“He prefers to think of them not as art objects but as “confusion machines” -Randy Kennedy of the NY Times.

In the lower east-side, there’s a new museum that has opened up, designed by Carsten Höller. His style and views fit in nicely with a discussion we had as a class regarding art that makes you think. Is it even art? Or is it just science? We decided that it was, indeed, art, but this museum seems to take it a step further. Not only do you have to sign a waiver before entering this museum, but the exhibits seem to require a lot of human participation and interaction. Now some people might say, “If I’m going to be the art, I can simply avoid the museum entrance fee and just go home to my mirror.” However, there is something about being in a museum space that is designed for art that can make even a human seem like a piece of art. There’s something about lying in a tank of water with the temperature of human skin with nude strangers that makes someone feel like he is becoming the art and experiencing it with other people. Is that at the same level as looking in the mirror? I wouldn’t say so.