Martin Beck: Last Night

Martin Beck: Last Night presents the artist’s eponymous film work for one day only, on June 2, 2024. Acquired by the Museum in 2022, Last Night (2016) revisits the records that musical host David Mancuso played on June 2, 1984, at one of the last parties at the 99 Prince Street location of the seminal New York dance party known as the Loft.

Beginning on Valentine’s Day 1970, Mancuso regularly held invitation-only dance parties at his home, which later became known as the Loft. In this intimate yet vibrant communal space, high-quality sound and exquisite music were central to the atmosphere, and defined the Loft’s lasting influence on dance culture.

Taking a cue from Mancuso’s signature style of playing each song from beginning to end, no matter their length, Beck films the records spun on June 2, 1984, in full and in sequence, using 10 different camera angles in a pattern based on the Golden Ratio. Unfolding across 13 and a half hours, the work offers communion with that singular night, while simultaneously implying distance from the original event.

June 2, 2024, will mark exactly 40 years since the evening Last Night commemorates. Installed in MoMA’s Kravis Studio on this anniversary, the presentation creates the conditions for memory, contemplation, and celebration—highlighting the communities and exchange of ideas that develop alongside works of art. MoMA will extend the Kravis Studio opening hours to accommodate the full runtime.

Organized by May Makki, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Media and Performance.

The Kravis Studio programs are presented as part of The Hyundai Card Performance Series.

Major support is provided by the Sarah Arison Endowment Fund for Performance and by the Wallis Annenberg Director’s Fund for Innovation in Contemporary Art.