Looking at Music 3.0 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), takes the viewer on a journey through over 30 years of hip hop, going back to where it all began. Works by the Beastie Boys, Kathleen Hanna and Le Tigre, Keith Haring, Miranda July, Christian Marclay, Steven Parrino, and Run-DMC are on display until June 6, 2011. This past Thursday, the museum hosted a very special guest who’s become ingrained in the hip-hip community, Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. He DJ’d, and mingled with the cross generational crowd with his friendly persona.
The exhibit itself is a must see for the music fanatic. One important point it makes is how music evolved so much post-technology. An interactive installation represents what happened in the mid-nineties when computers were catching on. The exhibition also features audio with samples from various artists playing radio stations. What’s really fascinating, is the whole idea that this music is a direct response to what was happening in New York in the 80′s and 90′s. Hip hop music was used to create awareness of AIDS, drug use, and a bankrupt city.
“As audio and video technology advanced and television was affected by MTV, artists reflected upon how commercial entities controlled mass communication and used technology to shape modern culture” – MoMA. We’re living in the anti mass communication era, where subcultures of subcultures are created, DIY venues pop up nearly daily, and most urban 20 somethings don’t own a TV. The exhibition reminds us of a time when there were very little options in how media was received. There were no blogs, no secret things to follow, and certainly no file sharing. However, the Internet does seem to be trying to organize itself in a way that could make it be the new television. For now we’re going to enjoy the bliss of self-discovery.
