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| - There are two kinds of people that go through the Mattress Factory: People that love it, and people that walk out and find themselves muttering under their breath about installation art. As my active followers are aware, I'm a classical art/performing arts person. If you come from a music background, the Mattress Factory is the John Cage of this realm. This whole museum is a 4'33". I have issues with this kind of art. BUT it is an interesting thing, and if you have never seen installation art, give it a chance. It's impressive that a city the size of Pittsburgh has this kind of gallery.
There are permanent and temporary exhibits, and some are more interesting than others. I find some of the art to be in terribly bad taste, but that's my opinion. As compared to major cities, though, I do not find this to be on the same caliber in quality. Sorry. There are two buildings you can see, and neither are particularly large. CMU students get free admission, and there was a student discount if your school does not have an agreement with the museum.
While I think the concept of the Mattress Factory is admirable, there were a couple aspects that I think could be worked on. First, the building was freezing. Replacing the windows would make this museum much more tolerable in the winter because the drafty areas were not enjoyable. Second, the entrance is confusing. Google maps does not have the right entrance, and this is not a particularly great neighborhood in Pittsburgh. There is also not enough lot parking, which is again off-putting in this neighborhood. Third, the prices are a tad steep considering there are much larger museums and galleries with similar or smaller admission fees.
Most of the museum staff was very friendly and helpful, although some of the "security" people left a bit to be desired.
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