offManhattan

As sizes go, huge is usually the preferred measure, after all, America runs on doughnuts. But even in New York, with its bevy of enormity, there is room for small, or, if you prefer, niche. New York, in all its outsized glory, exists as a sum of its parts, a collection of disparate neighbors and neighborhoods, co-mingling their interests. Fixating on pursuits, small to all others but themselves.

This is never more evident than at the Micro Museum on Smith Street in Boerum Hill, a devoted art space in Brooklyn whose purpose is as much to incubate talented, professional artists in the medium of visual arts as it is to promote their work to the outside world. The museum, founded in 1986 by William and Kathleen Laziza “as an arts incubator for mixed media creativity and community leadership,” exhibits the work of contemporary American artists. There is a special focus on digital art, including an archive of videotapes by cutting edge New York artists. The Micro Museum also has a distinguished audio exhibit of a 78 RPM philharmonic music record collection, which was received from the the Metropolitan Museum in 1990.

The museum is only open to the public on Saturdays, 12pm-7pm, at $2 per person but there are also educational field trips and special museum tours available. Its current exhibition is “Metaphoric Sunrise/Sunset,” an artistic distillation of the effects of light and night on Earth as it relates to their greater cosmic origin. It runs until February 21, 2008.

For worthwhile distractions nearby I would recommend brunch at the funky French bistro-antique shop, Sherwood Cafe. Its rustic food and setting might temper the eclectic multimedia art experience you just had. For those choosing to arrive in the evening, there are other afternoon diversions like comic book reading, the Brooklyn Inn, and Court Street.

How to get there: The Micro Museum is located on Smith St. between Pacific and Dean St., one block away from the Bergen Street F station. (123 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 718.797.3116, micromuseum.com)

Photos: Courtesy of Micro Museum

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