The exhibition forces you to question the real impact of famous artworks in the flesh.
Promising to bring the magic of the iconic Museum of Modern
Art from New York to Melbourne is no small feat, and one that could easily have
fallen short of expectations.
Opening on June 9th, the National Gallery of
Victoria’s ‘MoMA at the NGV, 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art’ features
around 150 works transported from the States, many of which have never been
seen before in Australia. MoMA is renowned worldwide for its unparalleled
collection of artworks from the seminal moments in modern art. From the most
recognisable Pop Art pieces to priceless Cubist works, it has long been
understood that MoMA is the place to visit for modern art enthusiasts. Finally
Australian art lovers were promised an insight into this collection. The queues snaking back from the exhibition
entrance prove just how exciting this concept is.
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| Outside the National Gallery of Victoria |
Displayed chronologically, the exhibition begins in the
early 1900s with the likes of Futurist artist Umberto Boccioni. A piece so
involved with concepts of fluidity through air and multi-dimensional movement,
his 1913 sculpture Unique Forms of
Continuity in Space can only fully be appreciated in person. Being able to
view it from every possible angle, walking around it, experiencing it how it
was intended, is evidence enough for the importance of the travel of MoMA’s
collection.
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Boccioni, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913 |
Arguably some of the most famous pieces, and ones that will
surely draw the most foot-traffic include Mondrian’s Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych. With artworks such as these, which have been
mass-produced in so many forms, it is quite surreal – no pun intended- to see
the originals in the flesh, up close. For example, it is shocking how small
Dali’s piece is when it has made such an impact on visual culture, reproduced
as 3D clocks, tattoos and graffiti. Seeing it in the flesh, you are forced to
look at it for what it actually is, a small oil painting, rather than the
legacy it has left in pop culture.
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| With De Chirico, The Melancholy of Departure, 1914 |
Perhaps that is really the great theme of this exhibition,
questioning the real impact of famous artworks in the flesh. These are pieces
that rarely leave the walls of their New York museum, and therefore are most
commonly experienced through reproductions or through a screen. Seeing them,
transported across oceans, viewers must question how their meanings change when
experienced in reality. How does the size and texture of Claes Oldenburg’s fan
become eroticised when seen up close? How does the impact of Martha Rosler’s
iconic feminist Semiotics of the Kitchen change
when seen on a 1970s TV screen? How do Mark Rothko’s huge blocks of colour
develop new shapes and depth when viewed with your own eyes rather than a
camera’s?
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| The display of Martha Rosler's Semiotics of the Kitchen, 1975 |
The success of the NGV’s collaboration will surely have an
impact on how modern art is experienced in Australia for years to come.
MoMA at the NGV is at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne until 7th October 2018.
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