At Magazzino, Social Distancing Devices Vibrate. So Does the Art.

July 7, 2020

View from Magazzino’s lobby, from left: Mario Merz, “Senza titolo” (1984); Giulio Paolini, “Mimesi” (1976-88); Michelangelo Pistoletto, “Stracci italiani” (2007). Credit: Alexa Hoyer. Via Courtesy Magazzino Italian Art.

I’ve been cheating, and it’s likely you have been too: Six feet apart is a lot farther away than most people seem to hope it is.

I know this because at the recent reopening of Magazzino Italian Art, the museum of postwar and contemporary work here in the Hudson Valley, I wore a piece of social-distancing hardware called an EGOpro Active Tag. It was attached to a lanyard around my neck.

The tag is required for all visitors, and it’s programmed to vibrate for a few seconds every time the wearer is closer than six feet to a tag worn by another person.

Mine buzzed a lot.