Forget the Museum of Modern Art or even the Guggenheim. Those are passé to Bergdorf Goodman nowadays.
The new kid on the block, or rather the newest addition to a long history of fantastic window displays, is the American Visionary Art Museum. The Manhattan museum aims to showcase works of “art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.”
I’m not sure anyone could peruse the collection, which includes a robot family, a pink wooden horse, and an enormous poodle-on-wheels named Fifi, and not think they arise from complete originality. Though it seems an odd setting for the showcase, the artwork is interspersed with some fashion, which are works of art in their own right, like Louboutin shoes and Valentino handbags.
I’m not sure if Bergdorf was merely aiming to surprise with this endeavor or had a genuine interest in highlighting some off-the-wall art. Either way, New Yorkers and tourists alike are bound to stop, look, and be entertained. Isn’t that the real goal anyway?
