Sculptures by the Romanian master artist are on display at a ‘focused presentation’ at the Museum of Modern Art, along with his little-known and amazing films.
“Art is itself embodied in each curve!
The sculptor chisels life down to its core.
We know he’s found the germ, for we observe
That it is but an egg and nothing more.”
— Maurice Morris, 1913, “Bust of Mlle. Pogany, by Brancusi”
That little poem was written by a critic for The New York Sun, waxing satirical after a visit to the 1913 Armory Show, which gave Americans their first taste of modern art.
Now, a version of Constantin Brancusi’s egg-like bust is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in “Constantin Brancusi Sculpture.” The show is built around 10 works by the Romanian modernist (1876-1957) that are longtime highlights of the museum’s own collection, in what the curators Paulina Pobocha and Mia Matthias refer to as a “focused presentation.” Packaging these MoMA treasures as a special exhibition is a way to get them seen by today’s audiences, who don’t know from permanent collections but flock to any shareable event.
Given all the chestnuts in this show, the challenge is to see if we can still find a way to be astonished by them, as we were when they first appeared. In 2018, can Brancusi still release our inner poetaster?
