Wednesday, February 11, 2009

MoMA Displays Installation of Reproductions at Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street Subway Station

MoMA Atlantic/Pacific subway project. Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station, Brooklyn. Credit: Jeff Baxter. © 2008 The Museum of Modern Art.


For those heading to Brooklyn via Atlantic Avenue /Pacific Street Subway Station...here is something (ART) to look at~!

MoMA Atlantic/Pacific is a large-scale installation of reproductions from The Museum of Modern Art’s renowned collection of modern and contemporary art, displayed in the Atlantic Avenue/Pacific Street subway station in Brooklyn from February 10 through March 15, 2009. The purpose of the underground communications campaign is to broaden awareness of MoMA’s collection and convey the affordable benefits of membership to local New York audiences.

58 Iconic Images
The station will be the site of some 58 reproductions from every segment of MoMA’s collection, including such iconic works as: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Claude Monet’s Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, Marcel Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel, and Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. Throughout the expansive station, subway commuters will view large-scale posters of drawings by Ed Ruscha; photographs by Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Andreas Gursky; architectural drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe; design objects by Charles and Ray Eames and William Morris; and media works by Doug Aitken, Pipilotti Rist, and Bruce Nauman.

The installation will be accompanied by:

• the launch of a customized project website (www.moma.org/atlanticpacific) that includes a map and guide to the works of art
• audio commentaries on selected works and information on MoMA membership that can be accessed by a toll-free phone number (888-939-MoMA)
• a free brochure distributed at street level on February 10 and 12 that will include a coupon for free admission to the Museum or a discount on membership

MoMA Atlantic/Pacific—known as a “station domination” campaign—is one in a series of innovative initiatives recommended by a new marketing advisory committee established by the Museum in January 2008. It was conceived by Doug Jaeger, CEO, Founder, thehappycorp global, and designed by Julia Hoffmann, MoMA’s Creative Director for Advertising and Graphics.

Not bad right?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Always a good idea to get some life into the subways, so kudos to MoMA. So I feel a little churlish to observe two things:

Is Monet's Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond really a good selection for the subway? I would love it if they were able to produce an oversized version (say 35 metres wide or so), and find somewhere with suitable lighting, but I do not think that is the intention.

I also wonder whether iconic works are really what is needed. The Starry Night would be brilliant in the subway, but (but!) the obvious issue is that iconic art is, by definition, already imprinted in people's minds. A busy commuters may have the awareness to pay attention, but are they really going to think 'wow I am missing out on something here'.

An easy alternative for me would have been someone like Chagall. I and the Village would be great.

Outside of their collection, but this article got me thinking: how cool would a photograph of Chagall's stained glass be in the subway.

ruben said...

I personally think that the most contemporary works of art (photographs mostly) are more interesting amd effective for this type of public display and reproduction.