The Devil Is a Woman. 1935. USA. Directed by Josef von Sternberg

These notes accompany screenings of Josef von Sternberg’s </i>The Devil Is a Woman on November 17, 18, and 19 in Theater 3.</p>

Josef von Sternberg (1894–1969) has already been represented in this series by The Docks of New York (1928) and Morocco (1930). After The Blue Angel and Morocco,</i> Sternberg went on to make five more semi-autobiographical films with his star and lover, Marlene Dietrich. In my judgment, the best of these were Shanghai Express, The Scarlet Empress, and the confessional The Devil Is a Woman. The films starring his “discovery,” Dietrich, are the centerpiece of the director’s career and represent perhaps the highest point achieved in cinema’s early sound era.

Taking her cues from the films of Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and Douglas Sirk, as well as from the staged photographs of Cindy Sherman and Guy Bourdin, Alex Prager’s pictures focus on cinematic images and mise-en-scène. Sharing personal anecdotes about her life and work, Prager tells us in the video interview above how she came to take her first photographs and make her debut film Despair (2010), which has its U.S. premiere in the New Photography 2010 exhibition.

One of the key experimental filmmakers of her generation, Barbara Hammer (American, b. 1939) is renowned for creating the earliest and most extensive body of avant-garde films on lesbian life and sexuality. In this fascinating video interview, she talks about her career as a filmmaker and the development of feminist and queer filmmaking over the last thirty years.

Constantin Brancusi. The Newborn. Version I, 1920 (close to the marble of 1915)

Take a look at this sleek, smooth sculpture by Constantin Brancusi—a shimmering ovoid form seemingly floating in space. Would it ever strike you as one of the most difficult objects in our collection to photograph? Well, it is!

Contestants competing in the Pillsbury Bake Off baking contest in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. 1949. Source: Google/LIFE Photo Archive. Photograph by Lisa Larsen

At our recent Kitchen Culture event, a public program in conjunction with the Counter Space exhibition, over 100 people enjoyed an amazing dinner prepared by Executive Chef Lynn Bound of the Art Food cafés and the Cafe 2 team. (Video of the dinner and accompanying entertainment, plus an interview with Chef Lynn, to come in future posts!) The delicious meal was inspired by a recipe book, shown here, with significant ties to the centerpiece of our exhibition, the Frankfurt Kitchen.

Glass egg in situ

Working with glassblowers is an interesting process for me because there are technical drawings that communicate the eventual use of the vessel (what size, where is the opening, what are the relationships of the opening to volume in general, aesthetic ideals, etc.), and then there is, for me, a gestural kind of communication—a type of mime: I draw the shape with my entire body through gesture while standing with the glassblower.

Our Daily Bread. 1934. USA. Directed by King Vidor

These notes accompany the Great Depression program on November 10, 11, and 12 in Theater 3.

What goes around comes around. I first wrote about King Vidor’s Our Daily Bread in October 1972 (as part MoMA’s massive Vidor retrospective), exactly 38 years after film’s release. Now, another 38 years later, another economic crisis is upon us, and I essentially agree with my earlier assessment of the film. It is still naïve, simplistic, and awkward, but it remains extremely lovely in its innocence.

Jackson Pollock. One: Number 31, 1950. 1950. Oil and enamel paint on canvas, 8' 10" x 17' 5 5/8" (269.5 x 530.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art. Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection Fund (by exchange). © 2010 The Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Pollock at MoMA, uploaded to Flickr on Feburary 11, 2009: http://www.flickr.com/photos/plathfan/3271119503/

In one of the videos we produced for the current Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition, Ann Temkin, Chief Curator of MoMA’s Department of Painting and Sculpture and the organizer of the exhibition, tells this story about Jackson Pollock:

How well do you know your MoMA? If you think you can identify the artist and title of each of these works—all currently on view in the Museum’s fifth-floor Painting and Sculpture Galleries—please submit your answers by leaving a comment on this post. We’ll provide the answers—along with some information about each work—in two weeks (on Friday, November 19), along with the next Do You Know Your MoMA? challenge.

ANSWERS TO THE OCTOBER 22 CHALLENGE:

Zarina. Home Is a Foreign Place. 1999. Portfolio of 36 woodcuts and letterpress, mounted on paper. Publisher: the artist, New York. Printer: the artist, New York. Edition: 25. The Museum of Modern Art.

My exposure to architecture can be partially summarized in this way: 1) As a child, my dad, who was once an architect, guided me through drafts of his blueprints; 2) In school, I took a few art history classes that focused on architecture, from the cathedrals of the medieval period to the designs by Frank Lloyd Wright, all of which included copious slides of floor plans; and 3) I live in New York City, where trying to avoid charming Manhattan brownstones, landmark monuments, and skyscrapers-in-development is just downright impossible. But I never considered how any of these experiences relate to my perception of my everyday surroundings until this past summer, when I was reminded of Zarina’s Home Is a Foreign Place (1999) while exploring MoMA’s recent exhibition Mind and Matter: Alternative Abstractions, 1940s to Now.