Barbara London
Barbara London is an American curator, writer, and sound art advocate best known for founding the video collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). London founded the museum's video collection with works by Nam June Paik, Laurie Anderson, and Lynda Benglis.
London studied at Hiram College, graduating with a BA in 1968, and then studied Islamic art at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, receiving an MA in 1972.
She joined the staff at MoMA in 1970 as a program assistant, was a curatorial assistant from 1974 to 1977, and became assistant curator of video in 1977. She curated many major exhibitions at MoMA, showcasing Chinese and Japanese artists. In 1997, London created Stir-Fry, a multimedia site that mapped emerging Chinese media. Then in 2001, London produced MoMA's first website art commission, Tony Oursler’s Timestream.
After over four decades at MoMA, London retired from her position as an Associate Curator in the Department of Media and Performance Art in 2013. Since her retirement she teaches at Yale School of Art.
Publications
Catalogues editor
- Circulating Video Library, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1983, 52 pp.
- New Video Japan, New York: American Federation of Arts, 1985, 37 pp. Exhibition held at MoMA, 16 Jan-28 Feb 1985. (English)
- Bill Viola: Installations and Videotapes, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1987, 96 pp. Essays by Barbara London, J. Hoberman, Donald Kuspit, selected writings by Bill Viola. Exhibition held at MoMA, 16 Oct 1987-3 Jan 1988.
- Video Spaces: Eight Installations, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1995. Exhibition held at MoMA, 22 Jul-12 Sep 1995. Online companion. (English)
- with Klaus Biesenbach and Christopher Eamon, Video Acts: Single Channel Works from the Collections of Pamela and Richard Kramlich and New Art Trust, New York: PS1 Contemporary Art Center, 2002, 311 pp. Exhibition held 10 Nov 2002-Apr 2003. [1]
- with Anne Hilde Neset, Soundings: A Contemporary Score, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2013, 72 pp. TOC, Introduction, Excerpt. Online companion. Exhibition held at MoMA, 10 Aug-3 Nov 2013.
Essays
- "Striking a Responsive Chord", in The Second Link: Viewpoints on Video in the Eighties, ed. Lorne Falk, Banff, CA: Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, 1983, pp 28-29.
- "Video: A Selected Chronology, 1963-1983", Art Journal 45(3): "Video: The Reflexive Medium" (Autumn 1985), pp 249-262.
