Legendary exhibitions; "To International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture" in the MoMA, New York

Sun., June 16, 2024, 18:07 CEST

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An exhibition in the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art New York) from May 17th to August 19, 1984, which is often quoted and about which is still being spoken today. According to the title, the exhibition wanted "an international overview of current painting and sculpture" . The curator was Kynaston McShine , who had organized some of the museum's most important exhibitions in four decades.

With the exhibition, which is limited to the MOMA, the expansion of the exhibition areas was also celebrated; Since there has been no comprehensive overview of contemporary art in the United States for many years, the works of almost two generations have been shown by modern artists. These 195 works were all created after 1975 and came from 169 artists from 17 countries.

Exhibition area in the MoMA, New York (2022)
Photo by FlowComm, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The exhibition was made possible by the support of the telecommunications company AT&T and the "National Endowment for the Arts" , the only state USA cultural funding at the federal level (the continued existence is endangered under the current president).

The curator McShine (who died in January 2018) was responsible for the selection of art and artists . Born on Trinidad and Tobago and dark skin tone, he started his career in the art world at times when the ranks of museum curators in the United States were closed with white US citizens.

Because McShine was known for his daring (he is said to have made a striking arc through the American art world), one can certainly assume that he wanted to provide an untried nationally, but as far as possible overview of the art of his time.

Against this background, the exhibition from 1984 represents the confinement of the art world at the time when you look at the participation from half a century: the represented countries were Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Great Britain, India, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, USA and West Germany; There were exactly 13 women among the 169 artists of the exhibition.

A very small art world that has not yet greater in terms of equality (of gender and skin colors) ...

List of participants and work to click through can be found here: MoMA Exhibition Spelunker: At International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza. Journalist, editor, and passionate blogger in the field of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Successful completion of a degree in web design as part of a university study (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www. kunstplaza .de/

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