MoMA
Posts tagged ‘Abstract Expressionist New York’
Contemporary Artists on Abstract Expressionist New York

Artist Amy Sillman as she begins her talk in the Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition.

When we visit MoMA we expect to see works of art made by artists, but seldom do we hear firsthand from the artists themselves about the works on display—while we stand directly in front of them! The recently concluded series Abstract Expressionist New York: Artist-Led Gallery Talks offered MoMA visitors this unique opportunity.

February 3, 2011  |  Artists, Collection & Exhibitions
Guston & Feldman: A Double View

Philip Guston. Head – Double View. 1958. Ink on paper. The Museum of Modern Art. Purchase. © 2011 The Estate of Philip Guston

The 1958 Philip Guston drawing Head – Double View is currently on view in The Big Picture, the fourth-floor installment of MoMA’s Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition. One floor down, in the complementary show Ideas Not Theories: Artists and the Club, 1942-1962, the black-on-white composition appears again, this time on the cover of an album by the American composer Morton Feldman. Feldman—who was friends with many of the artists associated with the New York School, Guston in particular—featured the drawing on the jacket of his 1959 Columbia Masterworks release New Directions in Music 2.

January 21, 2011  |  Artists, Collection & Exhibitions
An Inspiring Collaboration: Larry Rivers and Frank O’Hara

Larry Rivers. Springtemps, from Stones. Print executed 1958. 1 from illustrated book with 13 lithographs, composition (irreg.). page: 19. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. Powis Jones. © 2011 Estate of Larry Rivers/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

As a writer, more specifically a poet, I like to turn to art as a source of inspiration. The relationship between the written and the visual presents itself best in the form of collaboration, where both mediums can share the same space. Collaborations between writers and artists can range from artist books and performances to publications and series of prints. The current Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition shines a light on one of my favorite poets and well-known collaborators: Frank O’Hara.

January 5, 2011  |  Collection & Exhibitions, Tech, Videos
Just a Bunch of Paintings with Lines?
Still from The Painting Techniques of Mark Rothko: No. 16 (Red, Brown, and Black)

Still from MoMA's video The Painting Techniques of Mark Rothko: No. 16 (Red, Brown, and Black)

At the beginning of the video on the painting techniques of Barnett Newman that we produced for MoMA’s Abstract Expressionist New York iPad app (and the exhibition’s website), Corey D’Augustine, a conservator and instructor of the on-site and online course Materials and Techniques of Postwar Abstract Painting tells this story:

December 20, 2010  |  Collection & Exhibitions, Tech
MoMA AB EX NY iPad App: From the Team

Photo: Jason Brownrigg

With the recent launch of the MoMA AB EX NY app for the iPad, and the new update just released with additional content, we thought we’d take a moment to talk with various members of the team involved. First up, we have Deep Focus, who designed and programmed the app. We spoke with CEO Ian Schafer; lead developer Jason Garrett; group creative director Ken Kraemer; associate art director Dave Kroner; and senior interaction designer Dave Irons.

December 13, 2010  |  Events & Programs
Educator Journal: In the Making—On the Line

In the Making On the Line workshop

Teaching artist Mark Epstein has been running our In the Making—On the Line workshops this fall. Through studio activities and in-gallery discussions, he and the teens have been exploring the different definitions of what a line can be, while looking at the various ways in which the artists in the Abstract Expressionist New York and On Line shows have tried to express themselves through this most basic of forms. For this journal, Mark gets in-depth about a very unconventional drawing activity that he created with his students.

November 18, 2010  |  Collection & Exhibitions, Design, Tech
It Takes a Village to Create an Exhibition…App

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you may already have the sense that a lot of people are involved in putting together an exhibition. Curators, preparators, conservators, exhibition designers, registrars, security, and others all have critical roles to play in what you see at the Museum. But what happens when you take the same approach when putting together an exhibition app?

November 8, 2010  |  Artists, Collection & Exhibitions, Videos
Jackson Pollock Asks: “Is This a Painting?”

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:

October 13, 2010  |  Collection & Exhibitions
Ab Ex NY: Rethinking the Display of the Permanent Collection

Installation view of Abstract Expressionist New York: The Big Picture. Photo: Jason Mandella

Regular visitors to the Museum will have noticed that the fourth-floor Painting and Sculpture Galleries have undergone a complete reinstallation. These spaces, which are typically used to exhibit a broad survey of the Museum’s collection, are now home to Abstract Expressionist New York: The Big Picture</a>, an exhibition featuring approximately 170 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs associated with the movement that put New York on the art world map more than fifty years ago.

October 8, 2010  |  Do You Know Your MoMA?
Do You Know Your MoMA? 10/08/2010

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 as part of the Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition—please submit your answers by leaving a comment on this post.