Contemporary v. permanent

Cate McQuaid has a good piece in the Globe this morning, mulling the ICA's decision to start a permanent collection to adorn its new home on the waterfront. Good idea to start with truly contemporary, ie 21st century, works. But the whole notion of a permanent collection is tricky. Up till now the ICA, like Mass MoCA, may have actually benefitted from having no space or no money to start stockpiling the art. It helps keep MoCA of the moment, that's for sure, although when a temporary exhibit turns out to be a turkey, that can be a problem. We were out at MoCA a couple of weeks ago, and I was disappointed by Carsten Hoeller's much-anticipated "Amusement Park" (above). The exhibit in MoCA's giant Building 5 gallery involves several real midway rides, slowed down to barely visible movement, their lights dimmed or fluttering in the darkened space. It was supposed to be disorienting and envigorating and surreal, but mostly it was just dark and boring.