Post-Retailism

The pick of the museum store litter

Comments (0) By Chad Smith Tuesday, Mar 8 2005

Most museum gift shops offer items that fit one of the following categories: art-themed, art-stamped, or art replica. This state of affairs is unacceptable, given that we live in a time when stores like Design Within Reach and Moss treat the retail experience as a museum visit. What museum shops have to offer, beyond their adjacency to rare and/or specialized collections of objects, is their unique access to artists. To champion, and perhaps extend, this interesting trend, below is a selection of items that reflect the special place museums occupy in the world of retail.

photo: Courtesy of the Guggenheim Museum Store

Jeff Koons Puppy Vase

Details

I Heart NY; I Hate NY
by Alonso Duralde

An Art Lover's Ramble Through Williamsburg
by Allen Frame

Sage Advice From Savvy's Beauty and Skin Care Guru
by Product Guy

A Trio of Indoor Picnics for Lovers and Lucky Others
by LD Beghtol

He Simply Won't Do Cuts Longer Than Chin Length
by Corina Zappia

Making (and Faking) Fashion, Your Way
by Corina Zappia

Spring Music Rites and Wrongs
by Dave White

Talking With Vintage Cookbook Retailer Bonnie Slotnick
by LD Beghtol

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THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM [1071 Fifth Avenue, 212-423-3500] has my favorite object: the Jeff Koons puppy vase, a brilliant tie-in to the big puppy in Bilbao. Limited edition of 3,000, only $1,850 each.

Whenever my iPod needs shaking up, I head for the DIA:CHELSEA[522 West 22nd Street, 212-229-2744, currently closed for renovation, so shop online at diacenter.org]. Think of their CDs (especially the one by On Kawara) as replayable works of art. Priced to move at $13 to $15.

THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART[945 Madison Avenue, 212-570-3676] leads the way with artist-commissioned objects—the best is Jenny Holzer's "Use What Is Dominant" fruit-punch-anxiety bowl, available in a limited edition of 200 for $375 each. Is it an object or a conversation piece?

Rock your inner sculptor's world with stone-carving tools and materials from THE NOGUCHI MUSEUM [9-01 33rd Road, Long Island City, Queens, 718-204-7088). Tool sets start at $80, and a five-pound block of virgin alabaster is $22.

Stone Carving Tools from the Isamu Noguchi Museum
photo: Courtesy of Sculpture House casting

THE SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM [39 Battery Place, 212-732-3039] sells a limited selection of images of famous skyscrapers under construction, from early-20th-century marvels to some of the World Trade Center. Each 8 x 10 print is $20.