Bright bands and angles of color climb the walls and columns of MoMA's lobby in Songs from Life, a floor-to-ceiling painting Odili Donald Odita made on site over six weeks while visitors watched. For the first time in his process, music drove the composition, and each section is keyed to songs on a playlist MoMA shares online. If you are passing through Midtown, it turns the museum's busiest room into a burst of color.
What to expect
You meet the work as soon as you walk in: the painting wraps the lobby's walls and columns and shifts as you move through the space. Pull up the Songs from Life playlist on your phone to hear the music Odita worked from, then look for how rhythm and repetition show up in the patterns.
Good to know
- It is on Floor 1 in the lobby, so you see it right at the entrance
- Queue up MoMA's Songs from Life playlist before you go
- Step back to take in the full height of the wall for photos
- Nearest subway is the E/M at Fifth Avenue–53rd Street
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Common questions
Where is Songs from Life?
In MoMA's Floor 1 lobby at 11 West 53 Street.
What inspired it?
Music. Each painted section is anchored by a selection of songs, and MoMA published a playlist of them.
