MoMA Screens Ken Jacobs's Epic Film 'Star Spangled to Death' in Weeklong Event
The Museum of Modern Art is hosting a special weeklong screening of Ken Jacobs's six-and-a-half-hour film 'Star Spangled to Death' (1957–2004) during regular museum hours in April 2024. This event launches a citywide celebration of Jacobs's work throughout the month. MoMA became the exclusive archive for Jacobs's moving-image art in 2023, acquiring over 200 of his films and videos spanning six decades. Jacobs, who passed away in 2025, was a major figure in 20th and 21st century film, and credited his early artistic inspiration to visiting MoMA as a teenager in the late 1940s.
Key facts
- MoMA is screening Ken Jacobs's 'Star Spangled to Death' for a week in April 2024
- The film runs six and a half hours and can be viewed during regular museum hours
- MoMA acquired over 200 of Jacobs's films and videos in 2023, becoming the sole repository of his work
- The screening kicks off a month-long citywide celebration of Jacobs's art
- Ken Jacobs (1933–2025) was a significant moving-image artist of the 20th and 21st centuries
Entities
Artists
- Ken Jacobs
Institutions
- Museum of Modern Art
Locations
- New York City