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The Museum Of Modern Art's "What Is Modern?" Series, 1938-1969, Jennifer Tobias
The Museum Of Modern Art's "What Is Modern?" Series, 1938-1969, Jennifer Tobias
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Between 1938 and 1969, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) poses the question of What Is Modern? (WIM) in a series of books, traveling exhibitions, and a symposium. This dissertation argues for the WIM project as a sustained if minimally effective effort to influence popular American perceptions of modern art, architecture, and design, at the same time embodying tensions inherent to the museum and its notions of that modernism.
MoMA is an unquestionable influence on modern art history. WIM is a significant component of this influence, yet scholarship on the series is minimal. Hiding in plain sight, the series offers …