A look at MoMA’s exhibition on Björk — in pictures

The visitor sees diaries of Björk with her musings — “I don’t recognise myself / This is very interesting,” she writes in one, which turned into the song Headphones — as well as some of Björk’s most sensational outfits, including the swan dress she wore to the 2001 Oscars and the dress of tiny bells designed by Alexander ­McQueen. Timothy A Clary / AFP photo

The lobbies feature music from four “instruments” including a Tesla coil that appeared on Björk’s 2011 album Biophilia, an innovative work that was accompanied by a smartphone app — the first to enter the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Timothy A Clary / AFP photo

“Björk was asking us to do things that pushed the boundaries of what technology could do, what sound could do, but even more importantly, what we as participants in an exhibition could do,” says Glenn Lowry, the director of MoMA. Timothy A Clary / AFP photo

If few would dispute that Björk is innovative, the retrospective can be sure to unsettle supporters of “classic” modern art by giving a 49-year-old musician so much coveted space at one of the world’s most influential ­museums. Timothy A Clary / AFP photo

Klaus Biesenbach, the curator-at-large for the MoMA, says that Björk insisted to him: “‘Foremost I am a musician, I am a singer and I am a composer. Can you, and can MoMA, make an exhibition where music is an authentic experience, like a painting is an authentic ­experience?’” Timothy A Clary / AFP photo

The Museum of Modern Art presents Björk, a retrospective dedicated to the multifaceted work of the singer, composer, and musician. Björk offers an experience of music in many layers, with instruments, a theatrical presentation, an immersive sound experience, a audio guide, and related visualisations — from photography and music videos to new media works holds a press preview at the museum in New York. The exhibition draws from more than 20 years of the artist’s career.