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Alina Szapocnikow at MoMA is the Daily Pic by Blake Gopnik

Body Furniture

The Daily Pic: The late Alina Szapocnikow liked well-upholstered bodies.

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(© The Estate of Alina Szapocznikow/Piotr Stanisławski/ADAGP, Paris)
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In MoMA's show of the fascinating Polish artist Alina Szapocnikow, who died young in 1973, my favorite works crossed over between art and design - like these "Belly Cushions", from 1968, that she'd hoped to put into mass production. The "new" MoMA is sometimes accused of having a corporate ethos, but with shows like this, of obscure, neglected figures from far points (from us) on the globe, I think it defeats such accusations. At the moment, the Modern has nothing crowd pleasing and easy on view. Oh, wait. There's Munch's "Scream".

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