“The idea becomes the machine that makes the art,” wrote Sol LeWitt in 1967. This metaphor describes a concept shared among many international artists, filmmakers, performers, and composers: that the idea was the work of art. Sometimes, the artists in this gallery realized their theories by creating objects. At other times, they documented ephemeral actions in photographs or on video. In still other instances, they made language their subject, producing multiples, publications, posters, and postcards intended to circulate to a mass audience. By emphasizing the context surrounding the creation of the work, these artists addressed various social issues, such as inequality, and race and gender politics.
Collection 1940s–1970s
415
Idea Art
415
Idea Art
Floor 4
MoMA
- MoMA, Floor 4, 415 The David Geffen Galleries
17 works online
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Bernd Becher, Hilla Becher Anonymous Sculpture 1970 -
André Cadere Round Bar of Wood 1972 -
Jan Dibbets Perspective Correction, My Studio I, 2: Square with 2 Diagonals on Wall 1969 -
VALIE EXPORT with Peter Hassmann (photographer) Action Pants: Genital Panic 1969 -
Anna Bella Geiger Passagens 1 1974 -
Nancy Holt Underscan 1973-74 -
On Kawara MAY 20, 1967 1967
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Edward Krasiński Intervention with a Phone 1972 -
Edward Krasiński Map of Warsaw 1972 -
Edward Krasiński Tenture II 1972 -
Edward Krasiński Beton gris 1972 -
Dóra Maurer Tracing Space I, Tracing Space II, and Plan 1979 -
Blinky Palermo Blue Triangle (Blaues Dreieck) 1969
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Ewa Partum Autobiography (Autobiografia) 1971–74 -
Martha Rosler Semiotics of the Kitchen 1975 -
Niele Toroni Imprints of a No. 50 Paintbrush Repeated at Regular Intervals of 30 cm 1969 -
Hannah Wilke Gestures 1974
Installation images
MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos.
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