In this work-a monumental tapestry woven
on a computer-controlled jacquard loom-
Macuga surrounds herself with reproductions
of over two hundred artworks from MoMA's
collection. This image evokes a photograph
taken in 1954 of the French politician, publisher,
and novelist André Malraux observing the
layout of the second book in his trilogy Le
Musée imaginaire de la sculpture mondiale
(The Imaginary Museum of World Sculpture).
Malraux observed that museums "estrange
the works they bring together from their original
functions and ... transform even portraits
into 'pictures."
Inspired by the time she spent in MoMA's
archives, conducting research on the
Museum's collection and exhibition history,
Macuga orchestrated her own personal
survey, framing the museum as living and
open to reinterpretation and reevaluation.
Commissioned on the occasion of The
Museum of Modern Art's 2019 reopening,
courtesy the artist and Andrew reps Gallery,
New York. Organized by Yasmil Raymond,
Associate Curator, Department of Painting
and Sculpture, with Tara Keny, Curatorial
Assistant, Department of Drawings and Prints.