MoMA Talks: Performances and Readings

The first Futurist Manifesto, written by the poet and writer F.T. Marinetti and published on the front page of Le Figaro on February 20, 1909, proclaimed a burning desire—fueled by industry, war, and the rise of the machine—to race into the future. Tired of resting on the laurels of their cultural heritage and disdainful of their uneventful present, the Futurists called for a new aesthetic language appropriate for the new modernity. On the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of the Founding and Manifesto of Futurism, poets Charles Bernstein, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Joshua Mehigan, and Alicia Stallings recite historical works, as well as their own contemporary manifestos, in the public space of the Museum's Garden Lobby. Excerpts from Luca Buvoli's video Velocity Zero (2007), in which the slow reading of the tenets of the Futurist Manifesto by people with aphasia contrasts with the frenetic speed that characterized Futurism, will also be on view. This program is a collaboration with Poetry magazine, whose forthcoming portfolio of manifestos, with an afterword by Mary Ann Caws, will be released at MoMA on February 20. Recording courtesy of the Poetry Foundation www.poetryfoundation.org

The first Futurist Manifesto, written by the poet and writer F.T. Marinetti and published on the front page of Le Figaro on February 20, 1909, proclaimed a burning desire—fueled by industry, war, and the rise of the machine—to race into the future. Tired of resting on the laurels of their cultural heritage and disdainful of their uneventful present, the Futurists called for a new aesthetic language appropriate for the new modernity. On the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of the Founding and Manifesto of Futurism, poets Charles Bernstein, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Joshua Mehigan, and Alicia Stallings recite historical works, as well as their own contemporary manifestos, in the public space of the Museum's Garden Lobby. Excerpts from Luca Buvoli's video Velocity Zero (2007), in which the slow reading of the tenets of the Futurist Manifesto by people with aphasia contrasts with the frenetic speed that characterized Futurism, will also be on view. This program is a collaboration with Poetry magazine, whose forthcoming portfolio of manifestos, with an afterword by Mary Ann Caws, will be released at MoMA on February 20. Recording courtesy of the Poetry Foundation www.poetryfoundation.org

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 6:00 p.m. An evening of historical Dada poetry with LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Bob Holman, and Pierre Joris. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Dada.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 6:00 p.m. An evening of historical Dada poetry with LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, Bob Holman, and Pierre Joris. Held in conjunction with the exhibition Dada.

March 28, 2007 6:00 p.m. The exhibition Out of Time: A Contemporary View considers notions of temporality and reconstructions of time through memory, fantasy, dreams, and history in a variety of media. The increasing prevalence of technology, whether as an artist’s medium or as visual stimulation in mass culture, changes the way we experience, record, and perceive time. On the occasion of this exhibition, MoMA asked poets to explore how technology informs the language and rhythms of poetry. Caroline Bergvall, poet, and Co-Chair, Writing MFA, Milton Avery School for the Arts, Bard College; Greta Byrum, poet and sound artist; Robert Fitterman, poet; Kenneth Goldsmith, poet, Professor, Creative Writing Program, The University of Pennsylvania, and founding editor of ubuweb.com read works of their own and of others. This program is a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and ubuweb.com. Photo courtesy of Paula Court

March 28, 2007 6:00 p.m. The exhibition Out of Time: A Contemporary View considers notions of temporality and reconstructions of time through memory, fantasy, dreams, and history in a variety of media. The increasing prevalence of technology, whether as an artist’s medium or as visual stimulation in mass culture, changes the way we experience, record, and perceive time. On the occasion of this exhibition, MoMA asked poets to explore how technology informs the language and rhythms of poetry. Caroline Bergvall, poet, and Co-Chair, Writing MFA, Milton Avery School for the Arts, Bard College; Greta Byrum, poet and sound artist; Robert Fitterman, poet; Kenneth Goldsmith, poet, Professor, Creative Writing Program, The University of Pennsylvania, and founding editor of ubuweb.com read works of their own and of others. This program is a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and ubuweb.com. Photo courtesy of Paula Court

November 10, 2008 6:30 p.m. In 1913, the cartoonist George Herriman created Krazy Kat, a comic strip that first appeared in William Randolph Hearst's New York Evening Journal. The cartoon was published in the United States until 1944, offering American and international readers constant companionship in its characters: Krazy Kat, an innocent cat of indeterminate gender; Ignatz Mouse, Krazy's antagonist; Offissa Pupp, the protective police dog; and others. This evening's program reconsiders Herriman's stories through the lens of comics and poetry. Poet Monica Youn reads her own collection of works about Ignatz, first published in The Paris Review in the summer of 2007; and J. Hoberman, senior film critic, The Village Voice, speaks about the impact of Krazy Kat on the comics medium. Meghan O'Rourke, poet, critic, and co–poetry editor, The Paris Review, moderates a discussion. This program is a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and The Paris Review.

