MoMA PS1 - September 11

Sunday was hard. There is just no getting around that. While the anniversary of the September 11th attacks is a difficult, emotional, confusing topic, institutions citywide threw their hats in the ring in an effort to help you “Never Forget.” The resulting disjointed, multi-tonal chorus of personal accounts, horrifying images and formal tributes felt like a nightmare from which you cannot wake, much like the day itself. Last week, you could not buy a pack of gum from the bodega without being confronted by half a dozen 9/11-dedicated magazine covers. Today those weeklies are back to their usual grind, the media coverage assuaged, but the related gallery and museum shows remain. They offer an important opportunity to observe and reflect minus the drone of news anchors. 

What is it, exactly, that we are supposed to be remembering? For me, it is a blur of terror and confusion and sorrow (and hope?). Undeniably, everything changed that day in 2001, if in no other way than a change in perspective, and September 11 at MoMA PS1 is a smartly curated consideration of that fact. In the context of a show with this title, William Eggleston’s Untitled (Glass in Airplane) from The Los Alamos Portfolio, 1965-1974 is a haunting image, an eerie calm before the storm. Lying in front of Barbara Kruger’s Untitled (Questions) from 1991, Cristo’s Red Package (1968)  seems to be clearly referencing a Red Cross gurney. Alex Katz’s 10:00AM, a reflection of trees on calm water from 1994, is like the New Yorker cover reflecting the WTC towers in the river.     

The subtle power of PS1’s show is in the way the context redefines these artworks. Perhaps you know that War Is Over! (if you want it) is a 1970’s John & Yoko response to the Vietnam War, but you’ll likely think of another war when you see it here. Spend some time pondering that shift in perception and you might come up with your own definition of what we are never to forget. 

After such a heavy show, take a head-clearing walk and seek comfort food among the freshly baked pastries and delicious coffee at Sweetleaf. Or gorge yourself on a burrito grande from The Creek and The Cave. Tonight, remember to thank your lucky stars, again...

Ingredients:

Venue: MoMA PS1

Artists: William Eggleston, Barbara Kruger, Cristo, Alex Katz, Various Artists

Streets: Jackson Ave, Long Island City, Queens

Eats: Sweetleaf, The Creek and The Cave

Map: