At the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), there are two different special exhibits that I want to call to your attention. Neither is required for your art assignment's completion, but each bears on it in some ways. More important, is of special interest as an example of technology in art. They are: (1) the Disney animation materials (downstairs) and (2) the Mondrian exhibit (third floor).
The first is of special interest because Disney pioneered and solidified the possibility of animation as a form of technological supported art. The many examples in this exhibit give the viewer a sense of how this technology works, and hopefully, a sense of what powerful innovation the Disney studios brought about. One need not agree with the point of view that Disney superimposed on much of his major production, but one should acknowledge how powerful his impact on the communication world wide has been.
The Mondrian exhibit is especially interesting to this class if one rents the Acoustiguide that is available at the entrance to the exhibit. Mondrian claimed repeatedly that his work was analogically mirrored in jazz. When you merely see his work, though, you may or may not have the faintest idea what he meant by such allusions. However, this particular Acoustiguide includes as one of the three narrators Winton Marsalis, the noted classical and jazz trumpeter. Marsalis has some interesting observations on parts of the exhibit which may help the viewer understand better what Mondrian meant. Moreover, the tape includes numerous recorded examples of jazz from the periods when Mondrian was most active, including the end of his life, when he was working in New York City and painting New York Boogie Woogie and Victory Boogie Woogie . Not only does Mondrian himself link his movement toward visual abstraction to music (through analogy to jazz), but the currently new technology (the acoustiguide) for studying the art includes a recording of music relevant to the context. Finally, the whole connection between music and art that is only lightly touched upon in the proseminar is here underscored in a unique way.