I decided to go to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) because I had a dentist appointment right near there and I figured why not?  I think it had been at least 3 years since I have been there, cue the gasps from all of my art friends! I know! I hit all six floors and I was on art overload. In a good way.  Basquait, Van Gogh, Rousseau,  Chagall and Warhol, oh my.   I am including photos of some of their works as some eye candy to entice you to go and see them and so many more in person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guy in the title photo is an actual exhibit.  Artist and choreographer Maria Hassabi’s PLASTIC is a commissioned live installation in which dancers perform throughout MoMA continuously during opening hours.

“They move between poses at a barely perceptible  pace across the Museum’s floors and down its staircases.”  I love the fact that people are just sitting on the opposite couch like it is normal to see someone lying on the floor in the title photo. Very New York.

 

I saw so many exhibitions that day but I am only going to hi-light a few in hopes that you will go to the MoMA and see as many as you can.  These next two photos are from and the exhibition Scenes For A New Heritage:Contemporary Art from the Collection.  “Over the last 30 years major geopolitical events have destabilized the establish world order and reconfigured every day life, new free market economies have emerged and the internet has radically altered how we generate and access information.”  The photo below made me think of Donald Trump and his Presidential campaign because I do believe that if he were to become President our days would be numbered.  This piece is made up of a “collage from a Thai newspaper printed on the date of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 85th birthday party. There was a massive public celebration in the face of the monarch’s deteriorating health and the country’s impending military coup.  The grammar error is on purpose “signaling the fragility of cultures in an increasing global landscape. ”

 

This piece by Takashi Murakami  “fuses an array of seemingly oppositional influence- the ancient and the modern, high art and popular culture, Japanese and Western traditions-to investigate contemporary Japanese society and Japan’s relationship with the United States since WWII.”  The title of the piece “727 refers to both the Japanese cosmetics brand whose billboards, posted in rural fields, are best seen from passing train windows, and to the aircraft manufactured by the American company Boeing.”

These are just two pieces from an incredible exhibit.  It is only on display until Monday April 11th.  Go see it if you get a chance!!

A Japanese Constellation: Toyo Ito, SANAA, and Beyond Through  July 4

“A Japanese Constellation focuses on the network of architects and designers that has developed around Pritzker Prize winners Toyo Ito and SANAA. Providing an overview of Ito’s career and his influence as a mentor to a new generation of Japanese architects, the exhibition presents recent works by internationally acclaimed designers, including Kazuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa, Sou Fujimoto, Akihisa Hirata, and Junya Ishigami.”  I have always loved architecture.  In New York city it can be hard to find those rare special buildings that have survived over the years and are dwarfed by all the glass towers but when you do, it’s amazing to see the detail.  I have never been to Japan but I cannot wait to go after seeing these architectural designs.

 

 

For all my architecture friends, this is the exhibition for you.

 

Jackson Pollack: A Collection Survey, 1934-1954 Through May 1st

“This exhibition offers a concise but detailed survey of the work of Jackson Pollock (American, 1912–1956). It tracks his artistic evolution from the 1930s and early 1940s, when he made loosely figurative images based on mythical or primeval themes, to the late 1940s and early 1950s, when he pioneered the radical abstractions for which he is best known by pouring and dripping paint onto canvas or paper.”  I have always liked Jackson Pollack.  I like the chaos and color of his pieces.  “The piece below is one of the largest works by Pollack made soon after he started laying his canvases on the floor and using brushes like sticks to fling or drip his paint.”  Around this time Pollock stopped giving his paintings titles and began to number them.  His wife Lee Krasner explained,  “Numbers are neutral. They make people look at the painting for what it is-pure painting.”

 

Marcel Broodthaers: A Retrospective through May 15th

Marcel Broodthaers (Belgian, 1924–1976) worked primarily as a poet until the age of 40, when he turned to the visual arts.  I will say that this was not one of my favorite exhibitions but I included it because it was a bit quirky and I do like quirky.  Like the piece below, a frying pan containing found vacuum-formed plastic lion head. Weird.

He seems to have a thing for mussel shells.

And Eggshells

This is a pretty big exhibit and it’s definitely worth a walk through.

 

There is a helicopter hovering inside the museum (What!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and a 2 story rose.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the MoMA and my visit reminded me of why I started this blog.  I haven’t been to the MoMA in years and in that time I missed so many amazing exhibitions. And I am a member, have been for years.  That makes it even worse.  Not any more.  I will make time to go back while I continue with my nycmuseumadventures. Stay tuned…