PR and High Culture: MoMA Addresses Backlash Over Folk Art Museum Demolition

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Public museums need public relations, too. In a story that exposes a side of the discipline we rarely see, New York’s Museum of Modern Art has attempted to garner public support for a move that threatens to split the worlds of art and architecture and lead many wealthy donors to close their wallets.

Here’s a quick summary (trust us, it gets interesting):

In 2001 the MoMA commissioned a new building to house the associated American Folk Art Museum. The facade, visible in the image above, was groundbreaking in several ways, and it earned husband and wife firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects universal praise; the World Architecture Awards even named it “The Best Building in the World.”

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