MoMA Reopens Written and Photographed By Evan Sung
Broken Obelisk

We’ve all been waiting for it, and finally…FINALLY, the art is upon us. Yes, yes, I know, you went out to MOMAQNS (suuuure you did…I know, you meant to…we all meant to…), but all we really wanted was the original MoMA back. Well, the wait is over, and it’s been worth it on almost all counts.

After closing in May of 2002, and at a cost of approximately $425 million, architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s redesign of the MOMA reopened to the public on the 20th of November, 2004. The result is both a minimalist redesign of a New York institution, and a dramatic reimagining of the MOMA experience.

Architecture and Design II	Atrium	Brancusi
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Any New Yorker worth his or her salt or pepper knows that the MoMA has the world’s finest, broadest collection of early modern to contemporary art. With almost double the square footage and 40,000 square feet of extra gallery space, the MoMA has more room to display the breadth of its own collection, as well as an airy, hangar-like temporary exhibition space on the 6th floor to house outsized works of art and the museum’s famous blockbuster shows.

The most astonishing addition, and the biggest change to the overall structure of the museum, is a central 6-story atrium that gives the museum a scale and grandeur complemented by Barnett Newman’s massive yet weightless “Broken Obelisk.” The soaring atrium becomes a center of gravity for the museum around which the other galleries orbit.

Each floor has a balcony view down into the central atrium, which offers a meditative resting point as you wander from gallery to gallery and floor to floor. Another exciting addition to the museum is the Yoshiko and Akio Morita Gallery, which offers video- and film-art lovers a dedicated and reconfigurable space in which to enjoy media works, projections, and sound installations. In fact, every creative medium is afforded more space than in the previous incarnation, so that the new MoMA really feels like several discrete museums in one.

Entrance	Gallery	Gallery
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But all the old favorites are still here. The Water Lilies, the Pollocks, Aristide Maillol’s “The River,” Cezanne’s “Bather” are all on display. What is particularly surprising is the design of the galleries themselves. In stark contrast to the dramatic statement of the central atrium, the design of the galleries is so unobtrusive as to become almost invisible. Each room has multiple entries and exits, and as a result, the visitor can play a big Choose-Your-Own-Adventure exploration of the history of art. Because you are free to roam the galleries as you see fit, you start to feel a bit like a disembodied mind just floating through art. Instead of being taught the history of art, the viewer can discover the connections for themselves, and find some surprising echoes between a work in one gallery and another work two galleries down and to the left. It becomes a much more satisfying and freeing way of experiencing the works, free-associative and liberated.

Gallery	Heli	MOMA Design
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However, all is not frosting on this cake. Everyone by now has heard about the controversial new admission price tag. At $20 per visit, the MoMA has a taken an unfortunate step towards elitism in trying to “upscale” the brand. The MoMA is clearly not begging on your local street corner, and though fine art has its value, it should also be available to the public. In today’s political climate, art can offer a potent tonic for those losing faith in humanity’s potential, and should not be cordoned off from those who can’t afford to get past the doors. Still, the yearly membership is a comparative steal at $75 for the basic package, which pays for itself in only three visits. And thanks to those modern day Medicis the Target corporation (huh?!), MoMA offers free admission on Fridays from 4pm to 8pm. So you can still get your art on without breaking the bank if you don’t mind the Friday night crowds.

Pollock	Temporary Exhibition	Vir Heroicus Sublimis
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With the re-opening of the new MoMA, there is a real sense of reinvigoration in New York’s art scene. For these first few months, there are no large-scale exhibitions planned, as the museum’s permanent collection and new look are inevitably a blockbuster draw in and of itself. There are some fantastic film series in the Film and Media Department, a look at some of Taniguchi’s other museum designs from around the world, and Michael Wesley’s fascinating open-shutter look at the construction of the MoMA. But there are huge shows in the offing, most notably next summer’s sure-to-be-enormous Cezanne/Pissaro exhibition.

The new MoMA is really a feast for art-lovers, so if you’ve been jonesing for the kind of contemplative modern art experience that only MoMA can offer, dinner is served.