Gober Acquired By MOMA

The Museum of Modern Art New York (MOMA) has made what may be one of its most challenging acquisitions, not necessarily in subject matter, but certainly in presentation: Robert Gober's churchlike installations. The untitled work, which consists of 15 sculptures and 8 pastels, is the artist's comment on the ravages of terrorism and war; religion; family sexuality; and memory. It is also Mr. Gober's homage to Duchamp. The installation centers on a patinated bronze Crucifix with a robin perched on it. The Christ figure is headless and has water pouring from its nipples. On either side are a pair of doors, slightly ajar. Each reveals the legs of a figure - a mother on one side, her son on the other - soaking in a bathtub with water running from its handmade pewter faucet. The installation has been laid out like a place of worship, with a central aisle, an altar and a pair of side chapels that contain the bathers. On the two side walls are pastels of couples making love, each executed on replicas of pages from the Sept. 12, 2001, issue of The New York Times, reprinted on archival paper. "It's a monumental work," said Glenn D. Lowry, the director of the Museum of Modern Art, who added that Gober was one artist the museum wants to collect in depth. For the full story - click the title Irish Art