6/2/13



Did Mondrian know Kandinsky? The Inventing Abstraction Network Diagram [moma.org] forms the center piece of a new exhibition at MoMA that celebrates the centennial anniversary of the concept of abstraction.

Available as an interactive diagram on the exhibition's website as well as printed as a large-scale display that is 16x25 feet tall (~5x7.5m), the network maps the documented acquaintances between those individuals that played a significant role in the development of abstract art. Or, in other words, the network captures the social interactions between like-minded artists, well before the invention of Facebook or Twitter. The names in red denote those with the most connections in the group.

Do not miss the short documentary movie about the actual design of the network diagram, and how the choice of colors and font type was largely inspired by a famous line chart on this subject, designed in 1936 by MoMA first director Alfred Barr Junior.