Though I’ve never aspired to be a visual artist — or even studied art history in a formal way — I’ve always been enchanted, as a traveler, by modern art museums.
I recall being so fascinated by what I saw at the 1997 Gwangju Biennale in Korea that, more than one decade later, I bought the exhibition catalogue (entitled “Unmapping the Earth”) on eBay, at no small expense, because I wanted to reengage with what I had seen there.
I don’t systematically seek out art museums when I go to new places, but I find myself returning to institutions like the Whitney in New York, the Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City, and Pompidou in Paris, for the inexpressible way the art there fires my imagination.
These photos come from the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Strasbourg, which Kiki and I visited last fall. I think it’s amusing that, while both of these photos are candid, they make us look like we’re performing the role of “attentive art-museum patrons.”
One of the reasons I respond to modern art museums (more so than institutions showcasing traditional or historical art) is that they have a sense of humor. One standout in the Strasbourg Museum was Jimmy Durham’s 2004 video “Smashing” — a hilariously absurdist (and somewhat mesmerizing) sendup of bureaucracy:
Note: “Dispatches” are short vignettes, profiles, and mini-essays written and posted from the road, often in tandem with my Instagram account. I don’t host a “comments” section, but I’m happy to hear your thoughts via my Contact page.