Last Saturday night, MoMA hosted the most recent installment of its after-hours art party series PopRally. This month’s event “Reliquary House” was a mulitmedia performance by Pitchfork recognized musician Oneohtrix Point Never and artist Nate Boyce. The event gives hipper-than-thou museum goers a chance to explore MoMA’s hallowed halls in the haze of nighttime and pale ale. The bar is sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery and the crowd is sponsored by…Brooklyn.

In the past few years performers have included Patti Smith, Cat Power, and Sigur Rós. This year’s events have centered around everything from video games to Lynne Ramsay’s new film We Need to Talk About Kevin. The next PopRally event is January 10—an “exhibition viewing” and “cocktail reception” for soon-to-close show “New Photography 2011.” The event is only $12 (for an open bar!) and DJ Japanster will provide the musical entertainment. Obviously. So, for future MoMA partying endeavours, after the jump are five things we learned at MoMA PopRally. 

1. MoMA is better after 3 beers

After one, contemporary art became a little bit more understandable. After two, it started to really mean something, like, Steve McQueen really gets what I’m saying about identity politics. After three? The MoMA atrium just became your new favorite bar.

2. Art History TAs go to museums Even on Their Days Off

What’s even more awkward than glancing at your Twentieth Century Art TA from afar in Avery? Doing the same thing at MoMA. Seeing the TA you had a faux-crush on all semester in the real world is as weird as seeing your high school algebra teacher at the grocery store—and they’re both probably wearing sweaters from Goodwill.

3. “Contemporary Art from the Collection” is the perfect place for after-hours dining

MoMA felt kinda like John Jay on Friday, if John Jay served decent food (or beer) and stayed open past eight. The second floor galleries showed Rirkrit Tiravanija’s food installation (“Untitled” Free), in which three happy chefs served up rice and thai green curry to happy snackers, and in Felix Gonzalez Torres’ “Untitled” (Placebo), silver cellophane wrapped candies (the kind you don’t want to get on Halloween) filled the floor of an entire gallery. Yes, eating candy off the floor seems like a bad idea, and maybe blame it on the Brewery (see #1), but they were pineapple-flavored, and delicious.

4. You can’t take the midtown out of MoMA (see the “business casual” contingent of the crowd)

Even the thick walls of a white cube couldn’t block out the fact that MoMA’s on 53rd street. So, interspersed with the Yeah-I-Just-Stepped-Out-of-A-Wes-Anderson-Movie PopRally-ers was a healthy minority of “business casual” bros, bopping along to the noise music in Brooks Brothers shirts.

5. MoMA is trying really really hard to be as cool as PS1

Ok, so some of the PopRally events have actually been at PS1, but that doesn’t change the fact that MoMA’s midtown location and commitment to the Greenbergian classics makes it significantly more stuffy than its Queens based cousin. PopRally is MoMA’s answer to PS1’s Warm Up and the only reason for artsy twenty-somethings to spend Saturday night in midtown.

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