Greenburgh Public Library Blog

A Trip to MoMA Where Photography Is High Art

I recently visited the newly renovated Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) using the Greenburgh Library's free Museum Passes .  With a little planning in advance, you can visit local cultural institutions by reserving your museum pass with your Greenburgh Library Card.  I used the Park Wiz app to find a low cost parking garage near the museum, met up with a dear friend and together we spent a fun afternoon wandering the newly renovated halls of the MoMA.   Tip:  Wear comfortable shoes, start your tour on the 5th floor and go down to see the permanent collection by modern artists to contemporary artists and then if there is time, view a few visiting art installations.  You will walk through some of the installation halls on your way to or from the permanent collections.  Also, bring a snack and use the 2nd floor cafe' seating near the book store where you can purchase an expensive coffee, tea or bottled water.  

 What impressed me the most about the newly renovated MoMA was the use of room space in how they juxtaposed paintings, art installations and sculpture.  You really have to enter a room and stand in the middle to turn and view the layout.  This in and of itself is as much a part of the art ensemble experience as enjoying each individual piece. 

The most formidable rooms, for me, were those with photography.  One does not normally think of photography as deserving the same space and attention as paintings or sculpture.  Rooms filled with framed prints compete with performance art and other interesting installations.  There are many rooms devoid of color simply holding black and white images along a wall at shoulder height.   Suddenly, you are experiencing a room differently, patterns and shapes no longer play off one another, you are forced to move closer to the work to witness an image, an experience.   One image in particular pulled me closer with a haunting mix of curiosity, aesthetic beauty and silent strength.  I wish now that I had photographed the image as I had several paintings and installations along my sojourn through the museum.  And yet, I am glad I did not take a candid iphone picture because the power of the image and beauty of the photograph has grown in my appreciation of the work as art.  The work, a delicate silver gelatin plate observing a perfect foot.  One is looking down on this piece of anatomy, so reminiscent of classical sculpture.  Seemingly neither male nor female, the foot is ageless, preserved, amputated perfectly at the ankle. Astonishing. 

On October 21,1985 the Erna and Victor Hasselblad Photography Study Center was dedicated and is open by appointment.  The museum also has an extensive film, media and performance archive with study centers devoted to these disciplines. Iconic photographs from the museum's collection are described by Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs, in the attached video.  To understand how to look at photography as an art form, I would suggest listening to the artist themselves or watch a few of MoMA's educational video art talks with Photography Curator Sarah Meister.  Photographer, Stephen Shore's informative video takes you through a tour of how his images change depending on his location.