Kiki Smith: Prints, Books, and Things

GLENN LOWRY: Hello, and welcome to Kiki Smith: Prints, Books, and Things. I'm Glenn Lowry, Director of the Museum of Modern Art. Kiki Smith is best known as a sculptor. Her work in the mid-1980s re-introduced the human figure as an important subject for artistic investigation and discovery. As an artist, this was her way of learning about the body, gaining control over it, and showcasing its importance.

As you now enter the first gallery, you'll see that Smith has also become an important and exciting printmaker. Our exhibition was organized by curator Wendy Weitman, of our Department of Prints and Illustrated Books. She will join you on this tour.

WENDY WEITMAN: Kiki Smith is arguably one of the most important sculptors working today and has really dedicated herself to print making as much as she has to sculpture.

GLENN LOWRY: The artist herself will also provide some context to this work, but she feels strongly that the most important insights depend on what you bring to the exhibition.

KIKI SMITH: You know, I think when you go to see an art show, you come with your own experience already, and your own interests and your own curiosities. And so everything that you read or see, you read through your own set of experiences.

GLENN LOWRY: This exhibition is divided into five thematic sections; here is a sample of Smith's first body of printed work which were 'screen-prints'. The remaining four sections are arranged thematically – Anatomy, Self Portraits, Nature, and finally feminine characters from history, literature or religion.

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