Episode Eight: “It Is Good Lookin’”

In the final episode of season 2, cherished works return to the gallery walls in brand new frames, while curators and artists watch the completion of the reinstallation. After being closed for four months, MoMA reopens to the public.

0:13 - Associate sculpture conservator Roger Griffith cleans Arthur Young’s Bell-47D1 Helicopter.

0:52 - Senior curator of Painting and Sculpture Anne Umland and chief curator of Painting and Sculpture Ann Temkin oversee the hanging of Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

1:34 - Peter Perez, frame shop foreman, discusses *The Starry Night*’s new, black frame.

2:54 - Artist Amy Sillman explains how she curated and arranged The Shape of Shape, part of the long-running Artist’s Choice exhibition series, in which artists selects works to show from the Museum’s collection

4:04 - Photography curator Sarah Meister and conservator LeeAnn Daffner adjust the lighting on Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey’s Rome. Arch of Septimus Severus and Capitoline Lion.

5:05 - Senior deputy director of exhibitions and collections Ramona Bronkar Bannayan and director of exhibition design and production Lana Hum make a final checklist of things to accomplish before the opening.

5:37 - Artist Betye Saar sees her exhibition for the first time.

7:16 - Manager of enterprise applications Rik Vanmechelen and developer Ryan Sprott check the new ticket machines.

8:04 - Chief facilities and safety officer Tunji Adeniji welcomes the public to the new MoMA on opening day.

8:30 - Silent film accompanist Ben Model improvises a live piano soundtrack for Frank Powell’s 1915 film A Fool There Was.

9:15 - Security supervisor Chet Gold greets volunteer Fred Liberman. Gold returns to his favorite room in the new MoMA.

The eight episodes of season two of our At the Museum video series offers a behind-the-scenes, cross-departmental view of MoMA’s staff preparing for the Museum’s reopening. Watch the previous episodes from season two now.