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Founded in 1929 as an educational institution,
The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum
of modern art in the world.
Through the leadership of its Trustees and staff,
The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing,
preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest
order that reflects the vitality, complexity and unfolding patterns
of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational
programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library,
archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international
centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications
of preeminent intellectual merit.
Central to The Museum of Modern Art’s mission
is the encouragement of an ever-deeper understanding and enjoyment
of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and
international audiences that it serves.
To achieve its goals The Museum of Modern Art
recognizes:
- That modern and contemporary art originated
in the exploration of the ideals and interests generated in the
new artistic traditions that began in the late nineteenth century
and continue today.
- That modern and contemporary art transcend
national boundaries and involve all forms of visual expression,
including painting and sculpture, drawings, prints and illustrated
books, photography, architecture and design, and film and video,
as well as new forms yet to be developed or understood, that reflect
and explore the artistic issues of the era.
- That these forms of visual expression are
an open-ended series of arguments and counter arguments that can
be explored through exhibitions and installations and are reflected
in the Museum’s varied collection.
- That it is essential to affirm the importance
of contemporary art and artists if the Museum is to honor the
ideals with which it was founded and to remain vital and engaged
with the present.
- That this commitment to contemporary art enlivens
and informs our evolving understanding of the traditions of modern
art.
- That to remain at the forefront of its field,
the Museum must have an outstanding professional staff and must
periodically reevaluate itself, responding to new ideas and initiatives
with insight, imagination, and intelligence. The process of reevaluation
is mandated by the Museum’s tradition, which encourages
openness and a willingness to evolve and change.
In sum, The Museum of Modern Art seeks to create
a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past
and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues
of modern and contemporary art, while being accessible to a public
that ranges from scholars to young children.
Pictured above:
View of The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research
Building, designed by Yoshio Taniguchi, from The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Sculpture Garden. © 2008 Timothy Hursley
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