After seven straight nights of chilling live performances, Kraftwerk, the mysterious German electronica pioneer, will conclude its impossibly sold out eight-night stand at MoMA. The quartet (which currently features just one remaining original member, Ralf Hütter) has been playing, as it were, in MoMA's magnificent Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium, which boasts a soaring 110 feet high ceiling. Last night we finally weaseled our way in for the performance of Kraftwerk's 1991 remix album The Mix, and were delighted to find every inch of that giant room filled by Kraftwerk's impeccable sound system. And not even the blathering cell phone-camera ingrates could ruin it.
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Results tagged “moma”
Kraftwerk Electrifies MoMA, Despite Chattering Morons Taking Flash Photos
Motivational PSA: MoMA Sent Andy Warhol A Rejection Letter
Michael Jordan didn't make his high school basketball team, Dick Cheney flunked out of Yale (twice!), and the guy who started Fage yogurt was once told his yogurt sucked.* From the annals of inspirational failure comes this MoMA rejection letter to Andy Warhol, whose drawing, "Shoe," didn't make the cut because of their "severely limited gallery and storage space."
Video: Kraftwerk Mesmerizes Lucky Bastards At MoMA
We have been unable to get into any of the Kraftwerk shows at MoMA this week. Did you? Please tell us about it in the comments, then go die in a fire. Adding insult to injury, local newspaper New York Times didn't have a problem getting in, and as humiliating as this is for us, here's an excerpt from their report:
M. Wells Is Dead, Long Live M. Wells Dinette!
When it first opened in Long Island City the "diner" M. Wells made quite the splash. Critics, with one notable exception, couldn't stop gushing about it. But then it closed after losing its lease and, despite our hopes, has yet to return. Until now! Sort of!
Be An Auto Industry Tool For Kraftwerk MoMA Tickets
Remember how last month Kraftwerk tickets went on sale for an 8-night run at MoMA, and pretty much everyone scored ulcers instead of tickets? And those lucky bastards who did get tickets mysteriously died in a fire? (Or maybe we just dreamed that?) Anyway, all is not lost if you're a fan desperate to catch the electronica pioneer's first NYC appearance in seven years. The event's sponsor, Volkswagen, has tickets to give away for each night of the run! All you have to do is dance, monkey, dance.
Photos: Cindy Sherman Exhibition Starts Today At MoMA!
For four decades, photographer Cindy Sherman has created an incredible body of work based around impersonation and archetypes. Combining a love of fashion with endless curiosity for the grotesque and strange, she has developed the ability to seamlessly slip from one persona to another. Her chameleon-like sensibility has turned her into the David Bowie of the photography world, as well as one of the most influential modern photographers. And starting today, you can see the definitive retrospective of Sherman's work at the Museum Of Modern Art.
Kraftwerk Concert Ticket Company Explains "Debacle," Scalpers Asking $42K
The CEO for the company that "handled" the "selling" of Kraftwerk tickets for the "group's" run of eight "performances" at MoMA has apologized for yesterday's debacle, in which basically "nobody" got tickets for the intimate shows. (And if you did score tickets, please STFU, ja?) According to a letter posted on the ShowClix website, CEO Joshua Dziabiak freely admits "we failed many of you." Will he resign over the scandal, then invite disgruntled Kraftwerk fans to publicly stone him to death? No. But he's real sowwwwy! The letter explains:
Most Kraftwerk Fans Scheisse Outta Luck
Thousands of area Kraftwerk fans are wondering what's the German word for ticket fail today, after tickets for the eight night stand at MoMA sold out faster than you can say shoot the glass. Just as Hitler predicted! The quick sellout says something about the high demand for a "group" that hasn't "performed" in NYC since 2005 at Hammerstein Ballroom. (HELL of a show.) MoMA used the website ShowClix to handle tickets for the sale, and many of us experienced time-outs and a debalitiating inability to even load Showclix.com for a while. After well over an hour in a queue, all Kraftwerk fans at Gothamist HQ were denied. But we weren't alone; let us collectively mourn this completely unsurprising turn of events with the soothing balm of a Twitter pity party:
Kraftwerk Returns To NYC With 8 Night Stand At MoMA
It's been seven long years since Kraftwerk blew our freaking minds at Hammerstein Ballroom, and the hugely influential German electronica collective hasn't been back to NYC since. That will finally be rectified in April, when Kraftwerk (which currently features just one of its founding members, Ralf Hütter) will perform (or "manually sequence" sound and video) in the main atrium at MoMA. In a series of eight concerts over as many nights, the mysterious Kraftwerk will "play" songs from eight albums, as well as compositions from their catalogue adapted specifically for this exhibition’s format. And this format sounds elaborate, with 3D video and plenty of other post-modern psychedelic effects TBD. We hope they bust out the robots!
