MoMA’s “Face Value” Invites Us to Turn a Critical Eye Toward Our Image-Obsessed Culture

In “Face Value: Celebrity Press Photography,” MoMA curator Ron Magliozzi is trying to overwhelm us. That’s no conjecture; he says as much. But he has objectives beyond bombardment. “Celebrity is something that is produced for consumption, and people consume it,” Magliozzi tells Observer. “I’m hoping visitors will consume it with a critical eye. That’s the notion behind this.”

Trading scarcity for abundance and framed and matted artifice for simple plexiglass mounting, the photographs presented...