µ Year in Review 2014–2015

In 2014–2015, inspiration and discovery filled the Museum.

The Museum’s walls and floors were deconstructed and transformed by Robert Gober’s enigmatic sculptures.

Footage from the earliest known black-cast feature film, featuring Bert Williams and dating from 1913, was rediscovered in MoMA’s collection and preserved.

The magic of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs captivated visitors of all ages, with many trying their hand at his art-making techniques and joining us for an after-hours adventure during the exhibition’s final weekend.

After more than 2,000 hours of methodical conservation and research, Matisse’s beloved room-sized work, The Swimming Pool, returned to view as a centerpiece of Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs.

Poets, musicians, artists, cultural leaders, and visitors shared their stories and responses to Jacob Lawrence's paintings depicting black experience in America during the Great Migration years.

Forty years after Yoko Ono staged her renegade debut at MoMA, her pioneering work celebrated a homecoming.

A fishing boat pierced with thousands of arrows by artist Cai Guo-Qiang was just one mind-expanding work featured in a major reinstallation of the contemporary galleries.

At MoMA PS1, marionettes reenacted the history of the Crusades from an Arab perspective in Wael Shawky’s epic video trilogy.

The provocative online project—and now book—Design and Violence gave voice to design's potential for both good and bad.

Journalists, artists, historians, and others came together to reflect on free speech in the aftermath of the tragic events at Charlie Hebdo.

Filmmaker Wim Wenders screened his influential films and talked with us about his love for Polaroid photographs.

Pioneering choreographer Yvonne Rainer staged an intimate East Coast premiere of her latest work.

Street-style models and a 40-piece marching band led the celebrations to kick-off Prime Time, a new program for older New Yorkers.

NYC teens collaborated with artists to smash, hack, break, and remix materials, culminating in a celebratory exhibition of their artwork.

More than 21,000 ArquiMoMA Instagram photos brought personal perspectives into a sweeping exhibition of Latin American architecture.

The Rockefeller Sculpture Garden came alive with live music and new art, including Isa Genzken’s 36-foot-tall rose.

At MoMA PS1, Warm Up revelers danced under the shade of Hy-Fi, the Young Architects Program winner.

In a year full of openings and celebrations, we were especially delighted to wish David Rockefeller a very happy 100th birthday.

And the following gifts of art were made in his honor
  • Louise Bourgeois. Untitled. 1949
  • Robert Gober. Study for the Slip-Covered Armchair. 1986
  • David Hammons. Pray for America. 1969
  • Eva Hesse. Untitled. 1960
  • Damien Hirst. The Spontaneous Lovers. The Confused Lovers. The Compromising Lovers. The Committed Lovers. 1991
  • Jasper Johns. Painted Bronze. 1960
  • Sigmar Polke. Flying Saucers (Fliegende Untertassen). 1966
  • Robert Ryman. Untitled (Orange Painting). 1955 and 1959
  • Günther Uecker. Chair (II). 1963
  • Ursula von Rydingsvard. Bent Lace. 2014
  • Christopher Wool. Untitled. 1988

Also new to the collection were Julie Mehretu’s monumental Invisible Sun (algorithm 5, second letter form) (2014)

In 2004, MoMA was one of the first museums to acquire a major painting by Julie Mehretu, and we were delighted to be able to add an outstanding example of recent work. Invisible Sun bespeaks a decade of strong development on the part of a fiercely individual and impressive artist.

Ann Temkin
The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture

Glenn Ligon’s set of 50 self portrait screenprints from 2001

The work resonates with the history of Pop art, and particularly Andy Warhol’s 1966 self-portrait and 13 Most Wanted Men (1964), with Ligon's use of his own image of a black gay man as a mug shot subverting Warhol’s precedent and calling for a far-reaching reflection on race and identity politics.

Christophe Cherix
The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints

Tania Bruguera’s haunting video and performance installation Untitled (Havana, 2000)

This powerful work draws the public into a direct encounter with political issues facing the people of Cuba and opens a space for confrontation and consideration, bridging social and aesthetic experience.

Stuart Comer
Chief Curator of Media and Performance Art

Lynne Ramsay’s gripping psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) highlights MoMA's commitment to both established (Tilda Swinton) and emerging (Lynne Ramsey and Ezra Miller) talent and enhances our strong holdings of work by women directors.

Rajendra Roy
The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film

A classic Stratocaster from 1957 designed by Leo Fender, Freddie Tavares, and George Fullerton

This popular instrument defined a new era of modern, electrified music with its look and sound. The guitar's ergonomically sculpted body, modular electronics and bolt-on construction make it a quintessential piece of mid-century modern design. The Stratocaster is a perfect fit for our collection of industrial art.

