MOMA Masterpieces: Contemporary Interpretations

Chap, Musée Fabre, 2013. Acrylic on linen canvas, 116 x 89 cm.

The modern museum: brief excursus of a long evolution 

People often, and erroneously, associate the idea of a museum with that of a place, or rather an institution, designed to house, as a mere container, the great masterpieces of human genius. In reality, even the museum has a story to tell, since it is the result of the complex interweaving of cultures, philosophical thoughts, political currents and social phenomena that, over time, have shaped its form. In fact, the museum boasts ancient origins, dating back even to ancient Greece, although this institution, as we know it today, has its roots in the 16th century Wunderkammer and, later, in Europe between the 17th and 18th centuries. The Wunderkammer, or "cabinets of wonders", represented particular environments in which curious nobles, rich merchants and scholars, assembled extraordinary objects, with the aim of showing and interpreting the variety and richness of the world. Later, towards the middle of the 18th century, a new place of preservation emerged, which, inextricably linked to Enlightenment ideals, found its first important example in the British Museum in London (1750), where the architecture and rich collections, from different parts of the world, were conceived with the purpose of showing the greatness of the British Empire. In addition, during this period, more specialized collections emerged, such as the one devoted exclusively to art of the Louvre Museum in Paris (1793). This latter museum typology presented a linear and didactic layout scheme, aimed at originating narratives of development or progress, realized through chronological arrangements subdivided by nation, local school and artist. Finally, the history of the modern museum culminates in the United States, where, during the 1930s, the new conservative approach of the "white cube" arose, that is, the tendency to create white and bare spaces, where the user, free from historical references, could know the work of art in its maximum purity. It is precisely this latter model of museum that today has taken over, expanding like wildfire throughout the world. 

Mila Kochneva, Woman in Gallery. Malevich's Black Square, 2021. Acrylic on linen canvas, 50 x 40 cm.

Sebastian Olivier Burckhardt, MOMA, 2012. Acrylic on canvas 100 x 150 cm.

MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art )

Among the most famous and oldest examples of "white cube" is certainly the MOMA in New York, born in the late twenties with the aim of creating a progressive institution, which, exclusively dedicated to modern art, pursued the intent to help people understand and enjoy the visual arts of the time. To this day, this museum is considered one of the largest and most comprehensive collections, which, starting with an initial donation of eight prints and one drawing, has grown to approximately 200,000 works, including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, media and performance art, architectural models and drawings, design objects, and films. It is important to highlight how, in its early years, the collection had no fixed abode, moving three times to progressively larger temporary rooms, until, in 1939, it finally settled in the iconic building in Midtown Manhattan. This new space, a resoult of the collaboration between American architects Philip L. Goodwin and Edward Durell Stone, also includes a sculpture garden designed by curator John McAndrew and historical MOMA director Alfred H. Barr Jr. In addition, that venue, developed in six floors of elegant white marble and insulated glass, also houses a film auditorium, library, and two floors of office space. This multi-departmental building underwent further and successive expansions during the 1950s and 1960s, while a major renovation by architect Cesar Pelli took place in 1984, with the aim of doubling the museum's gallery space and improving visitor facilities. In this context, the museum has maintained, and continues to maintain, an active program of modern and contemporary art exhibitions, aimed at addressing a wide range of topics, media and time periods, highlighting significant recent developments in the visual arts and new interpretations of major artists and historical movements.

Duc Evelyna, Les murs de verre, 2019. Photograph taken at MOMA.

Three MOMA Masterpieces: Contemporary Interpretations

Among MOMA's most important works of art, Van Gogh's Starry Night, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, and Jasper Johns' Flag certainly stand out. These masterpieces continue to be a source of inspiration for contemporary artists from around the world, who have re-interpreted them into original, modern, current and, at times, ironic pieces of art, such as, for example, Tony Rubino's Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night parody map Google, Igor Matvienko's Andy Warhol and David Decourcelle's Old glory.

Tony Rubino, Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night parody map Google. Acrylic / lithograph on canvas, 50.8 x 61 cm.

Tony Rubino: Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night parody map Google

Vincent Van Gogh's 1889 masterpiece on canvas, titled Starry Night, represents one of the last paintings by the tormented Dutch master, executed only a year before his tragic death. The work, part of the collection of MOMA, depicts a country landscape at night, where the only lights come from the windows of the houses, the crescent moon and the stars, which are placed within a sky full of eerie whirlwinds. As for the style, Starry Night has been realized through short modeling and material brushstrokes, where the direction of the signs follows that of the shape of the figures. The prevailing pictorial matrix, invaded by the blue color investigated in all its shades, gives the atmosphere a tormented sense of solitude. Finally, as far as the framing is concerned, it wanted to give space mainly to the starry sky, emotional and dramatic center of the composition. With regard to the contemporary context, this iconic canvas has become the subject of multiple remakes, which, in most cases, have not been able to give up the focus on the starry sky, enriching it, however, with new details, often funny and inexorably linked to the contemporary world, such as, for example, the painting by the artist of Artmajeur, Tony Rubino, Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night parody map Google. In fact, in this work, with a strongly ironic intent, was added, to the canonical reproposition of the Starry Night, the symbol of the position indicator of Google Maps, become a reference point for the movements of our times. In addition, the parody of Tony Rubino's painting probably also lies in the modern prosopopeia of being able to find, thanks to technology, any kind of destination, in this case, even those imagined by the great artists of all time.

Igor Matvienko, Andy Warhol, 2021. Collage on paper, 100 x 72 cm.

Igor Matvienko: Andy Warhol

Among the most important works at MoMA in New York is Andy Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup Cans, a series of 32 silkscreen prints inspired by photographic reproductions of the popular American soup, which lined up in four rows of eight pieces each, allude to industrial seriality and the arrangement of products inside supermarkets. This 1962 installation represents Warhol's first work inspired by this subject, where each silkscreen is designed to replicate an original model, enriched by some small distinctive detail. In conclusion, this work, through the aforementioned peculiarities, definitively succeeded in transforming a supermarket product into a Pop manifesto of the American lifestyle. Campbell's Soup Cans has also inspired many contemporary works, such as the collage by the artist from Artmajeur, Igor Matvienko, an innovative tribute to the lesson of the American master, in which an unprecedented disorder in the arrangement of consumer goods and the presence of Warhol himself, allow us to definitely move away from the supermarket counter, to approach the world of imagination. 

David Decourcelle, Old glory, 2021. Acrylic and cardboard paint on canvas, 81 x 116 cm.

David Decourcelle: Old glory

Flag (1954-1955), an encaustic painting made by Jasper Johns and conserved at MOMA, represents the first of a series of works dedicated to the American flag of 1912-1959, where 48 white stars on a blue cardboard are depicted, accompanied by thirteen red and white stripes, which stand out under visible cuttings of advertising paper. The choice of this subject is inextricably linked to the current of New Dada, of which Johns was a convinced exponent, pursuing the aim of bringing under the spotlight of art objects of common use, in order to tell and criticize contemporary society. In this context, the flag, which represents a clear reinterpretation of Duchamp's ready-made, is deprived of its figurative value, becoming a conceptual work capable of elevating the most famous symbol of the American nation to an artistic object. Within contemporary art there have been many innovative re-interpretations of this subject, such as Old Glory by Artmajeur artist David Decourcelle, in which the iconic flag, while losing some of its distinctive features, continues to strongly celebrate both the Western pictorial tradition and the great popularity of American culture.