Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:40 West 53rd St.
New York, New York
Tel:
(212) 956-3535
The Museum of Arts and Design, of Manhattan, New York, plays host to over 300,000 visitors a year, all of whom come for the Museum's extensive collection of contemporary hand-made objects in a wide variety of media.
Also known by its acronym MAD, the Museum offers something for everybody who is at all interested in the study of art. There are four floors of galleries serving both established artists already on the scene, and providing a helping hand to struggling and up-and coming artists. At the center of the museum there is a 150 seat auditorium for featured lectures, performances, as well as the screening of artistic films.
At the museum, make sure you visit the "Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary" exhibit, where you'll find a collection of ordinary, everyday objects turned into modern masterpieces by 50 internationally recognized artists representing countries from all over the globe, including Ingo Maurer, Tejo Remy, and Tara Donovan. Donovan's critically acclaimed "Bluffs" is composed of massive piles of buttons delicately placed one atop the other. There is also a great collection of butterflies made of old LPs! Audio tours to this exhibit are available by making a simple call from your cell phone – no equipment rentals!
In the Museum's "Permanently MAD" collection, be amazed by this astounding assortment of ceramic, wood, glass, metal and other mixed media works. Some of the objects on display here have never been exhibited anywhere else, so make sure you check it out so that you don't miss anything!
The Museum of Arts and Design is located at its new building, at 2 Columbus Circle. You can't miss it – it's got a gigantic representation of the word "HI" etched across four stories!