PS1's Summer Art Installation Will Use Nanoparticles To Clean The Air
Today MoMA PS1 announced the winner of their 13th annual Young Architects Program (YAP), in which an up-and-coming design company is picked to transform the museum's courtyard during the summer. This year's winner is HWKN (Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner); their installation is called Wendy and will double as a sort of air filter to cancel out motor vehicle pollution. If you're a fan of PS1's popular Saturday dance parties, here's a look at where you'll be partying this summer.
Free(ish) Curry At MoMA Through February!
The New Museum may have a giant slide on the Bowery but the MoMA has free food uptown. Well, free if you've already got a membership to the museum, otherwise it'll cost you $25. Because the curry that they are serving on the museum's second floor? It's art, baby.
Step Inside These Retro Space Age Kitchens
Remember how people used to think we'd be cooking on the moon by year 2000? AquaVelvet dug up these futurescapes (plus a few more) from the 1972 "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape [pdf]" exhibit at the MoMA, while PaleoFuture has a full rundown of vintage "kitchen of the future" ads from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Space-aged refrigerators, seated dishwashers, stovetops with built-in pots and pans—it's 2011 and we're still waiting. Future, are you out there? If you can hear us, tell Rosie we want pork chops for dinner.
Five Museum Restaurants Worth Visiting Even If You Don't See Any Art
In the dead of summer there are few places as lovely to visit as a nice, cool museum. Sure, over-A.C.'d movies are fine, but with few exceptions you just don't walk out of a movie with the same wonderful feeling that a museum provides. And if there is one thing New York has in spades, it is world-class museums. But after you've waited on line for hours to see that Alexander McQueen show, what to do about food?
MoMA Raises Admission Price A Full 5 Bucks
The Museum of Modern Art just announced that they would be raising admission in September, so if you want to see priceless works of art before the price goes up, the clock is ticking. The fee is currently $20 for adults, and will go up a full 5 bucks come September 1st—in addition, it will be $18 for senior citizens 65 and older, and $14 for students (though children 16 and under will still get in for free). MoMA sent out a release this morning saying:
James Franco Will School You At P.S. 1 This Summer
Here we were writing about James Franco's return to soaps, when he's got a real life art exhibit coming up! (As opposed to the fake art exhibit, also a thing.) We just got word that the show will open this Saturday at PS1 in Queens, and will be a collaboration between Gus Van Sant and Franco—similar to their Gagosian show. But this time, James is bringing Professor Franco with him!
Architect-Designer Dies Two Weeks After Brutal Mugging
A respected architect and designer whose work is in the permanent collection of MoMA died yesterday, two weeks after he was beaten during a mugging. South African-born architect Gerald Abramovitz, 82, was best known for his minimalist cantilever desk lamp, which he made for Best & Lloyd, and which is featured in MoMA. "He was a very dynamic, creative, charming person. He had the exuberance of an 18-year-old, and he was still designing," his friend Gene Koretz told the WSJ.
Milton Glaser's Original Sketch For I ♥ NY
Have you ever seen the original sketches for the now universally known I ♥ NY logo? MuseumNerd reminds us that the 1976 Milton Glaser original is on view at MoMA's design galleries... which is a long way away from where it began: he sketched it quickly on a piece of envelope in the back of a cab.
Video: Kanye West Under All Of The Lights At MoMA's Garden Party
Last night the line outside the door of the Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street stretched around 5th Avenue all the way to 54th Street, where a group of high-heeled, impatient Europeans tried to bribe a guard into letting them into the MoMA's annual Garden Party, one of their fanciest, shmanciest nights of the year. The well-dressed men and better-dressed women didn't put up with the delays in order to pack into the beautiful Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden just for the open bar: they were there to see Kanye West.
Tonight: A Lone Beastie Boy Will DJ At MoMA, 1986: The Beastie Boys Discuss Debut Album
Every first Thursday of the month (through June), MoMA stays open a bit late, opens up a cash bar, serves patrons a prix-fixe meal, and invites a deejay over. Tonight that deejay is Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys, who will be spinning from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (more details here). Bonus: Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre will also be on hand—it was just announced that she'll be collaborating with Horovitz on a Runaways tribute.
