The other thing is that it’s not just the artistic disciplines that have to be at the table. The education department has to be there as well. I think it’s safe to say that MoMA has the greatest collection of 20th-century art in the world. The challenge is to perpetuate the kind of adventure that characterized its early history. I look forward to examining Alfred Barr’s legacy more closely—talk about a multidisciplinary institution! It was all there at the beginning. I don’t think that what we’re talking about is radical; it’s just about a more robust commitment to cross-disciplinary conversations.

How do you see the relationship between MoMA and P.S.1 changing?

I really want to sit down with Alanna, who’s a gigantic leader in our field. There’s a lot to be learned from what she’s done in the areas of architecture and moving pictures. Eventually I think my job will entail creating more and better conversations between P.S.1 and the curators at MoMA and fortifying both institutions. They really benefit from each other.

The most remarkable thing about your coming to MoMA is that you left the Walker without any idea of what you would do next.

Absolutely. I was looking at my life at age 58 and realized I had a couple of choices. One was to stay at the Walker for the rest of my life, which seemed like a very long time. The other was to jump into the unknown, which seemed scary. But one of the things I’ve learned from artists is to embrace fear and let it take you someplace good.

When Glenn called me, I wasn’t even prepared to talk to him at first, because I was sorting through a lot of alternative ideas about what I should be or could be. I honestly wasn’t even sure whether I would stay in the field, because I knew I no longer wanted to be a museum director. But this job turned out to be exactly, precisely what thrills me. I hope that Glenn gets the credit that he deserves for being as open and generous as he has been with me. I don’t think there’s another museum director in the country who could have done what he did.

How quickly do you think we’ll see the Halbreich effect at MoMA?

I hope that people understand that change is evolutionary, not revolutionary, and that whatever change is needed—and I don’t know what is yet—will take us time to discover. Everybody’s expectations are a little scary.

"Making the Modern More Contemporary" comes to ARTINFO from the winter 2008 issue of Museums magazine.