Artist Monograph

Joan Jonas, American

American, born 1936

Medium Breakdown

Medium	Works at MoMA	Share
Video	14	48.3%
Other Media	6	20.7%
Photography	2	6.9%
Sculpture	2	6.9%
Drawing	2	6.9%
Digital Art	1	3.4%
Oil Painting	1	3.4%
Film	1	3.4%

Department Distribution

Department	Works	Share
Media and Performance	21	72.4%
Drawings & Prints	8	27.6%

Production by Decade

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Classification Types

Video — 16
Print — 7
Installation — 3
Work on Paper — 1
Sculpture — 1
Drawing — 1

Physical Scale

Scale bracket	Works	Share
Small (< 30 cm)	1	11.1%
Medium (30–100 cm)	8	88.9%

Range: 28.5 cm → 90.0 cm (largest side)

Acquisition Timeline

Year acquired	Works
1975	1
1984	1
1987	6
1992	7
1994	4
2001	1
2004	1
2005	1
2009	1
2017	2
2018	1
2024	3

American Contemporaries

Catalogued Works

MoMA — 29 shown

Title	Date	Medium	Dimensions	Department	Credit line
Volcano Saga Drawing Acc. 1462.2018	n.d.	Colored pencil and cut-and-taped paper on paper	20 7/8 × 17" (53 × 43.2 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of the Gilbert B. and Lila Silverman Instruction Drawing Collection, Detroit
Masks and props Sculpture Acc. 433.2024	1970s–2010s	Rubber, papier-mache, metal mesh, fabric, ribbon, fabric, plastic, wood, glass, stone, and other materials	Dimensions variable ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Gift of the artist
Left Side Right Side Video Acc. 533.1992	1972	Video (black and white, sound)	8:50 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Organic Honey's Visual Telepathy Video Acc. 563.1984	1972	Video (black and white, sound)	23 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Gift of The Florsheim Foundation, Joanne Stern and Barbara Pine
Vertical Roll Video Acc. 444.1975	1972	Video (black and white, sound)	19:38 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Acquired through the generosity of Barbara Pine
Barking Video Acc. 720.1994	1973	Video (black and white, sound)	2:22 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Glass Puzzle Video Acc. 534.1992	1973	Video (black and white, sound)	17:27 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Puchase
Songdelay Video Acc. 543.2004	1973	16mm film transferred to video (black and white, sound)	18:35 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Acquired through the generosity of Barbara Wise
Three Returns Video Acc. 721.1994	1973	Video (black and white, sound)	13:14 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Good Night Good Morning Video Acc. 722.1994	1976	Video (black and white, sound)	11:38 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
I Want to Live in the Country (And Other Romances) Video Acc. 535.1992	1976	Video (color, sound)	24:06 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Mirage Installation Acc. 62.2009.a-hh	1976/1994/2005/2019	Multimedia installation with six standard-definition videos, props, stages, and fourteen photographs	Dimensions variable ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Gift of Richard J. Massey, Clarissa Alcock Bronfman, Agnes Gund, and Committee on Media Funds
Heart from Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.2	1979	Aquatint	composition and sheet: 23 7/16 × 35 3/8" (59.6 × 89.9 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Hurricane from Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.4	1979	Aquatint	composition and sheet: 23 7/16 × 35 7/16" (59.5 × 90 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.1-5	1979	Portfolio of five aquatints	composition and sheet (each approx.): 23 7/16 × 35 3/8" (59.6 × 89.9 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Rainbow from Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.1	1979	Aquatint	composition and sheet: 23 3/8 × 35 3/8" (59.3 × 89.9 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Reflexion from Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.5	1979	Aquatint	composition and sheet: 23 1/2 × 35 3/8" (59.7 × 89.9 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Sun from Hurricane Series Print Acc. 141.1987.3	1979	Aquatint	composition and sheet: 23 9/16 × 35 3/8" (59.9 × 89.8 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Crown Point Press in celebration of its 25th anniversary
Upsidedown and Backwards Video Acc. 536.1992	1980	Video (color, sound)	29:03 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
He Saw Her Burning Video Acc. 537.1992	1983	Video (color, sound)	19:32 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Big Market Video Acc. 723.1994	1984	Video (color, sound)	23:36 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Double Lunar Dogs Video Acc. 538.1992	1984	Video (color, sound)	24 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
Volcano Saga Video Acc. 539.1992	1989	Video (color, sound)	28:30 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Purchase
My New Theater I: Tap Dancing Installation Acc. 2239.2001.a-p	1997	Video sculpture with painted wood box, wooden trestles, and standard-definition video (color, sound; 4:15 min.), gelatin silver prints, and wooden props	Overall dimensions: 65 1/2 x 20 x 73'' (166.4 x 50.8 x 185.4 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Gift of the Richard Florsheim Art Fund, The Junior Associates of The Museum of Modern Art, Barbara Pine, and Joanne Stern
Waltz from Point of View: An Anthology of the Moving Image Video Acc. 3510.2005.10	2003	Video (color, sound)	7:03 min. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Gift of The New Art Trust
Reanimation Installation Acc. 661.2017	2010/2012/2013	Multimedia installation with four videos (color, sound and silent) projected on custom screens; prefabricated house structure; two benches made by Ed Gavagan; crystal sculpture; two video sculptures with wood, trestles, and video (Under the Glacier [color, sound; 18:33 min.] and Fish [color, silent; 8:51 min.]); fifteen ink drawings on paper; three oil stick drawings on paper; and two china marker wall drawings Soundtrack and voice: Joan Jonas Sámi yoik singing: Ánde Somby Piano a	Varying durations. Dimensions variable. ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Acquired in part through The Modern Women's Fund
Untitled from Art Against Immigration Ban Letter Portfolio Print Acc. 654.2017.3	2017	One from a portfolio of nine digital prints	composition: 11 1/4 × 7 13/16" (28.5 × 19.8 cm); sheet: 11 5/8 × 8 1/4" (29.6 × 20.9 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Drawings & Prints	Gift of Art Against Immigration Ban (Chitra Ganesh, Liam Gillick, Joan Jonas, Barbara Kruger, Julie Mehretu, Walid Raad, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Danh Vo, and Anicka Yi)
To Touch Sound Video Acc. 309.2024	2024	Three high-definition videos (color, sound; 11:42 min., 9:00 min., and 9:07 min.) and painted wooden structure	⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Acquired through the generosity of The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation
Whale heart drawing Work on Paper Acc. 310.2024	2024	Pencil on paper	21 1/2 × 14 3/4" (54.6 × 37.5 cm) ⌀c 0.00 cm · ⌀ 0.00 cm · L 0.00 cm · 0.00 kg · seat 0.00 cm	Media and Performance	Acquired through the generosity of The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation