Met Museum Rises With Help of ?Blockbuster? Shows Bloomberg

artist William Kentridge and photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. Dennison described MoMA?s acclaimed 2010 Matisse show andthe de Kooning retrospective that closed on Monday as moredemanding of viewers than the ?experiential? Burton exhibit. ?There is a temptation to do exhibits that are crowdpleasers or blockbusters,? she said, speaking of museumsgenerally. ?The secret is balance.? Attendance is key for administrators, she said: It affectsbox office and revenue from food, retail and membership. ?When I was at the Guggenheim, we looked at attendanceevery week,? she said. The Met and MoMA appear to have bounced back from therecession, according to their financial statements. The Met,which cut 14 percent of staff in 2008-09, had a $1.3 millionoperating surplus last season.