Ukrainian Museum

Edification value
Entertainment value
Should you go?
Time spent 41 minutes
Best thing I saw or learned Marko Shuhan’s 2016 work “Space Needed, Apply Within,” a crazy hodgepodge of paintings and paints and liquor bottles on shelves.  Like an artist’s studio compressed into a single wall installation. 

The Ukrainian Museum is one that I definitely wouldn’t go to barring this project.  It occupies a sort of blah, to be honest, modern building on a side street off Cooper Square, and has moderate gallery space with temporary exhibits.

Currently on show were contemporary works by Ukrainian American artists, a textile exhibit comparing traditional textiles of the Romanian and Ukrainian parts of the Carpathian Mountains, a small display of traditional woodcarving, and some of the artwork coming out of the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution.

The gallery space is nice, with the requisite great lighting and blond wood floors.

 

 

Here’s some traditional Ukrainian menswear compared with Romanian. 

And “Glory to Heroes!” a cool poster advertising the revolution.

I think the Ukrainian Museum fills its function really well — it gives the community a focal point, and a place to reflect on various aspects of their culture. 

Am I a better person for going there?  A little bit, though I didn’t get a lot out of it.  There was a section on hemp in the textile exhibit and I’m not including a photo of the hemp plant here.  That bespeaks some small amount of good-person-ness.

Should you go?  I gave it 2 Met buttons above, but the answer really is it depends on the exhibits and your interests.  So, maybe?

Reference:  Ukrainian Museum