Misfired Canon (A Review of the New Moma)

Home , Albert Gleizes, Kenyon Cox, Parade (ballet), Sonia Delaunay

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110 ARTnews / WINTER 2020 red Canon red f Mis D BY MAURA REILLY MAURA BY lacking. seriously rehang the nds f curator feminist A NEW YORK nent collection for the general public and toursofthemuseum’s gallery I led perma ment of the Museum of Modern Art, where leading to Picasso, Futurism, Surrealism, ginning with Monet and Cézanne, and then by founding director Alfred H. Barr Jr., be tell the “story” of modern art as conceived 1880 to the mid-1960s, were arranged to galleries, representing art produced from VIPs. At that time, the permanent exhibition NEW MOMA OPENED OCTOBER 21 worked in the Education Depart degree at New York University, I history pursuing mygraduateart WHILE 1990S, THE URING - - - up for discussion. Indeed, I was dissuaded “Other” artists—were not on display was not or North America—in other words, all artists of color, and those not from Europe problematic. The fact that very few women, institution that it was never questioned as sion. Barr’s story was so ingrained in the anavant-gardethereby producing progres trumped or subverted his previous master, the U.S. influenced another who inevitably sexual, white) male “genius” from Europe or flowof“isms”inwhichone(hetero linear to Barr, “modern art” was a synchronic, and, ultimately, Jackson Pollock. According - - presentation organized into categories (still ern art through a thematic, genre-based Tate Modern presented the story of mod inauguralexhibitionat much-anticipated ing to subject instead of chronology, and a Museum all rehung their collections accord High Museum of Art, and the Denver Art all the rage. The Brooklyn Museum, the challenged, and anti-chronology became vance of mainstream modernism was being when there were onlyeightonview. “women artists in the collection” at a time by my boss from cheekily offering a tour of By the turn of the 21st century, the rele Picasso’s famed 1907canvas 20: Die American People Series No. No. American People Series Les Demoiselles d'AvignonLes Demoiselles Ringgold’s 1967painting At thenew MoMA,Faith (below) ispaired (below) with - - - . 11/18/19 8:40PM

above: The Museum of Modern Art, New York INSIGHTS / MoMA ARTnews / WINTER 2020 111 11/18/19 8:40 PM -

------exec New York York New Installation view of view Installation to dedicated a room “Florine Stettheimer and Company.” ARTnews ARTnews , “Why just one? It reads reads It one? just “Why , , also on view in the museum. “a stroke of curatorial genius,” “a stroke Andrew Russeth asked on this this on asked Russeth Andrew called What Holland Cotter in the Cotter What Holland Regardless of whether you think PicassoRegardless of the ’60s work Given that Ringgold’s Jacob Lawrence,Jacob and the decorative work peoples the Democratic from of the Kuba to name just a few— Republic of the Congo, beenit might have to interesting more Lawrence’s to in relation include her work Migrant Series pres MoMA why didn’t radically, more Or, rooment an entire dedicated to Ringgold, with multiple paintings and sculptures, juxtaposed with a single Picasso? Times with case the also was This tokenism. call I Thomas Alma single a of placement the MoMA Is room. all-Matisse an in painting wrongs, past for amends make to trying exclusive almost an celebrated have which espe superstars—and male white of parade an showing Picasso—by and Matisse cially own her holding woman African-American As painter? abstract an as utive editor website magazine’s publicly that he was not interested in the the in interested not was he that publicly the in only but themselves, in works tribal way they acted as for the West inspiration an with met exhibition The avant-garde. ern Thomas by spearheaded criticism of outcry museum the that argued who McEvilley, cultures co-opting really non-Western was no and using them to consolidate Western tions of quality and feelings of superiority. Ringgold the with art, African from stole con to oblivious appears MoMA intervention appropriation such that controversies tinued on composition her based Ringgold If stokes. African on own his based had who Picasso’s, rep art, attempting to make now MoMA is be to need Ringgold Does him? for arations linked with Picasso to validate her genius? was not influenced by Picasso alone—she was also fueled by her admiration for the Baldwin, the paintings of writings of James ------American American ‘Primitivism’ in in ‘Primitivism’ , depicts a race riot riot race a depicts , “ (1937)—the artist’s Guernica The fact that MoMA chose to present present to chose MoMA that fact The Positioned as she is, Ringgold is present I am thrilledI is beingRinggold that given by way of an African-American artist? by way of an African-American such an intervention in light of the nev er-ending criticism of its own much-ma ligned 1984 exhibition and Tribal the of nity ffi A Art: Century 20th interesting. more the all is Modern” the That show exhibited tribal objects Af from without America North and Oceania, rica, alongside text wall explanatory or labels Constantin and Picasso, Gauguin, by works influence their show to order in Brancusi, on modernism as a movement. The exhi expressed Rubin, William curator, bition’s into a room dedicated to a white male master? justifies the placement MoMA so: “Ringgold basedlike her composition on Picasso’s response to the atrocities of the Spanish visited when she regularly Civil War—which the monumental canvas was on display at the Museum of Modern Art.” sup a as or Picasso, of derivative a as ed Picasso that is irony The character. porting painting, to reinvent in his desire himself, saw he art tribal the from motifs borrowed in 1907 at the Muséed’Ethnographie du Tro from derived was Cubism His Paris. in cadéro single the of placement the Is art. African attempt MoMA’s then, room, this in Ringgold to acknowledge Picasso’s African influences shrine to Pablo Picasso, with 13 early paint Picasso, with 13 early shrine to Pablo “master,” modern the by sculptures and ings monumental a placed have curators MoMA’s Ring artist Faith by African-American work titled gold. The painting 1967, from People 20: Die Series No. contorted and bloodied with progress, in canvas. the across strewn bodies interracial per long-overdue prominence in MoMA’s manent collection galleries. She certainly I am disappointed deserves it. However, in her placement. Why is she integrated ------While some found the new in critics have While it might appear that history is is history that appear might it While Fast-forward to 2019. MoMA has MoMA re to 2019. Fast-forward But these postmodern modernist For its part, three organized MoMA For

