MoMA's Summer Shows and the Cluelessness of Critics

What's the most popular show at the Museum of Modern Art right now? The Richard Serra blockbuster, right? Well, I did practically bump into aging rock star David Byrne last week, when he was exiting the Serra that I was about to enter on the second floor. Here's a picture of him leaving MoMA a few minutes later. (Will this get me on Gawker Stalker?):

But celebrity sighting notwithstanding, on the weekday afternoon when I roamed MoMA's galleries, the great Serra show, which I thought would be a blockbuster, was rather sparsely attended, on both the second and sixth floors. I amused myself by making some museum mischief, when I stepped on the rolled steel plate that is part of "Delineator," the first Serra you come upon on the sixth floor. By occupying that slab, you are meant to be "mentally activating the space" (in the words of ARTnews critic Barbara MacAdam) which is between it and its companion slab, mounted on the ceiling and perpendicular to it.

But there is no sign informing visitors that they can step on the art, and everyone avoids it. When I broke the taboo, some people looked horrified, but I assured them it was okay, and noted that the guard, standing right there, seemed to be fine with it. Soon, about 20 people were heeling the steel. I tried this experiment several times, with the same result. The guard did tell me that, while it is allowed [and, in fact, is appropriately part of experiencing the work], walking on the plate is not actively encouraged, because some shoes might leave a mark.

Much bigger crowds were at the other exhibition sharing the sixth floor---curator Anne Umland's intelligently chosen and cannily installed survey of art made from 1965 to the present, drawn from MoMA's permanent collection. What Is Painting? opened July 7 beneath the critical radar, but was a big hit with visitors interested in a compact primer in the various movements and affinities that have engaged painters during the past 40 years.

The show also provided an opportunity to view some of MoMA's very recent acquisitions, including 2005 works by Marlene Dumas and Luc Tuymans that are "fractional and promised gifts," in this era when such gifts have lost many of their advantages to donors.

What I really liked about this exhibition was that the introductory wall text directly credited the curator: "This exhibition is organized by Anne Umland, Department of Painting and Sculpture." I'm a proponent of curatorial bylines.

There was one other big draw for MoMA's summer visitors, and here's a crowd intently gazing upon it:

It's Dan Perjovschi's "What Happened to Us," permanent marker on wall, which did indeed "tame MoMA's monstrous atrium," as I had suggested it might. You can view two video clips of Perjovschi scrawling on MoMA here. The "permanent marker" becomes impermanent after Aug. 27.