“Let Third Thursday help you find your soulmate—or at least a date for the evening!” reads the press release for Romantic Rendezvous, going down this Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m. at, of all places, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
The idea is actually so cute and smart it’s almost cute overload. But presumably it’s working, because the event is back by popular demand. Here’s how it works: You use Third Thursday’s online art personality quiz to discover which MIA art you are, and what pieces you’re most compatible with. Then you come to Third Thursday and discover, in the institute’s words, “a fellow masterpiece,” via tours and activities. The Melismatics play, and with any luck, it’s like a Woody Allen movie with a happier ending.
In reality, you may find that only men 30 years older than you appreciate, say, Monet’s haystacks paintings. And maybe you’re okay with that. In any case, the idea has real promise—art can certainly reflect our values and intellect, in addition to our tastes, like no dinner out or Iron Man 2. And the quiz questions, along with the band choice, should sharpen the range of likely attendees. Happy coupling, just no making out in the period rooms, please.
