View (Un)titled muses on 8 different artworks exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), all from varied mediums and artistic disciplines. When first commissioned by Orpheus to imagine my own Pictures at an Exhibition, I roamed the MoMA’s halls in early 2022 looking for pieces that spoke to me, and in turn could speak to one another. What resulted is a set of tone poems which move between reflection and celebration, mourning and joy. Throughout the composition, I pay homage to Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition by interspersing a promenade-like theme. This woven theme gives the listener a chance to wander through the pieces as one might a museum. Fortuitously, most of the artwork I've chosen to respond to is “Untitled.” In my attempt to find a name for this composition, I felt it necessary that the journey through the music itself should also not be confined to a title. Thus, “View (Un)titled” – a title within a non-title. 

© 2022 Hanna Benn 

1. “Promenade” A Walking Theme (music only)

2. Maren Hassinger, Leaning
1980 | Wire rope and wire, 32 bundles, each 16" (40.6 cm) high.
© The Museum of Modern Art, New York

3. Susan Rothenberg, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
1988 | Oil on wood, six panels; each panel 10' 6 3/4" x 46 1/8" (321.9 x 117.2 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York © 2021 The Estate of Susan Rothenberg / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

4. Sonja Sekula, The Town of the Poor
1951 | Oil on canvas, 66 × 90" (167.6 × 228.6 cm)
© The Museum of Modern Art, New York

5. Lee Ufan, From Line
1974 | Oil on canvas, 71 1/2 x 89 3/8" (181.6 x 227 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York © 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

6. David Hammons, Untitled (Night Train)
1989 | Glass bottles, caps, silicone glue, and coal; Dimensions variable, approximately 30 x 42 x 42" (76.2 x 106.7 x 106.7 cm)
© The Museum of Modern Art, New York

7. Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled (woman and daughter with makeup)
1990 | Gelatin silver print, printed 2010; 10 x 10" (25.4 × 25.4 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York © 2022 Carrie Mae Weems Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

8. Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, Untitled
1980/1990 | Oil on canvas, 70 7/8 × 69 11/16" (180 × 177 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York © Kamala Ibrahim Ishag

9. Tarsila do Amaral, The Moon
1928 | Oil on canvas, 43 5/16 × 43 5/16" (110 × 110 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
© 2022 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Special thanks to Paulina Pobocha, Associate Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture, for welcoming Hanna Benn to explore MoMA's collection.