It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years, but, anyway, it was around this time of year in 2002 that the Museum of Modern Art began the process of moving out to its temporary home in Long Island City in order to clear the way for a giant three-year expansion. (Which has, itself, been open for nearly seven years. I’m getting old.) On January 11, 2002, MoMA executives abruptly shut down the Film Stills Archive, a source of incalculable riches dating from the earliest days of film, and moved it to a vault in Pennsylvania. Presumably, it’s just as valuable now as it was then, but no one can say for certain because no one’s seen it since then. Richard Corliss has a theory about that. (FULL ARTICLE: Richard Corliss, Time)
Art News
Why Are Your Film Archives Still Closed, MoMA?
January 13, 2012