Museum of Bad Art

In the basement of a theater eight miles south of Boston rest such exquisite works of art as The Athlete, a four-foot-by-two-foot crayon rendition of a discus thrower wearing a toga and black wingtips with white socks, and Mary Todd Lincoln, a large blue portrait of the first lady painted on several layers of lace and accented with a necklace of plastic poinsettias.

These paintings may not be priceless -- the most expensive rings up at a hefty $6.50 -- but they are definitely heinous. MOBA was founded by software engineer Jerry Reilly and is presently curated by his friend and former art student Scott Wilson. Their inspiration came in the form of a painting that Wilson stumbled upon, depicting a blue-haired elderly lady floating in a field of daisies under a glaring yellow sky. It was bad, but the guys knew it could be worse. They began collecting "sincere attempts at art gone bad" and now have one of the best exhibits of terrible art in the country. Instead of visiting a modern art museum where the art is merely questionable, why not visit this one where awful art is guaranteed? 580 High St., Dedham, MA 02026 ,tel. 617/325-8224. Free. Weekdays 6:30-10, Weekends 1-10. glyphs.com/moba/permgal.html