As real-time pandemic discussion rages on Twitter, can museums contribute new understanding? New-York Historical Society thinks it can.
The N-YHS exhibition ‘Hope Wanted’ raises questions about museums’ roles and the extent to which being timely ought to be part of their mandates.
In one photo, a lone doorman basks in golden light outside a midtown building; the only indication anything is amiss is his mask. Another image, of a nearly-deserted Times Square, shows digital signs performing for empty streets. (If no one sees, do they blink?) A cartoon figure’s perturbed expression in a cropped ad, seemingly for M&Ms, is as good an e…