Museum Will Let Visitors Touch, Take Home Artworks During New Exhibit

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Art museums have simple rules. Visitors are warned to stand behind the line, not to take flash photos and most importantly not to touch the art. But the Jewish Museum — on Fifth Avenue near East 92nd Street — will not just allow, but encourage people to break those rules for its new exhibit "Take Me (I’m Yours)" launching in September.

The exhibit will feature art that museumgoers can touch and even take home with them in order to create a more participatory experience. More than 40 internationally renowned artists such as Uri Aran, Christian Boltanski, Carsten Höller and Yoko Ono will be creating pieces for the exhibit. Some of the pieces featured will be specifically created with this interactive exhibit in mind, according to a press release from the Jewish Museum.

"Take Me (I’m Yours) will create a democratic space for all visitors to participate in the creation and ownership of an artwork, questioning the politics of value, consumerism, and the hierarchical structures of the art market. The exhibition encourages shared experiences and direct engagement with works of art, suggesting alternative ways that artists can live in, contribute to, and gain from society at large," said the press release.

The Jewish Museum launched a Kickstarter campaign on Tuesday, Aug. 9 with the goal of raising $30,000 to fund the creation of more than 400,000 pieces are art for the exhibit. The campaign marks the museum's first foray into crowdfunding.

"Anyone who supports the project on Kickstarter can contribute and enjoy opportunities to take home artwork being produced for the exhibition, limited edition prints by select artists, as well as exclusive opportunities to meet the Take Me (I'm Yours) curators and engage with the exhibition through special events," said a press release sent to Patch.

"Take Me (I'm Yours)" launches Sept. 16, and will run until Feb. 5, 2017. The exhibit was created in 1995 by curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and artist Christian Boltanski at the Serpentine Galleries in London, said the press release. Back then, the exhibit featured works from just 12 artists. The Jewish Museum's curation of the exhibit will be the first on U.S. soil.

[Photo: "NAU EM I ART BILONG YUMI (The art of today belongs to us)" by Lawrence Weiner courtesy of the Jewish Museum.]