another eye opens

The timing worked out for Andy and I to check out the Björk show at the Museum of Modern Art on the first day of member previews.

The show is in several parts, starting in the lobby, where several of the instruments she created for the Biophilia album are displayed. Then there are two parts created just for this show: a room in the second-floor atrium showing the video for the lugubrious song “Black Lake” from her new album. And on the third floor is a special timed-ticket exhibit called “Songlines,” where you’re issued a headset that delivers a pretty hokey narrative (“Triumphs of the Heart”) as you walk through seven chambers displaying notebooks, props, and costumes from her music videos, like this robot from “All Is Full of Love”

I love how the museum casts the security guards for these shows.

A mannequin displaying the costume for “Pagan Poetry,” right down to the pierced nipples.

Some nutty knitwear from the “Volta” era. I was underwhelmed with this part of the show, thinking it was supposed to be the big deal. It’s not.

The real reason Björk warrants a museum show is that she has collaborated with amazing artists to produce a string of music videos quite beyond most people’s in their surrealism and inventiveness. It’s worth planning to hang out in the room showing 30 of her videos for as long as you can.