Doug Aitken on MoMA’s Exterior (NY)

In a press conference at The Museum of Modern Art today, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a major public art project to be presented at MoMA in January 2007. The Museum and Creative Time have jointly commissioned Doug Aitken to create the artist’s first large-scale public artwork in the United States, which will be the first to bring art to MoMA’s exterior walls. Continuous sequences of film scenes will be projected on the 53rd and 54th Street facades of MoMA’s building as well as those overlooking the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden.

Inspired by the densely built environment of New York’s midtown, the artist will create a multiscreen cinematic art experience that will directly integrate with the architectural fabric of the city while simultaneously enhancing and challenging viewers’ perceptions of public space. The project, filmed in New York City, will be shown daily from January 16 to February 12, 2007, from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., and will be visible from many public vantage points adjacent to the Museum. It is a joint project of Creative Time and The Museum of Modern Art.