Once you’re tuned in to the role of mythic storytelling in the world around us, you begin to notice its presence seemingly everywhere you look. Yet it still comes as a bit of a shock when you suddenly recognize the presence of mythic content “hidden in plain sight” in familiar and unexpected places. This was especially true for me during a recent visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City—despite the fact that the name of the exhibition in question should have been a dead giveaway: The Modern Myth: Drawing Mythologies in Modern Times.

Of course, you’d expect to find elements of classic mythology in the works of Pablo Picasso (think minotaurs—lots and lots of minotaurs) and Salvador Dali. But Paul Cézanne? Mark Rothko? Jackson Pollock??!! Such is the shock and delight of leaning in to read a descriptive label and discovering that an artist you thought you knew has all along been leading a secret mythic life behind your back.

The exhibition, which runs through September 6, 2010, is fascinating on its own (alas, there’s no accompanying catalogue). But while the wall labels are helpful in appreciating the several dozens works included, you’ll get a lot more out of your experience if you time your visit to take advantage of one of the fascinating one-hour gallery talks, as Julia and I did.

Our lecturer/guide knowledgeably explained how this exhibition features three types of modern mythologies. First, there are works that straightforwardly depict subjects inspired by classical mythology (that’s where those Picasso minotaurs come in). Then there are works more generally inspired by “Arcadian” ideals that were popular over the last couple of centuries (a sort of Utopian vision of a pastoral world in harmony with nature). Finally, there are works by artists whose own lives were—and still are—the subjects of extensive, self-generated mythmaking (you can see where Warhol and Rothko and Pollock come into play at this point). Once you know the stories behind these works, you may even begin to perceive the echoes of the Campbellian Hero’s Journey. 

Needless to say, if you plan to go, I strongly recommend timing your visit to coincide with one of the gallery talks. The remaining talks are scheduled for Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 11:30 a.m., Monday, July 19, 2010 at 1:30 p.m., and Saturday, July 24, 2010, 1:30 p.m. There’s also a “members only” gallery talk on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 12:30 p.m. 

MoMA is located in midtown Manhattan, New York City, at 11 West Fifty-third Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. General admission (which includes the open gallery talks) is $20 per adult. Tickets are also available online here. 

IS THIS MYTHIC?

Mark Rothko. Archaic Idol. 1945. Ink and gouache on paper, 21 7/8 x 30” (55.6 x 76.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Joan and Lester Avnet Collection, 1978. © 2000 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York