‘The Art of Our Time’ Restructures Our Installations and Our Stories at MOCA

Rachael McDonald

While gallery experiences are typically defined by works arranged in chronological relationships, the MOCA’s upcoming display entitled “The Art of Our Time” brings a new life and richness to the structuring of the exhibit experience. Through playing with the possibilities of organizing the installation with fresh associations rather than chronologically, the thematically restructured exhibit experience introduces some refreshing perspectives on the ways in which we categorize art. Our usual stories of art and artists breaking through genre after genre throughout the decades are set aside and the often overlooked relationships between artworks are given space to shape a story of their own.

Conceived and installed by Chief Curator Helen Molesworth, “The Art of Our Time” categorizes featured work from MOCA’s collection within several frameworks including the connections that develop between works and artists, histories of art schools and individual artist’s expressed interest in the works of other artists. Rather than opening with the traditional narrative of the art world gaining momentum in New York after World War II, Molesworth sets the stage for the exhibit in North Carolina with work from students and faculty of Asheville’s Black Mountain College. While showcasing works directly associated with institutions, Molesworth hopes to deconstruct the assumption that art evolves in dramatic bursts from individual artists or visionaries. The rest of the exhibit follows suite with this set pace; through pairing prolific artists and artworks with the work of lesser known artists, Molesworth challenges the assumptions made and stories told through our all too often unchallenged conventional structuring of exhibits.

The eclectic mix of post-’45 artwork brings together almost 7,000 objects from MOCA’s permanent collection and reflects the museum’s newly expanded parameters on the way in which art relates to itself. Through featuring newly collected works alongside the rejuvenated parameters of categorization, the museum reveals its newly invigorated agenda for collecting. MOCA has one of the most esteemed collections of post-war art in the world and it is through “The Art of Our Time” that they introduce a fresh narrative and renewed depth to its collection.

“The Art of Our Time” opened Aug. 15, 2015 and will be on view through Sept. 12, 2016 at MOCA Grand Avenue. You can find more information here.