Looking at Music: Side 2

Jun 10–Nov 30, 2009

Stephanie Chernikowski. Sonic Youth. 1983. Black-and-white photograph, 11 × 17″ (27.9 × 43.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art Library. Gift of the artist

In the mid-1970s, right on the heels of Conceptual art and Minimalism, many visual artists turned to making raw, hard-edged work that addressed urban blight and bad economies. With an ear set to punk, these artists worked in the netherworld between music and media, often forming their own short-lived bands. Their rough, do-it-yourself projects pushed the envelope of interdisciplinary experimentation, which soon spread to underground venues from New York to London, Düsseldorf, and Krakow. This exhibition features music videos, super-8 films, drawings, photographs, and zines from MoMA’s collection that explore the melding of music, media, and visual art in the final decades leading up to the 21st century.

Organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art.

Artists

Installation images

How we identified these works

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