Proof That the Appreciation of Modern Art is in the Eye of the Beholder



What is art? It’s been a question that’s puzzled philosophers for centuries. In 2016, two teenagers — Kevin Nguye and T.J. Khayatan — decided to act out that question with a prank. They left a pair of glasses on the floor of San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art. The pair then took cover and watched what happened. Visitors to the gallery passed by, looked, looked closer, reflected, and then photographed the spectacles. Though it was a prank that was likely not appreciated by serious artists and museum officials, it was a wonderful reminder that art is actually whatever you feel it is. The young men said the most embarrassing part about the ordeal was having to go back and pick up the glasses as though nothing happened.