A resident New Yorker for eighteen years, I have been to my fair share of art museums. The Guggenheim, the Met, the MoMa, even the Frick… you name it, I’ve perused their galleries and soaked up the sun (or frigid winter snow) in their outdoor gardens. However, upon coming to Berkeley last semester, I lost my sense of adventure for museum seeking; perhaps I was lazy, or perhaps the subpar quality of the recent exhibits at the Berkeley Art Museum got me down. Either way, I did not take full advantage of the artistic scene the Bay Area had to offer.

This all changed recently, after a class required me to visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, whose extensive collection of renowned works situated in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District refueled my passion for museum-going. Sadly, the museum will be closing for renovations beginning June 2^nd and will not reopen until 2016. Take advantage of the museum’s final few months (as well as the extensive free time allotted to you via dead week) by hopping on a Montgomery-bound BART and arriving in the artistic throes of the SFMoMa.

The museum’s newest exhibits have proven they are going out with a bang, with showcases ranging from Christian Marclay’s The Clock video installation to photography by Garry Winogrand. My personal favorite was the Lebbeus Woods exhibit, a showcase spotlighting the late architect. Only a museum like the SFMOMA would be able to incorporate the rawness of architectural drawings into a high-end art scene and make the pieces seem warranted. Even if you are not interested in architectural design (like myself), Woods’ work is attention-drawing and easy for anyone to appreciate. The museum was able to procure hundreds of the architect’s plans and even a few three-dimensional sculptures, which are innovative and unlike anything else I have ever seen. The curator’s foreword informs viewers that Woods tended to view buildings as systems instead of places, leading to a series of drawings that resemble narrative stories more than mechanical plans. For example, the “Einstein’s Tomb” series of drawings depict the architect’s design of Cosmic vessels intended to carry Einstein’s cremated ashes across outer space. Many of the other works contain political undertones pertaining to Berlin and the Cold War, with the architect utilizing design as a way to reorganize the current economic and political structure of the world.

After spending an inordinate amount of time in the Lebbeus Woods exhibit I wandered into the Elise S. Haas Bequest modern art collection, featuring over thirty pieces by notable artists like Matisse, Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and more. It is sufficient to say this exhibit blew my mind; never had I seen works of such magnitude before my very eyes. I was dumbfounded by the actuality of Duchamp’s Fountain, which is literally a urinal placed in the middle of an art gallery. The opportunities afforded by this showcase are endless, and seeing that this will probably be the only time in your life you will be able to stand in between a Picasso sculpture and a Matisse painting, I suggest you take advantage while you still can.

Thanks to the “Don’t Be Shy, Don’t Hold Back” exhibit, celebrating the 15^th anniversary of a gift of contemporary art from collectors Vicki and Kent Logan, I found myself drooling over a larger-than-life canvas covered with the strokes of Chuck Close, which was impressively situated next to a bonafide Andy Warhol print. This collection is for the modern art aficionado; the late-20^th-century works derive from New York, England, China and Japan, and feature both well-known pieces and lesser-known works of equal quality. British artist Tracey Emin steals the show with her “Psyco Slut” collage, a purposefully misspelled titular piece that pays homage to her focus on sex, drugs, and life.

If the mind-blowing collection of artwork isn’t enough to drag you into the city, let the promise of

a day well spent in the Mission District do the rest of the talking. The museum is located only a few blocks away from the Montgomery station BART, and is nestled between multiple other art locations like the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Art Institute of San Francisco. With the impending 80 degree-plus temperatures for the week, relax by the Keith Haring sculpture across the street from the museum or stroll through the Yerba Buena Gardens.

Beginning June 2^nd the museum will assume its position “on-the-go,” presented as a travelling exhibit of its finest works. If you aren’t able to escape finals long enough to make it into the city, catch the works over the next three years (hopefully before graduation) at another location in the Bay Area, although it won’t be the same as entering the grandiose doors of the museum with the luxurious option of dining in the outdoor café after an afternoon of art rejuvenation. It’s your call.

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