Martino Stierli
The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design

And all 619 photographs from August Sander’s landmark 60-year project People of the Twentieth Century

It is exhilarating to bring one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of photography into the collection to contextualize not only Eugéne Atget and Walker Evans, but many others who cite Sander's achievement as essential to the development of their own.

Quentin Bajac
The Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator of Photography

You make the art and ideas that MoMA presents come to life.

Thank you for being part of the MoMA family and for making this an unforgettable year.

Image credits

All works in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art and © 2015 The Museum of Modern Art, unless otherwise noted.

  • Installation view of Sturtevant: Double Trouble, November 9, 2014–February 22, 2015. Artwork by Sturtevant. © Estate Sturtevant, Paris. Photo: Scott Rudd

  • Installation view of Robert Gober: The Heart Is Not a Metaphor, October 4, 2014–January 18, 2015. Shown: Robert Gober. Untitled. 1992. Plywood, forged iron, plaster, latex paint, lights, stainless steel, painted cast bronze, water, metal, lightbulbs, cast plaster with casein and silkscreen ink, photolithography on archival paper, twine, and hand-painted mural. Glenstone. © 2015 Robert Gober. Photo: Thomas Griesel

  • "Cakewalk," excerpt from Bert Williams Lime Kiln Field Day Project. 1913. On view in 100 Years in Post-Production: Resurrecting a Lost Landmark of Black Film History, October 24, 2014–May 3, 2015

  • Installation view of Henri Matisse: The Cut–Outs, October 12, 2014–February 10, 2015. Photo: Scott Rudd. Shown: Henri Matisse. The Sheaf (La Gerbe). 1953. Maquette for ceramic (realized 1953). Gouache on paper, cut and pasted, on paper, mounted on canvas. Collection University of California, Los Angeles. Hammer Museum. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney F. Brody. © 2015 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • Henri Matisse: Conserving The Swimming Pool. 2014. Video (color, sound), 7:01 min. Produced by The Museum of Modern Art

  • Jade Hicks during rehearsals for Steffani Jemison’s Promise Machine, June 7, 2015. Installation view of One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and Other Visions of the Great Movement North, April 3–September 7, 2015. Artwork by Jacob Lawrence. © 2015 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

  • Installation view of Yoko Ono: One Woman Show, 1960–1971, May 17–September 7, 2015. Shown: Yoko Ono. Grapefruit. 1964. Artist’s book. The Gilbert and Lila Silverman Fluxus Collection Gift, 2008. © Yoko Ono 2015. Photo: Scott Rudd

  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Borrowing Your Enemy's Arrows. 2015. Video (color, sound), 2:20 min. Produced by The Museum of Modern Art

  • Installation view of Wael Shawky: Cabaret Crusades, MoMA PS1, New York, January 31, 2015–August 31, 2015. Vitrine of marionettes from Wael Shawky. Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo. 2012. Courtesy of MoMA PS1, New York

  • Ralph Borland. Suited for Subversion. 2002. Nylon-reinforced PVC, padding, speaker, and pulse reader. Fund for the Twenty-First Century. © 2015 Ralph Borland

  • Video still from panel discussion, Charlie Hebdo, Zero Tolerance, and Freedom of Speech, February 3, 2015. Shown (from left): Kader Attia, Sharon Hayes, Aasif Mandvi, Sir Harold Evans, Jason Mojica, Simon Schama, Karl Sharro

  • Pina [in 3-D]. 2011. Germany. Directed by Wim Wenders. Courtesy of Wim Wenders Stiftung 2014

  • Video from Yvonne Rainer. The Concept of Dust, or How do you look when there’s nothing left to move? 2015. Performers: Keith Sabado, Patricia Hoffbauer, Yvonne Rainer, Emmanuèlle Phuon, David Thomson, Pat Catterson

  • Advanced Style models celebrate Prime Time at MoMA. Photo: Ari Seth Cohen

  • In the Making, summer 2014 and spring 2015 classes and Teen Art Show installations. All photos: Kaitlyn Stubbs

  • Selections from the #ArquiMoMA Instagram Project

  • Thao performing at MoMA Nights, July 24, 2014. Shown: Isa Genzken. Rose II. 2007. Stainless steel, aluminum, and lacquer. Gift of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and gift of the Advisory Committee (both by exchange). © 2015 Isa Genzken. Photo: Carly Gaebe

