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New MOMA packs 'em in
Art in America, Jan, 2005
Throngs of art and architecture enthusiasts and crowds of the just plain curious turned out in late November for the inauguration of the Museum of Modern Art's new museum building on West 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, the $425-million building is part of the museum's $858-million expansion and renovation project that includes a new endowment fund plus the cost of the museum's two-year sojourn in Queens. So far $725 million has been raised for the project. The building was generally acclaimed by early visitors and by the press for the understated elegance of its clean, crisp modernist lines and luxurious spaces.
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Following the tens of thousands who attended various previews early in the preceding two weeks, more than 19,500 visitors flocked to the museum on its official opening day, Saturday, Nov. 20, which featured free admission. Exceeding the 15,000 that museum officials expected, visitors lined up around the block beginning at 6 A.M. The first in line, a couple celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, received a surprise gift of lifetime membership to the museum.
The following day, the first of regular admission, MOMA's new and controversial ticket price did not deter large numbers of museum-goers. Some 10,500 were willing to pay $20 to see the museum and its modernist treasures. More comprehensive coverage of the new MOMA will appear in a forthcoming issue.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Brant Publications, Inc.
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