Modern and Contemporary Art and Design

Modern Art & Ideas is designed for anyone interested in learning more about modern and contemporary art. You will look at art through a variety of themes, including Places and Spaces, Art and Identity, Transforming Everyday Objects, and Art and Society. Each week kicks off with a video that connects key works of art to the theme. You’ll also have access to interviews with artists, designers, and others who speak about their materials, processes, and sources of inspiration. Through the discussion forum prompts you will also have the opportunity to connect with other learners and explore how these themes resonate with you.

Taking, sharing, and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches, and technologies that inform their making. You’ll explore the meaning of pictures and reconsider photography’s role in our visual culture. Look closely at 100 photographs from MoMA’s collection, going behind the scenes of the Museum and into artists’ studios through videos and audio interviews. Gain new perspectives on the ways photography has been used throughout the medium’s history: as a means of artistic expression, a tool for science and exploration, an instrument of documentation, a way to tell stories and record histories, and a mode of communication and critique.

Fashion as Design focuses on a selection of garments and accessories from around the world, ranging from kente cloth and denim to turtlenecks, swimwear, and 3D-printed dresses. Through these garments, you’ll take a closer look at what we wear, why we wear it, how it’s made, and what it means. Hear directly from a range of designers, makers, historians, and others working with clothing every day—and, in some cases, reinventing it for the future. Studio visits, interviews, and other resources introduce the history and development of each garment and their changing uses, meanings, and impact over time.