  • Warm Up 2014 at MoMA PS1. Photo: Charles Roussel

  • The 2015 MoMA Party in the Garden, Honoring Richard Serra and Kara Walker, with a special salute to David Rockefeller on his 100th Birthday. Photo: Scott Rudd

  • Ursula von Rydingsvard. Bent Lace. 2014. Bronze. Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © Ursula von Rydingsvard, Courtesy of Galerie Lelong. Photo: Michael Bodycomb

  • Jasper Johns. Painted Bronze. 1960. Oil on bronze. Promised gift of Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis in honor of David Rockefeller. © All rights reserved Jasper Johns/Licensed by VAGA, New York

  • Louise Bourgeois. Untitled. 1949. Painted wood and stainless steel. Promised gift of Eva and Glenn Dubin in honor of David Rockefeller. © 2015 The Easton Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, NY

  • Robert Ryman. Untitled (Orange Painting). 1955/1959. Oil on canvas. Fractional and promised gift of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © 2015 Robert Ryman

  • Eva Hesse. Untitled. 1960. Oil on canvas. Promised gift of Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th Birthday. © 2015 Estate of Eva Hesse

  • Sigmar Polke. Flying Saucers (Fliegende Untertassen). 1966. Dispersion on canvas. Promised gift of Mimi Haas in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © 2015 Estate of Sigmar Polke/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, Germany

  • Christopher Wool. Untitled. 1988. Enamel and flashe on aluminum. Promised gift of Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer in honor of David Rockefeller. © 2015 Christopher Wool

  • Günther Uecker. Chair (II). 1963. Nails on wood. Promised gift of Debra and Leon Black in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © 2015 Günther Uecker/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Germany

  • David Hammons. Pray for America. 1969. Pigment on paper. Promised gift to The Museum of Modern Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem by the Hudgins Family in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © 2015 David Hammons

  • Robert Gober. Study for the Slip-Covered Armchair. 1986. Pencil on cut‑and‑folded transparentized paper with pressure sensitive tape. Acquired through the generosity of Maja Oeri and Hans Bodenmann in honor of David Rockefeller. © 2015 Robert Gober

  • Damien Hirst. (Clockwise from top left): The Spontaneous Lovers. The Confused Lovers. The Compromising Lovers. The Committed Lovers. 1991. Four drawings: ink on lined paper. Promised gift of Catie and Donald Marron in honor of David Rockefeller on his 100th birthday. © 2015 Damien Hirst

  • Julie Mehretu. Invisible Sun (algorithm 5, second letter form). 2014. Ink and synthetic polymer paint on canvas. Gift of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation and Eugenio Lopez Alonso. © 2015 Julie Mehretu

  • Glenn Ligon. Figure. 2001. Set of 50 screenprints. Acquired through the generosity of the Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art, Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund, and Lonti Ebers. © 2015 Glenn Ligon

  • Installation view of Tania Bruguera’s Untitled (Havana, 2000). 2000. Sugar cane bagasse, video (black and white, silent), and live performance. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Casey Stoll

  • We Need to Talk About Kevin. 2011. Great Britain/USA. Directed by Lynne Ramsay. 35mm film. Gift of Oscilloscope Laboratories

  • August Sander. Small-Town Women from the portfolio The Small-Town Dweller. c. 1913. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Pastrycook from the portfolio The Master Craftsman. 1928. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Working-class Family from the portfolio The Worker – His Life and Work. 1913. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Workers’ Council from the Ruhr from the portfolio Working Types – Physical and Intellectual. 1929. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Confirmation Candidate from the portfolio The Young Farmer. 1911. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. The Architect Hans Heinz Lüttgen and his Wife Dora from the portfolio Woman and Man. 1926. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Rural Brother and Sister from the portfolio The Young Farmer. 1925–30. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. The Philosopher from the portfolio Archetypes. 1913. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Circus Artists from the portfolio Traveling People – Fair and Circus. 1926–32. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • August Sander. Blind Children from the portfolio Idiots, the Sick, the Insane and the Dying. c. 1930. Gelatin silver print. Acquired through the generosity of the family of August Sander. © 2015 Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur - August Sander Archiv, Cologne/ARS, NY

  • Leo Fender, George Fullerton, Freddie Tavares. Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar. 1957. Wood, metal, and plastic. Committee on Architecture and Design Funds

  • A school group on a tour of the Painting and Sculpture Galleries. Shown: Jackson Pollock. One: Number 31, 1950. 1950. Oil and enamel paint on canvas. Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection Fund (by exchange). © 2015 Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Jason Brownrigg