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The Museum of Modern Love

by Heather Rose

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3242579,599 (3.81)10
"Arky Levin has reached a creative dead end. Guilty and restless after an unexpected separation from his wife, almost by chance he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life. Based on a real piece of performance art, the installation that the fictional Arky Levin discovers is inexplicably powerful. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from artist Marina Abramovi for as short or long a period of time as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself returning daily to watch others with Abramovi. As the performance unfolds over the course of 75 days, so too does Arky. As he bonds with other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do"--… (more)
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The Museum of Modern Love is a tale set against the backdrop of performance artist Marina Abramovic's gruelling 75 day performance at New York's MoMA, The Artist is Present.

Countless people came to MoMA to see Abramovic sit quietly at a table and stare quietly at a series of volunteers who sat opposite her. What does she see and think, and what do the volunteers experience?

Rose's main characters are people who become fascinated with Abramovic's show and find themselves drawn back again and again to observe this strange performance. They include: Levin, a composer rejected by his grievously ill wife; Jane, a recently-bereaved art teacher; and Brittika, a Eurasian arts student doing a thesis on Abramovic. Their reactions to what they see in Abramovic's performance allow them to break through creative and emotional barriers in their own lives and reach towards resolutions.

The novel's narrative voice occasionally drifts into a more obscure viewpoint that seems to be some kind of muse helping the characters towards these outcomes. Marina's dead mother also appears at times. I confess to not quite grasping the import of these devices, and they didn't do much for me, but overall I thought this an excellent and original novel. ( )
  gjky | Apr 9, 2023 |
Parts of this I LOVED! But others not so much. I don't know much about the art world and there was a lot of name dropping and references that went over my head and would be lost on me. Also there were parts that were very poetic and metaphorical and I'm sure many readers loved, but it wasn't for me. These two aspects make up over half the book so for me, 1/2 was 5 stars and 1/2 was 1 star. ( )
  TheHobbyist | Mar 6, 2023 |
4/21/19 Phew! Will have to mull over my thoughts on this one for a few days, but if you like novels about artists or creativity or books that help you think about what life is all about, you might like this one.

6/29/19 Mulling it over for a few days turned into almost a few months! I wrote a blog post about the book that you can read here: https://chriswolak.com/2019/06/29/the-museum-of-modern-love-by-heather-rose/
( )
  Chris.Wolak | Oct 13, 2022 |
Wonderful. ( )
  Tosta | Jul 5, 2021 |
My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/uO6j6km2S7s

Enjoy! ( )
  booklover3258 | May 24, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 25 (next | show all)
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For David, and for Marina, and all people of art.
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He was not my first musician, Arky Levin. Nor my least successful. Mostly by his age potential is squandered or realised. But this is not a story of potential. It is a story of convergence. Such things are rarer than you might think. Coincidence, I’ve heard, is God’s way of being discreet. But convergence is more than that. It is something that, once set in motion, will have an unknown effect. It is a human condition to admire hindsight. I always thought foresight was so much more useful.
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"Arky Levin has reached a creative dead end. Guilty and restless after an unexpected separation from his wife, almost by chance he stumbles upon an art exhibit that will change his life. Based on a real piece of performance art, the installation that the fictional Arky Levin discovers is inexplicably powerful. Visitors to the Museum of Modern Art sit across a table from artist Marina Abramovi for as short or long a period of time as they choose. Although some go in skeptical, almost all leave moved. And the participants are not the only ones to find themselves changed by this unusual experience: Arky finds himself returning daily to watch others with Abramovi. As the performance unfolds over the course of 75 days, so too does Arky. As he bonds with other people drawn to the exhibit, he slowly starts to understand what might be missing in his life and what he must do"--

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