Jonathan Borofsky, I Dreamed I Could Fly (detail), 2000. Fiberglass, acrylic paint, electric light. Museum purchase with funds donated by Hank and Lois Foster. Reproduced with permission.
Jonathan Borofsky, I Dreamed I Could Fly (detail), 2000. Fiberglass, acrylic paint, electric light. Museum purchase with funds donated by Hank and Lois Foster. Reproduced with permission.
Varieties of Postmodernism
1:00 pm–2:30 pm
Tickets (Member / Nonmember)
In-Person $28 / $35
Livestream $16 / $20
Whereas the modernist art of Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore was grounded in attachment to nature, a quest for authenticity and originality, and belief in making art for art’s sake, postmodernists were suspicious of those ideals. Looking at the work of a cohort that includes Cindy Sherman, David Salle, Robert Longo, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Jonathan Borofsky, Haim Steinbach, Allan McCollum, and Ellen Brooks, this lecture focuses on artists who cast an ironic eye on kitsch, commodities, and cultural clichés conveyed by commercial media. We also attend to the fertile legacies of postmodernism’s forerunners, including Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, and Robert Rauschenberg.
Jonathan Ribner, director of graduate admissions; History of Art and Architecture, associate professor, Late-18th- and 19th-Century European Art, Boston University
Course Packages
Purchase a ticket package for the full five-session “Abstracting Nature: Exploring Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore” course. Please note that this option is not available after the date of the first session.
Assistive listening system
Wheelchair accessible
Ticket Information
To order tickets by phone, call 1-800-440-6975 ($6 processing fee applies); to order in person, visit any MFA ticket desk.
Livestream Tickets
The livestream ticket gives access to a live feed of the event that can be watched remotely. You must be logged in to the account used to purchase the ticket in order to access the livestream on the Video Content page. Please log in at least 5 minutes before the start of the event to test your connection.
Livestream ticket holders must watch the event live; there is no recording of the event available for viewing at a later time.
Bag Checks
All bags are subject to inspection by Museum staff. Backpacks, large bags, all liquids including hand sanitizer and sunscreen, and outside food or drink are not permitted. Exceptions are made for medical or religious needs. All bags are strongly discouraged, and any bags larger than 11” x 15” must be checked in the Coat Room upon entry. Read our full bag check policy.