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FROM THE COLLECTION: 1960-1969 (2016-2017)
FROM THE COLLECTION:
1960-1969
NEW YORK CITY
MOMA
MAR 26 2016 - MAR 12 2017
The Museum of Modern Art has reinstalled its fourth-floor collection galleries with works exclusively from the 1960s. Interweaving works from all of MoMA’s curatorial departments and the Museum Archives, this presentation focuses on a decade in which interdisciplinary artistic experimentation flourished, traditional mediums were transformed, and sociopolitical upheaval occurred across the globe. The galleries proceed chronologically, with work installed by year. This organizing principle steps back from the classification of galleries by art historical themes or “isms” and instead aims to provide a variety of fresh discoveries and unexpected connections. The product of a collaborative effort among curators from all departments, the presentation will undergo periodic reinstallations, reflecting the depth and richness of the Museum’s collection and the view that there are countless ways to explore the history of modern art, architecture, design, and the moving image.
This exhibition contains over 350 works. The galleries featured works across a spectrum of mediums, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, architecture, design objects, videos, films, and archival materials. The presentation underwent periodic reinstallations over the course of the year, reflecting the depth and richness of the Museum’s collection and the view that there are countless ways to explore the history of modern art.
"This presentation focuses on a decade in which interdisciplinary artistic experimentation flourished, traditional mediums were transformed, and sociopolitical upheaval occurred across the globe"
The installation included a range of works from the 1960s, including a Jaguar E-Type Roadster (1961), a selection from Bela Kolárová’s photographic body of work Radiogram of Circle (1962–63), Nam June Paik’s Zen for TV (1963), James Rosenquist’s F-111 (1964–65), Jo Baer’s Primary Light Group: Red, Green, Blue (1964-65), Robert Smithson’s drawing A Heap of Language (1966), Bonnie Maclean’s poster for the Yardbirds and the Doors (1967), Eva Hesse’s Repetition Nineteen (1968), a group of works related to Superstudio’s The Continuous Monument: New York Extrusion Project, New York, New York (1969), and Nalini Malani’s film Dream Houses (1969), among many others.
Each gallery was organised by year and the galleries proceed in chronological order. This approach provided a framework to show a wide-ranging selection of objects from the Museum’s collection, offering visitors a rare opportunity to see an automobile in proximity to an oil painting, an etching juxtaposed with an architectural model, or a film alongside a sculpture. The organizational principles vary throughout: some galleries explored the potential of unexpected connections across mediums and genres while others gathered works that were similar in material or function.
Roberto Sebastián Matta (Santiago, Chile, 1911 - Civitavecchia, Italy, November 23, 2002) studied architecture and interior design at the city's Catholic University. In 1933, Matta went to work for Le Corbusier in Paris, where his interest turned to painting. He made a series of surreal landscape drawings of particular interest whilst traveling Peru and Panama.
After serving as a Merchant Marine, Matta traveled through Europe and the USA to meet artists such as Salvador Dalí, André Breton, and Arshile Gorky. Breton, in particular, was a significant influence on Matta and introduced Matta to the work of many of the prominent European artists of the time. Matta's "inscape" series was conceived as a visual representation of his inner psyche. His early paintings are associated with bio-morphism, using shapes and patterns reminiscent of organic form. He became strongly associated with the Surrealists, contributing to the Surrealist journal Minotaure with illustrations and essays.
In the 1940s and '50s, the political situation in Europe influenced the introduction of mechanical forms and distressed figures in Matta's paintings. Although he began gaining recognition, Matta was expelled from the Surrealist group when he was accused of indirectly causing Gorky's suicide by having an affair with the artist's wife. After this break, Matta spent time between South America and Europe, painting semi-abstract canvases in a surreal style.
During the sixties, Roberto Matta ventured into furniture design after meeting the Italian designer Dino Gavina. In 1966, Matta designed the "Malitte Lounge Furniture" seats for the firm Gavina and the "Magritte" chair, a series of bronze chairs. The Malitte seats are part of the permanent collection of the MoMA in New York.
Matta dedicated his later years to political activism. He was an active supporter of Chile's Socialist government and the president Salvador Allende. He died in Civitavecchia, Italy on November 23, 2002.