Front page of the Daily News with a photograph of Kusama’s “Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead” at MoMA, August 25, 1969

When The Museum of Modern Art undertook the exhibition Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958–1972 in 1998 we thought that we were giving this great artist her first exhibition at MoMA.

Northwest Passage. 1940. USA. Directed by King Vidor

These notes accompany screenings of King Vidor’s Northwest Passage on October 10, 11, and 12 in Theater 3</a>.

An especially intriguing example of a high-quality, landscape-oriented “A” Western of the World War II era is King Vidor’s Northwest Passage

Every year MoMA presents the exhibition New Photography, in an attempt to include the most interesting accomplishments of artists working in photography all over the world.

Cross-Museum Collective teens on the set of The Teenager’s Guide to the Galleries!

Here it is, the fourth and final installment of The Teenager’s Guide to the Galleries! So far, the Cross-Museum Collective has led you through the process of entering the museum, interpreting the art, and exploring the galleries.

A MoMA visitor examines Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel. (New York, 1951 [third version, after lost original of 1913]. Metal wheel mounted on painted wood stool. The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection. © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/Estate of Marcel Duchamp)

Looking at modern and contemporary art can provoke a lot of questions. Struggling to understand or relate to it is not unusual, and in fact many artists view those reactions as part of the art. Marcel Duchamp famously said that “the creative act is not formed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act.”

Robert Brownjohn. Preparatory study for Goldfinger title sequence. 1964. Silver-gelatin print. Photograph by Herbert Spencer. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Don Goeman. © 2012 Eliza Brownjohn

The 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger is not only an exhilarating classic of the spy genre, but also a recurring influence in art and popular culture. During the month of October, visitors to MoMA can experience the Goldfinger phenomenon in a variety of distinct configurations.

Lunch is served: this week we’re eating creamy salmon soup, crispy rye bread with Finnish cheese and butter, sweet and sour dill cucumbers, and whipped lingonberry porridge

MoMA exhibitions rarely end at the gallery doors. There are publications and websites, symposia, family programs, and special events that extend the life, the interactivity, and the scope of projects big and small.

We left off in our last post having explained the research and assessment that precedes any conservation treatment. Using Echo as our object of study, we examined questions that arise after looking closely at a painting. Let’s delve into one such question.

Ruggles of Red Gap. 1935. USA. Directed by Leo McCarey

These notes accompany screenings of Leo McCarey’s Ruggles of Red Gap on October 3, 4, and 5 in Theater 2</a>.

A notable and oft-neglected comic Western is Ruggles of Red Gap….

Cross-Museum Collective teens on the set of The Teenager’s Guide to the Galleries!

Everyone knows that The Godfather Part III is the worst film in the trilogy, and that Rocky III and Jaws 3 aren’t anywhere near as good as the famous blockbusters that they followed. But what about The Teenager’s Guide to the Galleries! Part 3?