include the Amy Sillman “Artist’s Choice” Choice” “Artist’s Sillman Amy the include below.) outlined reasons for installation, exciting of full and praise of worthy stallation especially disagree, to tend I juxtapositions, For interventions. various the to pertains as virtual a as functioning room a in instance, repeating itself, the most exciting aspect aspect exciting most the itself, repeating number the in rise the is MoMA new the of and non-Western of women, non-white, collection the while But view. on artists much needs still it diversity, greater reflects works 1,400 than more the Of improvement. women by are 350 than fewer display, on percent, 25 around for artists—making not does (This calculations. my to according mainstream modernist timeline remains, tracing art history the 1880s to the from present. The museum has done away with oftentimes non of quirky, “isms” in favor sensical, themes and dumbed-down gallery Scavenge, headings, such as “Stamp, and “Inner and Outer Space.” Crush” even fewer were by non-white artists.even fewer were opened after yet another fanfare with great major building expansion and has yet again declared more to tell a different, intentions While story. and less definitive inclusive, it purports to be the nonchronological, traditional narrative of modernism is left and the ghost in 2000), of the intact (unlike a series of “hubs” and centralized works four art-historical around moments. MoMA also reverted to the mainstream modern ist paradigm: Another expansion in 2004 debuted to strict art with a return histor collection with the galleries ical “isms,” installed almost exactly as they had been Only four percent of before “MoMA2000.” and by women, on display were the works endeavors proved to beendeavors failed experiments and MoMA at Tate when the rehangs almostwere universally criticized for their anti-chronological approach, which art referred to as “a post-his critic Hal Foster torical hodgepodge of disparate works In placed in lookalike together groupings.” reinstalled its collection in response, Tate of laboratory. Sound familiar? The three Sound familiar? The of laboratory. thematic, exhibitions were “MoMA2000” pluralistic, open-ended,nonchronological, Elderfield, John and, at times, playful. As put it: “We’re then chief curator at large, one orthodoxynot replacing with another. want to show that what was happening We until now was an orthodoxy.” life, landscape, nude, and history painting). painting). history and nude, landscape, life, wasTheir display non-cen nonhierarchical, jarring for allowing inclusive, and tralizing, hanging Matisse Henri like juxtapositions Dumas. Marlene beside the goalexhibitions in 2000 with of itself expanded for a newly reinventing building, positioning its collection as a sort

112 ARTnews / WINTER 2020 INSIGHTS / MoMA Nadelman, Albert Gleizes, Alfred Stieglitz, Stieglitz, Gleizes,Alfred Nadelman, Albert have majorworks inMoMA’s Elie collection: circle, artistic manyofwhom Stettheimer’s in whoactuallywas lief whenoneconsiders Why were they exhibited here? none of them knew Stettheimer personally. have shared the same historical moment, this context. While these latter women may Sonia Delaunay-Terk—make no sense within Freytag-Loringhoven, Hannah Höch, and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Baroness Elsa von Similarly, the historic works presented—by mon with her other than their female sex. Stark, Jutta Koether) have little in com Louise Lawler, Rachel Whiteread, Frances on display (Cosima von Bonin, Sylvie Fleury, proved, as most of the contemporary artists would Stettheimer likelyherself not have ap and new artists who happen to be women. one gallery a random group of works by old the curators decided to bunch together in had only women friends but rather that champ), which is not to say that Stettheimer three by men (two of them by Marcel Du finds 21 works, with 18 by women artists and space—let’s call it “The Ladies Room”—one Stettheimer and Company.” In this small curating is the room dedicated to “Florine these two great?” colorists shoot off half-Matisse, and see what kind of fireworks as tentative. Why not go half-Thomas and The confusion isthrown intohigherreThe confusion Perhaps the best example of problematic - - - - Sandu Darie interacts visually with Fernand the 1950s by Romanian-born Cuban artist big,tosystematize?” indefinite, too just too be considered rigorously modern? Or is it Was shape too personal, too subjective, to things calculable in the twentieth century. art turned to systems, series, grids, and all in fact, shape got left behind when modern Sillman explains in her wall text, “I wonder if, this case, shapes and shape-makers. As according to visual or formal affinities—in ahistorical, nonchronological, and organized a cabinet of curiosities, the presentation is unfamiliar works by canonical artists. Like who have been canonized, while others are artists who are no less brilliant than those in a museum. Many are by overlooked proximity and at angles rarely encountered from the collection arranged in super-close series. The large room presents objects71 iteration of the museum’s “Artist’s Choice” exhibition “The Shape of Shape,” the latest New York painter Amy Sillman’s curated visit the new MoMA, it is to experience IF THEREISONEREASONTO early 20thcentury? amajoravant-gardegenius as figure ofthe Stettheimer’s tocontextualize artists showingworks Why notaroom bythese Steichen, andKenyon amongothers. Cox, WilliamZorach,Edward Lachaise, Gaston Organized as they are, a sculpture from

