MOMA poster, 1985

1985

37.25"x23.25"

Female Pioneer

Description

In 1982, Lillian Schwartz was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York to produce a television commercial and matching poster to announce the opening of the museum’s new building on 53rd Street. Alternatively titled BIG MOMA, Schwartz based the poster design on the French sculptor Gaston Lachaise’s Standing Woman (1933). Other artworks and images sampled from MoMA’s collection fill the figure’s body, stretched and warped to map its contours. Jasper Johns’s Target with Four Faces (1955) rests across one kneecap, Andy Warhol’s Marilyn (1967) spans her crotch, and Henry Moore’s Family Group (1950) appears over her womb. The poster later toured in SIGGRAPH’s 1985 exhibition, for which this edition was likely produced.

Schwartz made the television commercial and poster using IBM PC vector software she developed with Bell Labs engineer Richard Voss. In the acceptance speech for the Emmy she won for the commercial, Schwartz said: “I also wish to thank my camera person, the lighting director, and the dozens of engineering assistants who helped in this film. They all happen to have the same name: my computer.”

Untitled (EDO Series) by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1989

Untitled (EDO Series) Lillian Feldman Schwartz1989 Print

Self Portrait by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1988 (ca)

Self Portrait Lillian Feldman Schwartz1988 (ca) Print

Homage to Hockney by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1988

Homage to Hockney Lillian Feldman Schwartz1988 Print

Leo & I by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1989

Leo & I Lillian Feldman Schwartz1989 Print

BIG MOMA Poster (super-sized edition) by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1984

BIG MOMA Poster (super-sized edition) Lillian Feldman Schwartz1984 Print

Images Du Futur Poster by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1993

Images Du Futur Poster Lillian Feldman Schwartz1993 Print

EDO Series AI-105 by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1989

EDO Series AI-105 Lillian Feldman Schwartz1989 Print

Untitled Self-Portrait by Lillian Feldman Schwartz, 1984

Untitled Self-Portrait Lillian Feldman Schwartz1984 Print