Yo, Met, We're Really Happy For You, But MoMA Has One Of The Best Garden Parties Of All Time
On May 10th, the Museum of Modern Art will host their annual Garden Party, a fancy pants high-brow event sponsored by Cartier, includes a dinner and cocktail hour, and is held in honor of several art collectors and philanthropists. The kids go for the music though, which takes place at the afterparty and where past performers have included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and MIA. Today there have been mumblings that Kanye West would be the sonic centerpiece this year, and it's just been confirmed. Nice curation, MoMA!
World's Youngest Art Critic Upset About MoMA's Lack Of Dinosaurs
We've got the next Rosalind Krauss on our hands! Tiny art critic Annabelle stopped by MoMA earlier this year and says that while she did get chance to see a thought-provoking collection that included "a coat closet, trash, and two water fountains," she was ultimately "very disappointed" at the lack of paleontological art. Or as she simply put it: "I did not see a dinosaur."
Hole "Reunites" At MoMA, But Probably Won't Really Reunite Anytime Soon!
Before last night it had been 13 years since the members of Hole—as you likely remember them—had been in the same room. In fact, the last time they were all together was when drummer Patty Schemel left the studio during the recording sessions for Celebrity Skin, never to return. Last night Schemel was reunited with Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, and Melissa auf der Maur at MoMA's screening of Hit So Hard, the P. David Ebersole directed documentary chronicling the life, and near death, of the drummer.
Hole Will Reunite At MoMA... For A Q&A
Courtney Love may have been touring around with her band Hole recently, but her band was severely different from the original lineup. On Monday the original four will band together again, however, for a screening of Hit So Hard at MoMA—a documentary about former Hole drummer Patty Schemel (clip below).
Topsy Turvy Piano Players Make Noise At MoMA
Has this year's Marina Abramovic arrived? Five piano players (rotating) have trapped themselves in the middle of a piano for a performance piece at MoMA. WCBS went to check out the work—created by Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla—which consists of a piano player standing inside of a carved hole in the piano, and playing Beethoven... upside down. Each performance lasts about 30 minutes, during which time the player is also pushing the piano around; Julliard grad Evan Shinners says, “It’s got some good wheels. I’m driving a piano. It’s a hybrid." Ladies and gents, he'll be there all weekend (the performance only goes through Monday).
Marina's MoMA Fans Get Published
2010: the year many a New Yorker gazed into the eyes of Marina Abramovic, as she set up shop at MoMA. Now all of those who got to sit across from her (like those VIPs), will get the moment immortalized in a book. According to Animal, Aperture’s publishing a book of Marco Anelli’s photographs—all 1500+ of them that were taken during her 716 hour seated run at the museum. Get more details here... but we're gonna hold out for the IMAX 3-D version. Make it happen, Franco.
Bye Bye Abramović: Artist Closes Out In Style
Last night Marina Abramović and her VIPs gathered at MoMA for a closing celebration of the artist's retrospective there. Our invite must have gotten lost in the mail (it seems superfans like Paco Blancas and Josephine Decker also didn't earn their way in), but here's a look at who was in attendance, including Courtney Love and her new face.
Marina's Unexpected Nude Speaks Out
Marina Abramović may not be present at MoMA anymore, but her internet presence will never die. We got in touch with one of the performance artist's final (and controversial) face-to-face guests, who until now has just been referred to as the streaker. 29-year-old Josephine Decker (who camped out to be first in line) did indeed strip down for Marina during her last day of "The Artist Is Present," but why? Here's what she told us:
The Artist Has Left The Building
The Marina Abramović retrospective has now officially ended, with all of the prolific performance artist's pieces—the naked strangers, the skeleton draped over flesh—taking their leave of MoMA, along with the artist herself. We already heard about some of the closing day craziness, but photographer Jim Kiernan was on hand and provided us with some more inside info (and illegal photographs!).
The Artist Is Present—Through Monday
Marina Abramović's performance art retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art closes on Memorial Day, which means if you've been wanting to sit across from her, you'll have to go today, tomorrow or Monday. We wonder if superfan Paco Blancas will be there for a final good-bye.
Greater New York Opens at PS 1
This Thursday the Greater New York exhibit opens at PS 1 in Long Island City (and will run through October 18th). This is their third time around with the exhibit, which this year will showcase 68 artists—covering all mediums—who live and work in the city. A few of the artists have also been commissioned to work in residence, shooting photographs and video, rehearsing and realizing performances, and "stretching the notions of sculpture, painting, photography, film, and video-making." It's like performance art art, or something.
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