installation with (or without) a handout with One is encouraged to walk through the presented context-free, with no wall labels. of traditional art history. The objects are personalized manner, outside the conﬁnes bywomenartists. the works produced terms of gender, with around 40 percent of diverse of all the new collection displays in exchanges abound. Sillman’s is also the most intercultural, andintergenerational visual performance in 1977. Many such intriguing, edly beside a photograph of a Senga Nengudi Bess painting from 1949 hanging unexpect 1959. A third curious instance ﬁnds a Forrest from Bontecou a mammoth,cavernous Lee tiny Duchamp sculpture are juxtaposed with painting by Ulrike Müller from 2017 and a on the other. In another dialogue, a small by Zimbabwean artist Thomas Mukarobgwa on oneside, andwithasmall1962painting Léger’s Purist painting approach to and viewing of art, transcending tion has broken down the once traditional that,Sillman’sus. Inrecognizing installa work of art.” Our senses can do the work for don’t needCurating cultural of references to enjoy a Ethics an Towards tin argued in my book sual pleasure. As curator Jean Hubert-Mar shapes that Sillman has organized for our vi mind and eye to appreciate the multitude of full captions. Doing so frees the viewer’s Sillman has organized the works in a Curatorial Activism: The Mirror (2018): “You from 1925 - - - - 11/18/19 8:40PM

- proj Views of Views impossible

spread this Sillman‘s Amy painter exhibition curated “The Shape of Shape,” intriguing, many where and intercultural, visual intergenerational abound. exchanges In the end, it would have beenIn the end, it would have more Pompidou Center in Paris did in 2009–11), in Paris Center Pompidou or an exhibition consisting of non- entirely white artists. has MoMA the collection to implement either of these scenarios and, if critical pieces it certain missing, were ly has the money for acquisitions. Even perhaps, could MoMA have radically, more invited the entire Amy Sillman to reinstall collection. of those Any scenarios would ingenious new made for a far more have beginning for the museum. THE RINGGOLD INTERVENTION IS is that The problem an excellent example. strategywith a revisionist is still a bi there nary opposition we In other words, in place. must be wary that becomes of revisionism the canon to ad Revising a kind of homage. minority the neglectdress of women and/or artists is fundamentally an ect because does such revision not grapple with the terms that created neglect that in the ﬁrst place. opted to have for for MoMA interesting admitting its sins and total transparency, what omissions publicly by presenting one might call a separatist agenda: an threeall-woman show across ﬂoors (as the - - ”

had hitherto or hidden: refused, forgotten, and minority cultures. women, for instance, is an importantWhile revisionism curatori it also mas assumes the white, al strategy, canon as its “center”culinist, Western and accepts as its hierarchy a natural given. seems an effort the sins and to address like of the past,errors is attempting MoMA an integrative approach, inserting artists back canon within into the mainstream which they had either been marginalized or principle aim here, MoMA’s made invisible. it seems, canon, to rewrite the is to revise it—in short, to expand it to include what it - - - Sound familiar, again? Sillman’s display Sillman’s again? Sound familiar, ‘The Shape of a Shape.’ MoMA, it is painter Amy Sillman’s display is revisionist in nature. In what in nature. display is revisionist chical implications and no consideration of categories. periodic or gender, race, borders, to that moment in brings us full circle was2000 when MoMA first attempting to redefine itself collec by installing their and ahistorically tion nonhierarchically as “Modern Places, Starts: People, and Instead, the 2019 collection Things.” the borders of genres, eras, and distinct cul distinct and eras, genres, of borders the linear not is time configuration, her In tures. is Hers kaleidoscopic. and wide but long or an ahistorical presentation, with no hierar “If there is a reason to visit the new W20_BOB_Reviews_MoMA_Reilly_f.indd 113