Rising Currents at MoMA

I'm a member of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan and get over there not nearly as often as I'd like.  This past weekend I made up for my months long absence by indulging in several exhibitions taking place at MoMA right now.

 

 

One of the exhibitions literally changes one's view of New York City as a constantly evolving island of people, buildings, organizations, animals, nature.  You may have seen recent reports of studies of just what will happen ecologically in Manhattan as the waters rise (think of it: by the year 2050 the sea at the Southern tip of Manhattan is expected to rise from 7 to 29 inches, depending on circumstances) and other major changes occur to the structure of the island as we know it.  An extraordinary collaboration has been at work in response to those reports.

 

The year and a half long collaboration joined MoMA and the contemporary art center known as P.S.1 in addressing this urgent challenge facing the nation’s largest city: sea-level rise resulting from global climate change. The results can be experienced in this marvelous exhibition that just opened, entitled Rising Currents: Projects for New York's Waterfront, notes to which point out that "though the national debate on infrastructure is currently focused on 'shovel-ready' projects that will stimulate the economy, we now have an important opportunity to foster new research and fresh thinking about the use of New York City's harbor and coastline. As in past economic recessions, construction has slowed dramatically in New York, and much of the city’s remarkable pool of architectural talent is available to focus on innovation."

And focus they did, with amazing results. Check out this video.  I urge you if you are anywhere near New York City from now until the exhibition closes in October, 2010, to spend time experiencing the approaches taken by five different teams assembled for this collaborative work.  And if you can't get here to see it in person, there are tons of materials available on MoMA's website,starting here.  Barry Bergdoll, who heads the project on MoMA's side, explains the project here.  And my favorite of the approaches, called New Aqueous City, is explained here by the team heading that project.  

You can't be indifferent after experiencing this exhibition.  It reminds us that everything changes: our physical surroundings, natural habitats, and all the animals--including us--along with them.  The challenge is for us to not just respond to the changes but anticipate them and use them as opportunities to shape our future.  This exhibit gives hope that so long as we foster innovative approaches to the challenges around us--even the potentially overwhelming hurdles posed by ecological shifts--we'll figure things out and prosper as a result.

If nothing else, seeing this exhibit will give you lots of content for conversation.