November 10, 2008 6:30 p.m. In 1913, the cartoonist George Herriman created Krazy Kat, a comic strip that first appeared in William Randolph Hearst's New York Evening Journal. The cartoon was published in the United States until 1944, offering American and international readers constant companionship in its characters: Krazy Kat, an innocent cat of indeterminate gender; Ignatz Mouse, Krazy's antagonist; Offissa Pupp, the protective police dog; and others. This evening's program reconsiders Herriman's stories through the lens of comics and poetry. Poet Monica Youn reads her own collection of works about Ignatz, first published in The Paris Review in the summer of 2007; and J. Hoberman, senior film critic, The Village Voice, speaks about the impact of Krazy Kat on the comics medium. Meghan O'Rourke, poet, critic, and co–poetry editor, The Paris Review, moderates a discussion. This program is a collaboration between The Museum of Modern Art and The Paris Review.

October 6, 2008 6:30 p.m. Throughout his short career, Vincent van Gogh grappled with the daunting problem of painting light at night. The exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night features depictions by the artist of twilight and nocturnal landscapes, interior scenes, and the effects of both gaslight and natural light on their surroundings. This program, held in the Museum's Sculpture Garden, presents artists and poets whose own work elicits the spirit of the night as they read a diverse selection of poetry and literature. Vija Celmins, artist, and Eliot Weinberger, writer, editor, and translator and collaborator on the book The Stars; Neil Folberg, photographer of the collection Travels with Van Gogh and the Impressionists; and Ann Lauterbach, poet, read works that Van Gogh admired by Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Walt Whitman, along with poems by contemporary writers on the theme of nighttime. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. Photo courtesy of Paula Court

October 6, 2008 6:30 p.m. Throughout his short career, Vincent van Gogh grappled with the daunting problem of painting light at night. The exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night features depictions by the artist of twilight and nocturnal landscapes, interior scenes, and the effects of both gaslight and natural light on their surroundings. This program, held in the Museum's Sculpture Garden, presents artists and poets whose own work elicits the spirit of the night as they read a diverse selection of poetry and literature. Vija Celmins, artist, and Eliot Weinberger, writer, editor, and translator and collaborator on the book The Stars; Neil Folberg, photographer of the collection Travels with Van Gogh and the Impressionists; and Ann Lauterbach, poet, read works that Van Gogh admired by Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Walt Whitman, along with poems by contemporary writers on the theme of nighttime. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night. Photo courtesy of Paula Court

Modern Poets Frank O'Hara: Selected Poems at Lunchtime July 16, 2008 12:00 p.m. Alfred A. Knopf, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Poetry Society of America present a reading from the recently published Selected Poems by Frank O'Hara, edited by Mark Ford (which includes poetry, a play, and essays). Held at lunchtime, the program commemorates O'Hara's tradition of writing poetry during his lunch hour while working at MoMA. Participants include poets Lee Ann Brown, Dan Chiasson, Hettie Jones, Vincent Katz, Philip Schultz, and Maureen O'Hara, Frank O'Hara's sister. Selected Poems, as well as O'Hara's In Memory of My Feelings, will be available for sale following the reading.

Modern Poets Frank O'Hara: Selected Poems at Lunchtime July 16, 2008 12:00 p.m. Alfred A. Knopf, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Poetry Society of America present a reading from the recently published Selected Poems by Frank O'Hara, edited by Mark Ford (which includes poetry, a play, and essays). Held at lunchtime, the program commemorates O'Hara's tradition of writing poetry during his lunch hour while working at MoMA. Participants include poets Lee Ann Brown, Dan Chiasson, Hettie Jones, Vincent Katz, Philip Schultz, and Maureen O'Hara, Frank O'Hara's sister. Selected Poems, as well as O'Hara's In Memory of My Feelings, will be available for sale following the reading.

June 30, 2008 6:30 p.m. This program showcases a range of Salvador Dalí's provocative and poetic writings, from his opinions on art and popular culture and his well-known explanations of Surrealist practice (including his so-called paranoid-critical method) to unpublished and newly-translated texts. Performers read the artist's poetry, diary entries, musings about New York, letters, interviews, and film scripts, as well as his notorious 1928 Manifest Groc (Yellow Manifesto). Participants include performance artist Laurie Anderson, former U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic, Academy Award nominee David Strathairn and Wooster Group founding member Kate Valk. This event is held in conjunction with the exhibition Dalí: Painting and Film.