New Museum: 40 Years New

Art museum practices have evolved dramatically in recent decades, motivated by path-breaking venues termed alternative art spaces. These not-for-profit venues use unconventional exhibition strategies to show experimental works that often address political themes by emerging artists. Since the 1970s, such spaces have proliferated, mainstream institutions now embracing their ideas. Among the forefront of alternative venues has been the New Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown New York. This smart, informative, extensively illustrated catalog of an exhibition of the same name is a sort of anniversary party the museum is throwing itself. Nine essays by current and former New Museum curators and directors explore themes central to the institution's mission, including: bringing in women and people of color as curators and artists; "incubating" under-the-radar artists; exhibiting new media art (video works, Internet-based pieces, art inspired by computer games, etc.); and pioneering immersive exhibition design reaching beyond the conventional display of framed or pedestal-mounted works.