About the Museum
The Museum of Modern Art is one of the premier repositories of art in the world. With the Met just down the street taking responsibilty for covering the entirety of human creative endeavors throughout history, the MoMA is free to focus on the asontishing creative output of the last 150 years, the artistic renaissance that accompanied the economic, social, and technological revolutions of that age. The result is a deep, accessible and fascinating collection of paintings, furniture, photographs, sculpture, architecture, film and graphic design. A single day is not enough to see everything, but with ever-changing exhibits, repeat exhibits are richly rewarded.
What You Will See
The MoMA defines 'art' liberally. While several floors of the museum are dedicated to an in-depth tour of traditional mediums, particularly painting, other departments focus on design, photography, architecture, print-making and even software and video games. Beyond the impressive permanent collection, the MoMA plays host to some of the most popular temporary exhibitions in NYC, ranging from deep retrospectives to overviews of key artisit moments and the works they produced. Additionally, the museum hosts daily film screenings (included with admission) and innumerable special events. Even on a brief visit to the museum, you are promised to see something familiar, something iconic and a great deal that is new.
Why You Should Go
If you only visit one museum in New York City, it should be the Met. But your second museum must be the Museum of Modern Art. Each gallery in the vast building houses an iconic work, familiar to even the most casual connessuir of art. But aside from the all-star collection of 19th and 20th century artists, the MoMA is energetic in exploring the new (though slightly short of the avant-garde). The popularity of the museum among such a diverse group of serious students and casual tourists requires the museum to balance the challanging with the accessible, the innovative with the familiar. And few institutions manage to strike that balance more successfully than the MoMA.
