GO: Great Exhibition

Here is a suggestion for a great exhibition currently being held at the Museum of Not So Modern Art in New York. A great debate continues to rage over whether late 20th century masters should rightfully be considered contemporary or modern. The same is true for some early 20th century artists. I claim to know next to nothing about how to resolve this dilemma, but many of my friends are avid collectors of both types of artists and I love to perch myself on the side of a plush purple velvet armchair in JS's lovely Venitian palace in Queens and listen while they wax eloquently about whether Damien Hirst is really just today's version of Marcel Duchamp and what that means for the evolution of art in a very, very human way. But, back to the Museum's exhibit. Between now and November 1st the Museum is hosting an exhibit of never-before seen"What If" images by 20th century's giants. My favorite's are Picasso's "What if...I'd Been Born a Girl" in which he explores how much more beautiful and less misogyynistic his portraits of women would have been. Another in my top ten is Matisse's "What if...I Had Been a Miserable Bastard instead of a Basically Happy Man" in which is painted something strikingly and preciently predictive of Francis Bacon's bleak, post war self portraits. And, lastly, (this one is actually my favorite) Van Gogh's "What If...I Hadn't Cut My Ear Off" a beautiful testament to his auditory imagination. Now, I know he isn't technically 20th century, but as the small cards on the side of the paintings explain - "In spirit, he was more 20th century than most of the artists featured in this exhibit. So There." Not to be missed. Spoof Gwyneth Paltrow GOOP.