Alexandra Kingsley

Among my various Christmas traditions is the annual trip to New York to see the Macy’s window displays, the tree at Rockefeller Plaza, and a museum.  I’d never been to the MoMA before — it was closed for renovations when I briefly lived in Brooklyn — but we couldn’t have picked a better time to visit.  Every show at the museum right now is top-notch.

Walking through the main gallery space on the second floor, I thought about my aversion to contemporary art.  I am an Old Masters devotee, a Renaissance lover, a Pre-Raphaelite groupie.  I enjoy a lot modern art as well.  But contemporary art has mostly left me a little cold.  It’s intensely personality-based, I think, and depends not necessarily on craft, but rather on uniqueness of ideas.

But it struck me, in the MoMA, that one really has to be in New York City to understand contemporary art.  The combined context of place, history, and personality just make more sense in the middle of Manhattan.  Getting to see favorites like David Wojnarowicz, Louise Bourgeois and the Guerrilla Girls alongside things I’ve previously not enjoyed helped me understand contemporary art much better.

New Photography 2010

Despair, Film Still #1. 2010. Chromogenic color print, 16 x 20″. © 2010 Alex Prager

Photography is a totally different story.  Taking good pictures requires demonstrable skills, which is why it has always been among my favorite art forms.

I hadn’t heard of Alex Prager before seeing this exhibit, but she’s now on my list of favorites.  The short film from which the above still comes is a perfect live action version of the feeling her work gives.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be available online.

Prager’s work utilizes the visual language of cinema, significantly Hitchcock, and fashion photography.  Her work is drenched in color, and uses her friends and family wearing period-style clothing and wigs.  She creates different named characters throughout her photos and occasionally plays on celebrity resemblances.

Her work reminds me of an updated-yet-retro take on Cindy Sherman, especially the Untitled Film Stills series.  She specifically counts Fellini and Godard among her influences.

MoMA has up a great interview with Prager.

Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography

It’s always a treat to see so many talented women exhibited together so prominently.  Cindy Sherman, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus, and Dorothea Lange were among my favorites.   The exhibition is so big and so rich that I could probably have spent several more hours just pouring over all the work I was unfamiliar with.  It runs until April 4th, so maybe I’ll get a chance to revisit.

The museum website has some great multimedia related to the exhibition.

Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen

File this exhibition under “just darn neat.”  Kitchen-related works from the archives, video, utensils and cookware throughout modern history, awesome posters, books, magazines, and more.  This large photo series was my favorite — it’s so rare to belly laugh in the middle of a museum.

I also recommend checking out the exhibition website, which has a significant amount of material worth seeing.