Exhibition in the MET Museum: The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984

Exhibition in the MET Museum: The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984
April 21–August 2, 2009

This is the first major museum exhibition to focus exclusively on "The Pictures Generation." Born into the media culture of postwar America, this tightly knit group of New York-based artists created some of the most important and influential works of the late 20th century. Their overarching subject was how pictures of all kinds not only depict but also shape reality. Highly seductive photographs by Richard Prince and Cindy Sherman reveal the ways in which images from B movies and magazine advertisements determine much of our sense of who we are. Louise Lawler and Sherrie Levine examine how the myths and legends of modern art are inextricably tied to the institutions of the museum and art history. Also included are photographs by Laurie Simmons, James Casebere, James Welling, and Allan McCollum, as well as works in other media by Robert Longo, Troy Brauntuch, David Salle, Matt Mullican, Jack Goldstein, and Dara Birnbaum, among others.