DAY 19

ARTISTIC ODDITIES

The Museum of Bad Art

PRESERVING OUR “MASTERPIECES”

Where does bad art go to die? The trash, a landfill, or eBay^®? Not if the Museum of Bad Art has anything to say about it. Since 1994, MOBA has been building a collection of really bad art. From Mana Lisa, a testosterone-laden take on one of the world’s most famous paintings (at right), to Bone Juggling Dog in a Hula Skirt, which needs no explanation, the museum staff diligently selects only the worst of the worst for their permanent collection.

Mana Lisa by Andrea Schmidt. 16" x 12", oil on canvas. Donated by the artist. MOBA catalog #370. Courtesy of The Museum of Bad Art.

MOBA has grown from a handful of pieces kept in the basement of one of the founders to more than 500 pieces housed in a warehouse and two separate galleries in the Boston area.

You might think that anyone can produce bad art; MOBA disagrees. They set a very high standard for the works that are accepted into their permanent collection. According to MOBA’s curator-in-chief, Michael Frank, a work “must have been created by someone who was seriously attempting to make an artistic statement—one that has gone horribly awry in either its concept or execution.”

As their mission statement declares, they’re the “only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition, and celebration of bad art in all its forms.” —GRG