No images have to confront each other for long. Whatever happens, I shall never forget how this retrospective extends across generations. The ads for it have touted a revolution. If I began by circling back uptown, I ended up coming full circle. Besides, Modernism first hit America downtown , in the fabled 1913 Armory Show off East 26th Street.
Postmodern art is a very modern invention.
Above all, I saw the show of the year. Rauschenberg's bulky assemblages and large body of work deserve an equally outsize retrospective. His long ties to New York's rhythms make its geographical scale only fitting, and his sense of fun keeps it from getting tiring, even when it turns limp and just plain silly. I would not have cut it back one bit.