12 Adorable (and Hilarious) Kid Reviews of the MoMA

Modern art isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t get it, as evidenced by a few of the comment cards submitted as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s “I went to MoMA” project. To date, visitors have uploaded nearly 32,000 comment cards. Some of the best come from children, whose observations of the museum and its art, whether they’re funny or observant, are always priceless.

1. “YOU CALL YOUR SELF A MUSEUM!”

Visitors to MoMA can enjoy paintings by Andrew Wyeth, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein; walk through a sculpture garden; and check out special exhibitions. But none of that impressed Annabelle, a girl from New York, who didn’t see what she expected at the museum—and left a scathing review on a comment card expressing her disappointment: “saw a coat closet trash and two water fountains I’m very disapointed I did not see a dinasour you call your self a museum!”

2. “I THOUGHT IT WAS GOOD”

When Lorenzo came to New York from England, he had a much better time at MoMA than Annabelle. Among some of the more traditional works of art, he also saw the museum’s Tim Burton exhibition: “I saw the stary night and the boggie woogie and the musicians and water lilies and I thought it was good.” He topped off his enthusiastic review with a drawing of a snowman on a cake.

3. “WISHED I HAD GONE TO THE GUGENHIEM”

This young reviewer wasn’t so thrilled with MoMA, and wished he’d gone to the Guggenheim, perhaps to check out Piet Mondrian’s Tableau No. 2/Composition No. VII or Salvador Dalí’s Birth of Liquid Desires instead. This is in direct contrast to the unnamed child who left a review saying MoMA was “1,000,000,000,000,000,000 better than the Guggenheim!”

4. “I RAN AROUND IN CIRCLES UNTIL I FELL DOWN AND THREW UP”

Even art museums can be like playgrounds, at least for this young visitor. This kid wasn’t the only one vomiting: Pat from NYC “saw a baby throw up” on his visit to MoMA.

5. “IT WAS LIKE A DREAM!”

On her visit to MoMA, Tamara from Vancouver wrote that she “saw amazing artists. It was like a dream! Here is a fish.” And then she drew an aquarium. (Perhaps she was inspired by Paul Klee’s Around the Fish?)

6. “IT WAS BUTUFL”

Maia didn’t leave any indication of what she saw when the visited MoMA, but she liked what she saw. “it was butufl,” she declared. “what are you going to have in April! I mite come and see it. it mite be butufl agen.”

7. “I SAW A BIG COLORUL PANTING. I THOUGHT IT WAS BIRD’S”

Art is about appreciating what’s on a canvas, sure, but it’s also about how you interpret what you see—a lesson Scarlett from Atlanta learned while visiting MoMA. “I saw a big colorful panting,” she wrote on her comment card. “I thought it was bird’s My mom said you can think of it as anything. I also liked the berdmade.”

Of course, not everyone appreciates their mom bringing them to a museum. Solo from Norway wrote that “I went to MoMA and… because MY MOM Made me to it. Now i’m going to eat,” then drew a few waves.

8. “I WAS THIRSTY; OVER ALL IT WAS COOL”

Nobody likes to wait in line, least of all kids. But Dario didn’t seem to mind that much: “The line was long. I was hungry. I was thirsty; so over all it was COOL,” he wrote on his comment card, signing with a big smiley face and a “Dario wuz here.”

9. “ROFLMAO”

Vesko from “Serbia!!!” wrote on a comment card that “I dont like MOMA because I dont understand anything.” Then he crossed out MoMA and wrote “ROFlMAO.”

10. “MY FAVORITE PART WAS WHEN SOME THING LOOKS CREEPY”

New York City kid Merlion noted on a comment card  that “My favorite part was when some thing looks creepy.” Perhaps inspired by the museum’s Burton exhibit, the youth drew a creepy person, a creepy heart, and a creepy ghost.

11. “I ALSO SAW A REALLY BIG RACE CAR. MY FAVORATE”

In addition to traditional forms of art like paintings and sculptures, MoMA’s collection includes many objects, ranging from chairs and Apple Computers to a WWII-era helicopter and a Ferrari Formula 1 Racing Car. It was the latter that really thrilled Giles, a New York City student. He said on his comment card that he “saw lots of Diego rivera paintings” on his visit to MoMA, but that “I also saw a really Big Race car” which was “my favorate.”

12. “YOUR A WIZARD HARRY THEY SHOULD DO A HP EXHIBIT”

This young visitor knows you can never have enough Harry Potter exhibits—and one at the MoMA could bring whole new meaning to the phrase “Dark Arts.”