modern art museums in Boston are the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Fine Arts. There are modern art museums in most large cities in the United States and they usually offer discounts to students. The next time you and your friends are trying to come up with something fun to do, seriously consider taking a trip to your closest modern art museum and seeing what it has to offer!