MoMA – Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects

Here’s the thing: at first glance you might cast off this new show at the Museum of Modern Art as something you’re just not into. Fair enough. “Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects” does sound pretty out there, but give it a shot! It is so neat, and there is so much to see/read/watch/do you can just skip by the pieces that interest you less. Warning: you’ll be surprised how few you'll choose to skip!

Botanicalls, by Robert Faludi, Kate Hartman, Kati London and Rebecca Bray, is a little device that uses moisture sensors to send you messages from your houseplants via voicemail and twitter. That's right, if your houseplants need to be watered, they’ll tweet at you. Don’t worry, though, because they're not ungrateful complainers. If you are taking good care of them, you’ll get a little “thank you.” 

Frank Warren's PostSecret started out as a project in which he left blank postal cards around public places with a message to the finder of the card asking to send it back with a secret. The project hit that illustrious tipping point and spread like wildfire. People began making their own postcards and sending them to the PostSecret address. He initially passed out 3,000 cards, but to date Warren has received close to half a million secrets. The messages are sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes overly graphic. There is something so charming about a handmade, hand-delivered postcard, especially amid the futuristic projects throughout this exhibition, even if it is scanned in and displayed on a flat screen monitor.

While Inspiration Lunch is about exploring what NYC has to offer block by block, the fantastic interactive online mapping project MyBlockNYC.com is about piecing together a portrait of life in NYC through user-submitted videos. The site was designed by Alex Kalman, Alex Rickard and Igal Nassima. The videos are 1 minute long and limited to 1 city block. On your next Inspirational Lunch, break out your smartphone, flipcam, etc and submit one! (And when you do, don't forget to share the link!)

Talk to Me is so ridiculously accessible, interactive and informational, you might need a quiet place to clear your head afterward. Try the watermelon gazpacho and a table by the window overlooking the Sculpture Garden at MoMA’s Terrace 5. Or head down for an afternoon cocktail at The Bar Room. You might even turn off your phone for a bit, especially if you tweeted all those hashtags throughout the exhibition... 

Ingredients:

Venue: MoMA - Museum of Modern Art

Artists: Robert Faludi, Kate Hartman, Kati London, Rebecca Bray; Frank Warren; Alex Kalman, Alex Rickard, Igal Nassima 

Streets: 53rd St between 5th & 6th Aves

Eats: Terrace 5; The Bar Room

Map: