Evening at SF MoMA

When you have limited time to visit a place, time counts. I find it extremely frustrating, that most of museums close at 5 pm, limiting your evening plans. In many places, you can just spend the evening outside, just not when it is raining. Luckily, some places offer extended hours one day a week. And San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (or SF MoMA) is one of those.

I do have a love-hate relationship with museums of modern art. It sometimes astonishes me what people consider an art. I often wonder if the black canvas or molded fruit plate is considered creative art just because somebody thought to present it as such. And yet, I enjoy discovering just what the artist and curators chose for the current exhibits. Where another complaint comes in. I am used to museums having static displays- each time you visit, you are seeing the same objects, no surprises. Maybe an additional thematic exhibit or two. But, as I discovered to my great disappointment recently in New York MoMA, it is not the case with museums of modern art. The museum collections are rotated, and you might not see a single same piece next time you come. For example, both museums have some works of Ansel Adamas or Dorothea Lange, none of which is currently on display. I was, however, able to see in SF MoMA some of Edward Weston’s work and learn about Tina Modotti, as their photographs are opening the “Photography in Mexico” exhibit. It was worth it, after all.

When we were leaving, I saw this scene, and quickly shot it with my iPhone. My camera was already hiding in my bag, and also I did not want the shutter to ruin the moment. These people are either watching scenes displaying on the three-dimensional screen consisting of small white balls in front of them or observe the soiree happening at the entrance hall, two floors below them.