The Conversations With Contemporary Artists program initiated in the Fall of 1993 is designed to provide an informal setting for participants to interact with artists, and allow a diverse audience a forum for discussing current topics on art. The sessions begin in the Edward John Noble Education Center where the artist presents slides of their work and then leads the group into the Museum's permanent collection or special exhibition galleries. The artists then selects works for discussion that are relevant to their own, describe the influence of an artist on their own work, compare several works, or offer a critique on a particular artists' work. The artists are not restricted to particular subject or theme and could develop topics of their choice. Each session reconvenes in the Education Center where visitors ask artists questions informally. The Department of Education and curatorial staff moderate the sessions. The moderator is useful in facilitating questions and leading the group through the galleries.
Since the approach to many topics is varied, each session is a unique and original experience. For example, in one session, Fred Wilson applied his revisionist approach to artmaking by critiquing the presentation of works in the galleries, bringing up questions of traditional curatorial practices. Nancy Spero focused her talk on works by women artists in the collection---the politics surrounding their absence. Allan Kaprow parlayed his involvement with "Happenings," Maren Hassinger, whom is known for her sculpture installations, invited her students to perform and show a new video in progress, a collaborative effort from a class in new technology. Mark Tansey, who was working on an interpretation of Monet's Waterlillies at that time, took the group to view and discuss that work in the gallery. In all, issues surrounding representation in the Museum's collection, exclusion, feminism, racial identity, multiculturalism, art history, and many contemporary topics are raised and addressed.
The artists are selected primarily by a committee of curators from the Museum's six curatorial divisions and by members of the Education Department. Suggested artists are featured in the Museum's ongoing, frequently changing contemporary exhibition programs, many of which respond to current issues and developments in the art world. These exhibition programs include Projects and New Photography presentations, thus allowing artists working in diverse mediums and artistic styles to be represented.
©1999 The Museum of Modern Art, New York