news release

The Museum of Modern Art opened its doors to the public after a three-year renovation with a new audio program by Acoustiguide: MoMAudio. MoMAudio is comprised of four distinct interlocking audio tours: Modern Voices and Temporary Exhibitions are designed for the general public; Modern Kids is for children ages 5-10 and their companions; and Visual Descriptions was designed for visitors who are visually impaired or seeking a more in-depth looking experience. All the programming can be heard on one Acoustiguide 2000 player for one price.

Acoustiguide has provided MoMA’s audio interpretation for both its permanent collection and temporary exhibitions for over 30 years. Acoustiguide’s Chairman of the Board, Oscar Tang, stated, "We are proud to renew our relationship with The Museum of Modern Art in its new home in Manhattan and look forward to continuing in the tradition of groundbreaking programming there."

Modern Voices offers visitors a fresh new way to experience the signature works throughout MoMA’s celebrated collections. Through live interviews with museum curators, artists, and others, the program introduces visitors to a range of perspectives and interpretations, suggesting that there are many ways to approach Modern Art. The conversational format is built around curators’ responses to selected objects, in light of earlier provocative observations by artists, critics and others. Like the new building itself, this approach stirs up new ideas, encouraging visitors to make their own connections.

Debborah Schwartz the Museum's Deputy Director for Education said, “The new building gave us an opportunity to re-think our interpretation. One of our goals for MoMAudio was to give listeners the experience of hearing fresh insights from curators and others who wrestle with questions about modern and contemporary art. The Acoustiguide tours strike new ground in audio interpretation by being simultaneously provocative and accessible."

Featured new and archival voices include: Chief Curator John Elderfield, Department of Painting and Sculpture and artists from Marcel Duchamp to Lorna Simpson and Chuck Close. Dramatized quotations are taken from a wide variety of artists, critics, literary sources and contemporary observers.

“I paint with the most imperialist fury of precision to systematize confusion and to thus to help discredit completely the world of reality.” – Salvador Dalí.
Modern Voices is available in 6 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Japanese.

Modern Kids provides four fun ways for children and their companions to explore the Museum with a series of short, theme tours: Music, Movement and Dreams; Where Am I?; Ordinary to Extraordinary; and Breaking the Rules. Each tour lasts 10 to 15 minutes and uses games, dramatizations, discussions, narration, and poetry, embellished by music and numerous sound effects. The random-access stops on each theme are conveniently located in nearby galleries. Entertaining for whimsical adults too.

Visual Descriptions presents extended visual descriptions of highlights from the Museum’s permanent collection especially for blind or partially sighted visitors. It is the first tour designed for visitors with visual impairments at a major art museum in New York City. The tour describes color, size, shape, location, and other physical aspects in great detail, using analogy and metaphors to convey the information that sighted visitors receive visually. Way-finding and information about safety considerations and facilities in the Museum building are also part of the tour, which includes 22 stops. At the end of each segment, visitors are offered a link to corresponding commentary from the Modern Voices tour. Sighted visitors who want an in-depth looking experience are encouraged to listen to Visual Descriptions too.

During program development, MoMA assembled an advisory board of individuals with visual impairments; their feedback was incorporated into the final program.

Audio commentary for major Temporary Exhibitions will be available in February, 2005. The first tour will debut with the Contemporary Voices exhibition and will feature live interviews with artists and curators, including Elizabeth Murray and Sarah Morris.