The Pictures Generation 1974-1984

New York, NY —

In 1977 a small art show created a big splash on New York's art scene. It was called "Pictures" and it featured five artists who went on to influence a generation of contemporary artists. Douglas Crimp organized that exhibition over 30 years ago. He says the buzz was immediate.

CRIMP: After being particularly interested in conceptual art, performance art and so on in the early 70s, suddenly I was seeing people making pictures and that was something new.

Now that show is being remembered in a landmark exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called "The Pictures Generation." The Met Museum show looks at the work of artists like Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince and Robert Longo -- all of whom were obsessed with the media and mass culture. Here's what Longo told the Met about the inspiration for his work.

LONGO: Now that I'm older now I realize that I think a majority of my work I can pinpoint the source of it all and that's the point when you go from boy to man, that transitional moment when play becomes actual real aggression.

Robert Longo is a guest on Soundcheck later this week. And you can see a slideshow of images from "The Pictures Generation" show on our website.