What happens when moving images move beyond flat screens to occupy room, history, and spiritual space? For Los Angeles-based artist and educator Na Mira, film and video are not static documents, but live, fluid portals connecting personal lineage, ritual, feminist histories, and the unseen forces of memory.
In The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Na Mira: NO SMOKING presents a transformative installation and live event environment that redefines how audiences encounter projected light, soundscapes, and architectural space.
Moving Beyond the Screen into Spatial Ritual
Traditional cinema creates a fixed relationship: a seated viewer looking forward at a illuminated wall. In NO SMOKING, Na Mira dismantles this boundary by creating an immersive, multi-channel environment where projection, smoke, mirrors, and physical objects interact dynamically with visitors’ bodies.
Drawing inspiration from Korean shamanic rituals, early avant-garde filmmaking, and personal family archives, Mira uses light and shadow to explore themes of displacement, grief, and spiritual inheritance.
The installation highlights several key conceptual pillars:
- Expanded Cinema & Architectural Projection: Video projections that cut through atmospheric haze, bouncing off reflective surfaces to sculpt the open physical volume of the Kravis Studio.
- Ancestral Lineage & Shamanic Rituals: References to mudang (Korean shamanic practitioners) and the historical lineage of female visionaries, transforming the gallery into an active ceremonial site.
- The Interplay of Light, Smoke, and Sound: A multi-sensory environment where ambient soundscapes and moving mist turn projected light beams into tangible, sculptural forms.
The result is a presentation that invites audiences to move freely, observe from multiple perspectives, and become active participants within the glowing, shifting space.
Key Visual & Experiential Highlights
1. Multi-Channel Video Projections
Featuring layered archival footage, super-8 film transfers, and high-definition video that weave together personal family histories with broader geopolitical narratives.
2. Atmospheric & Spatial Interventions
Utilizing controlled haze, custom lighting, and mirrors, the installation turns the Kravis Studio’s tall ceilings and dark floor into a hovering, suspended dreamscape.
3. Live Performances & Sonic Layering
Integrated live performance elements and immersive surround-sound compositions heighten the sense of time passing and ancestral presence.
Why This Installation Matters
Na Mira: NO SMOKING showcases the cutting edge of contemporary media art and performance. By transforming MoMA’s dedicated space for live and experimental art into a meditative sanctuary, Mira demonstrates how moving-image technology can serve as a powerful tool for healing, memory work, and spiritual inquiry.
For visitors navigating MoMA’s midtown galleries, this installation in the Kravis Studio offers an unforgettable, deeply sensory encounter that lingers long after leaving the room.
Exhibition & Visitor Details
- Exhibition Title: Na Mira: NO SMOKING
- Artist: Na Mira
- Venue: The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Studio, Floor 4
- Institution: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Address: 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
- Admission: Included with general MoMA admission
- Hours: Sunday to Friday: 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM | Saturday: 10:30 AM – 7:00 PM
