Tomkins Weighs in on Mega-MoMA

Not too many fresh insights from Calvin Tomkins about the reasons for the general malaise felt by many long-time Museum of Modern Art visitors at the new mega-MoMA. But his Sept. 25 article, "I Remember MoMA" in The New Yorker, does break new journalistic ground in detailing at least some of the story behind the obvious (but never fully explained) rifts between director Glenn Lowry and two of MoMA's most prominent curators, Robert Storr and the late Kirk Varnedoe, both of whom left their posts. (At this writing, The New Yorker has not posted a link to Tomkins' article.)

But for me, the most interesting excerpt was a quote from Lowry, indicating that a rethinking of how best to tame the expanded space is now is progress:

I want to have time with the curatorial staff and the senior support staff to step back now and say, "What have we achieved, and what do we need to do over the next five years?" We've got fifty thousand more square feet of exhibition space, and we're far from understanding how to use that space well, or to what degree some galleries work and others don't.

Quite an admission, but also a sign that even Lowry recognizes that they haven't gotten it right yet. To a significant extent, though, they will be limited by the shortcomings of the building itself, as Tomkins discusses (and as I have previously discussed here and here).

Also weighing in on mega-MoMA this week was architect Jacques Herzog, whose firm, Herzog & de Meuron, had competed for the chance to design the new facility, and (by his own admission) was "devastated" when it lost. After attending Herzog's public dialogue with Lowry at MoMA Tuesday evening. I came away convinced that Glenn could have a great career as an interviewer, if he ever decides to retire from museum work (and this from CultureGrrl herself, a master of the pointed question!).

Come to think of it...I have so many ideas on how museums should be run that maybe I could have a great career as a museum director once I retire from cultural journalism. (You know I'm just kidding, right?)

COMING SOON: Jacques Herzog's take on mega-MoMA.