At the Museum of Modern Art by Peter Cherches

 



The Varieties of Aesthetic Experience

When we visit a museum, we anticipate having a number of aesthetic experiences prompted by the great art. However, there are those aesthetic experiences we might encounter that are equally uplifting and oh, so luscious. Peter Cherches captures one that's absolutely scrumptious.

At the Museum of Modern Art

There's a woman with a great ass staring at a Kandinsky and writing in a notebook. I can't stand people who take notes in museums, but I stare at her ass anyway. She takes a look at what she's writing. I take a quick look at the Kandinsky and get back to her ass. She gets back to the Kandinsky. I take a quick peek at her notebook, another quick look at the Kandinsky, and then get back to her ass. She starts writing again. I watch her write. She looks at the Kandinsky again. I look at the Kandinsky again. She reads over her notes. I get back to her ass. She gets back to the Kandinsky and stares at it for an inordinately long time. When I get tired of her ass I get back to the Kandinsky. When I get tired of the Kandinsky I get back to her ass. Some days I get tired of the Kandinsky quicker and some days I get tired of her ass quicker. When I get tired of her ass and Kandinsky completely I go and stare at the woman who takes notes in front of "Starry Night."

 

At the Museum of Modern Art is one of nearly two dozen Peter Cherches prose poems and midget fictions collected in Snacks, published back in 1981 by Gegenschein Press