Saturday, October 21, 2006

Knittah on MOMA

I'll be honest, I have bever been a fan of modern art. I just don't really "get it". But seeing SwatchGrrl at MOMA? That's just fantastic. I especially like Noricum's favorite wilderness painting. And SwatchGrrl's visit to MOMA is the perfect example of why I need to send my knitting where I can't go.

First, let's talk about the line. 20 minutes in line? I would be on the verge of passing out if I tried to stand that long. I usually rely on a wheelchair when I do go to places like that. I don't know if it is a touch of orthostatic intolerance, or just weakness, but a 20 minute line would do me in. Second, the crowd looked huge! At least to me. And this is the other thing that is very difficult for me now. I am easily overwhelmed by sensory overload, so just being around a lot of people is difficult. Going to the mall or the movies (or the worst place: the airport) plain wears me out. If I get too overwhelmed, I feel faint and dizzy,even nauseous. The energy required to filter and process lots of sensory input quickly depletes my reserve.

I still love museums. In my healthy life, I revelled in them. Give me a museum, and I would be entertained for hours. My funniest museum story is being at the Louvre in Paris when I was 16. I was an exchange student for a month that summer. One day I was sitting on a bench in the museum, reloading my camera, and a very American couple (we're talking plaid pants here) sat down next to me and started talking. I pretended not to understand them. It wouldn't surprise me if I had some English language tag on my backpack that gave me away, but I enjoyed pretending to be French.

I do still go to museums, but rarely. The last time was in February of this year when my husband took me to the National Museum of the American Indian. I used my wheelchair, and it was exhausting. But it was worth it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i wonder if museums would be willing to have a special opening for people who are similarly unable to visit because of the crowds, etc?

when i was little, i remember the Boston Museum of Science having a sleep-over night for Girl Scouts. we had full access to most of the museum with the lights dim and no one else there. it was so memorable!

so, if they can do it for the Scouts, why not adults with disabilities who can't otherwise enjoy the treasures within?

great post - your reflections on the particular travels of swatchy will really be revealing to the readers!

better make sure that whatever swatchy is travling with me to China isn't easily overwhelmed - you ain't never seen a crowd until you've been to China. ;o)