In 2008 The Museum of Modern Art invited artist Nicolas Guagnini to examine the institution’s inner workings, share his comments, and design a project based on his critique. Guagnini observed that MoMA could create more opportunities for artists by installing artworks in the Museum’s interstitial spaces (outside the galleries) and become more topical and current in its programming by compressing the amount of time (usually several years) required to plan and realize an exhibition. Guagnini identified the nine information screens in the Museum’s lobby as an ideal site for an exhibition redressing his concerns, and he invited a group of New York artists to join him in making work for it. The videos on display—several of which employ imagery from within the Museum—subtly or explicitly respond to their location at MoMA. Replacing institutional information at a bustling site of exchange, they ensure that every visitor’s first experience at the Museum is an encounter with a work of art.
The New York–based artists and collectives in the exhibition are Fia Backström, Alejandro Cesarco, Bernadette Corporation, John Pilson, and Union Gaucha Productions (which Guagnini cofounded). The videos run between twelve minutes and over three hours in length, and cover a range of styles and content, from what happens in the non-exhibition spaces of the Museum to a day in the life of a lawyer. Each video will be shown on a continuous loop for a three-week duration during the run of the exhibition.
Screening schedule:
- May 19–June 7: Alejandro Cesarco, Turning Some Pages
- June 9–28: Union Gaucha Productions, As Long as It Lasts
- June 30–July 19: Bernadette Corporation, Take Your Time
- July 21–August 9: John Pilson, Frolic and Detour
- August 11–30: Fia Backström, Misty Harbor—at your leisure