Collection 1970s–Present

203

Hardware/Software

Floor 2

MoMA

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Joan Semmel. Night Light. 1978. Oil on canvas, 50 × 98" (127 × 248.9 cm). Gift of Jeffrey M. Resnick in honor of Zina W. Davis. © Joan Semmel. Used by permission
  • MoMA, Floor 2, 203

By the early 1980s, the feminist, civil rights, and gay rights movements had drawn attention to the ways that bodies are represented. For many artists, the body became a critical as well as a vexed point of focus. Some imbued their work with a sense of action, drawing on experimental performance and dance practices. Others made use of images from media and advertising or utilized easily available products. This gallery includes many works in which the body merges with inanimate objects, forming a psychologically charged hybrid symbolic of a pervasive consumer culture.

27 works online

Artists

Installation images

How we identified these works

In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

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All requests to license audio or video footage produced by MoMA should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills or motion picture footage from films in MoMA’s Film Collection cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For licensing motion picture film footage it is advised to apply directly to the copyright holders. For access to motion picture film stills please contact the Film Study Center. More information is also available about the film collection and the Circulating Film and Video Library.

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