I recently visited New York City and decided to visit the “Anyspacewhatever” exhibit at the Guggenheim. As someone who’s last museum was in elementary school during mandatory field trips, I was reluctant to go. However, after seeing a few introductory video clips online and on their website, I was excited to go - afterall, there was a Pinocchio facedown in a tub of water - what other hilarious things could be there! When first coming upon the Guggenheim, you notice the unique architecture as many reviewers on many websites have noted. Feeling artsy already. However, was annoyed that I had only my 2.0 megapixel phone to make note of this classy experience of mine. I would soon find this to be no big deal as pictures are only allowed on the ground level [where ticket purchasing and some parts of the exhibit are located, thought not incredibly noteworthy]. Upon entering the ground level, I was excited to see the Pinocchio I had previously seen, as well as decals of Postsecret- like phrases (www.postsecret.com). The circular areas of the Guggenheim housed the “anyspacewhatever” exhibit and a room on each level housed Catherine Opie’s photography. There were many humorous sayings [humor= awesome in my book] and the audio tour was shockingly really good [I had always seen it as lazy] - you listen to the details of art and such that you want to and skip over anything you aren’t interested in - great!! However, there was much empty space and the rotating hotel room was a huge letdown. A confusing and interesting part of the exhibit was the cappuccino/ espresso stand. People were getting free caffeine from Illy servers and I gladly joined in line. Was it Illy doing a promotion for their espresso machines incorporated in the exhibit? Was the Guggenheim being nice and knew people would need a jolt of caffeine to explore the whole museum? Nope, it was one of the collaborator’s exhibit. Apparently, drinking coffee and standing around is art. Who would have thought - I definitely missed that. There was much empty space and I was not too exhausted by the end - a clear indication that there was not much to the exhibit, and that they had released their coolest part of the exhibit on the internet - the suicidal Pinocchio.

In summary, some hilarious quotes, some interesting aspects [directional signs incorporated into the museum], somehow not satisfying.

Rating: 6