The most discussed exhibition of the past few months—at least in some circles—was not the Brooklyn Museum’s over-hyped “Sensation,” but rather “Modernstarts: People, Places, Things,” the Museum of Modern Art’s truly sensational, genuinely provocative multi-disciplinary reconception of how the story of modernism can be told.[1] “Which did you like better,” a fellow critic asked me recently, in the midst of talking about something else entirely, “‘People’ or ‘Places’?” “‘People!’” “Really?” she asked. “I liked ‘Places.’” “But the sculpture room in ‘People’ is so extraordinary,” I said. “Oh, the sculpture room is amazing!,” she said. “They should keep that installation. But what about the crime scene photographs in ‘Places’?” We went on comparing favorite morsels, each admitting the virtues of the other’s selections. “I guess it’s like choosing between the Yankees and the Mets,” my friend concluded—she’s as passionate about baseball as about art. “Modernstarts” was a main topic, too, at a recent dinner party of artists, critics, and poets (plus a musician, an architect, and an actor). Between a risotto and dessert, we debated, with inconclusive results, the merits of the enormous, flashy painting cum installation of objects from MOMA’s collection that introduces the “Things” section of the show.

I’ve had similar discussions with people both in and out of the art world, with New Yorkers, out-of-towners, and foreign visitors, even with a British sculptor visiting MOMA for the first time. Everyone I’ve talked to has been excited about “Modernstarts.”