Entertainment

Among art exhibits, this one rains supreme

Visitors gather in the new 'Rain Room' installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan.

Visitors gather in the new ‘Rain Room’ installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan. (UPI)

Visitors gather in the new 'Rain Room' installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan.

Visitors gather in the new ‘Rain Room’ installation at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan. (Astrid Stawiarz/New York Post)

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA.

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA. (Tamara Beckwith/New York Post)

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA.

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA. (Tamara Beckwith/New York Post)

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA.

People wait in lines for the Rain Room at MOMA. (Tamara Beckwith/New York Post)

Ten-hour wait? No problem!

It’s the longest line in NYC (and there’s not a cronut in sight!) with New Yorkers waiting 10 hours at a time to soak up rain exhibit at MoMA

Would you pay $25 to get rained on? 50,000 New Yorkers have done just that, braving hours-long lines at the hottest — wettest, rather — exhibit of the summer, the “Rain Room” at MoMA. The exhibit, which opened on May 12 and will run through July 28, has proved so popular that some have waited up to 10 hours on line in the stifling heat (or, sometimes, the rain) to do it.

The exhibit consists of an “immersive environment” in a dark 100-square meter space; there’s a harsh spotlight where rain pellets that look like falling crystals cascade down on you, but never actually rain directly on you.

Museum staffers attribute the crowds to celebrity tweets from the likes of Heidi Klum, Chelsea Handler and Jesse Tyler Ferguson — not to mention the potential for dramatic Instagram selfies.

“I saw it on Pinterest. and it looked so cool, but I thought I’d breeze right in,” says Deana Mauro, a 26-year old teacher from Commack, LI, who waited five hours on a recent rainy Friday.

MoMA staffers are quick to point out that they warn patrons what they’re getting into, posting wait times online and keeping visitors up to date. They even supply umbrellas and water while they last.

“Some people just give up after a few hours,” notes a MoMA staffer.

The artistic team behind it, Random International, uses digital technology to ensure rain with up to 10 visitors at a time, censoring movement so it won’t directly rain on you — unless you fool the motion sensors by moving around the room erratically. It was a huge hit during its free run at the Barbican in London.

“If there are more than 10 people, it won’t rain on you — it’s the experience of controlling the weather,” explains Rebecca Taylor, museum communications director.

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Two weeks ago, the museum introduced a walk-through option, which allows patrons to observe the exhibit a few feet away from the rainy action. “There are two levels of experience,” explains Taylor. “Reflective and participating.”

It’s Nancy Zhu’s third go at “Rain Room,” having abandoned the line in the summer heat twice before.

“We wanted to be a part of it, not do the walk-through,” says Zhu, a 19-year old Baruch college student who studies photography. Along with four friends, Zhu dressed up in a theme of black and white for the occasion (all the better for taking pictures). The group arrived at 9:30 in the morning, and passed the time eating food from McDonald’s, playing Taboo and looking at each other’s photography portfolios.

They were still cooling their heels on line at 4:30pm — seven hours later. At 5pm, they finally emerged — older, poorer and wetter, having outsmarted the censors and gotten rained on.

But despite the line, they had no regrets.

“I would love to do it again,” says Zhu.

Felix Wissman, 40, a Berlin-based tourist, opted for the walk-through. Even though he has happily camped out three hours for Shakespeare in the Park, and five hours on the Fourth of July for a plum fireworks viewing spot this summer, he didn’t think standing in rain was worth the wait.

“It’s rain,” says Wissman, who only waited 30 minutes to observe the exhibition. “In a room. It’s just rain in a room. No way is a five-hour line worth it.”

For others, the wait represents hours of your life you’ll never get back.

“I’m losing my patience,” says Valentina Lo Piccolo, 28, after inching along two hours after her 2pm arrival.

“Only four more hours to go.”

Lo Piccolo was furiously Facebooking, asking friends if she should stick it out: “A five-hour wait in the rain to get into an exhibit where you’re not rained on!”

So after her six hour wait, was it worth it?

“No way,” cries Lo Piccolo, a teacher from Stony Brook.

“New Yorkers are a bit crazy but I guess it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

But it’s not just the patrons losing it — the staff is trying to stay above the fray. “I emotionally ate my way through a Chipotle burrito bowl last week,” jokes Kelly, a visitor services assistant who felt berated by angry mobs last Sunday.

“Seven people yelled at me in the span of 25 minutes.”

Nowadays, the queue closes off around noon to 1pm, to ensure that everyone on line actually makes it inside.

NYC art critic Deborah Solomon thinks it’s shameful that the MoMA is passing off this “Disney”-style exhibit as art — and calls the museum on its admission policies.

“I think it would be incredible in a mall,” she says. “It’s a Disney ride. It’s a photo-op masquerading as an art opp.”

“It shows incredible contempt for museum visitors forced to stand in long lines in unbearable heat and look at nothing — especially younger viewers they need to cultivate.”

Currently visitors can spend as long as they like in the room, which has led to the massive hold-up. Patrons and critics have asked why the artists haven’t designed a timed ticketing system, where people are forced out of the exhibition after their approved minutes are up.

But the artists at Random International say that would interfere with the integrity of the exhibition. “We’re completely humbled by the queues, but we do feel that we’d miss the point in ending the experience of the work with being pushed out or told to leave,” they emailed The Post.

So just how desperate are patrons getting?

“People try to sneak in every day,” admits a security guard who asked that his name not be used.

“I catch them.”

Still, those who sweat it out all day insist they’re leaving happy customers. “It was OK, not unbearable — but it’s good getting a free tan for five hours,” says student Jamie Bai, 24, of baking in the black asphalt yard all day. “It could have been worse — I heard this weekend [the wait] was seven hours.”

And the MoMA food truck has been a savior: Thanks to a liquor license issued two weeks ago, that $9 glass of Merlot has been helping to pass the time.

“I’m surprised parents would subject their kids to these long waits,” says 27-year-old writing student Evelyn Liang, who arrived at 6:30am, earning the dubious distinction of first on the general admission line — even if it still means an eight-hour wait behind the MoMa members.

But UWS mom Megan Porter, who came with her 18-month-old daughter, says it isn’t such a big deal. “As city kids, they’re used to waiting for stuff.” She joined the members-only line at 7:30am for a three-and-a-half hour wait with five mom friends and eight kids in tow. The members line shaved five hours off her wait time.

“It was worth it once, but I’ll never do it again,” she says. The moms wisely split an $85 membership Porter bought the day before, enabling her to bring five guests, including Melissa Winder, a Financial District resident who’s 30 weeks pregnant.

But the real meta moment came when Emily Doxford, 30, treated the gang to six fresh cronuts. The Battery Park mom spent the first part of the morning waiting for two hours on line at the popular Dominique Ansel bakery in SoHo for the trendy pastries, then high-tailed it uptown to the MoMA line, easily winning title of mom — and most patient New Yorker — of the year.

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