“Manifesting Marilyn” Reintroduces the Woman Behind the Icon

This summer, New York’s Genesis House is reintroducing Marilyn Monroe’s legacy in, “Manifesting Marilyn: The Making of an Icon” an exhibition in conjunction with what would have been the pop icon’s 100th birthday.

“Manifesting Marilyn explores the woman that historical memory tends to neglect: the business woman; the producer; the intellectual; the artist.

The exhibition which began June 2 runs until August 2 and is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Genesis House, at 40A 10th Ave in the Meatpacking District, is a multi-purpose space by Hyundai’s Genesis brand. The space is serene and contemporary, featuring a restaurant, showroom, library, event space, and more.

The exhibition experience is intimate and comprises six distinct spaces. Almost every wall, ceiling, and item is painted a rich, cool green, honoring Monroe’s favorite color. Curators are welcoming and knowledgeable—at least one is available in each room to explain the space and its meaning, but each curator also knows the content and history behind all six exhibits.

Visitors begin with “The Headline Room–The Rewrite.” This space features floor-to-ceiling newspaper pages with reimagined headlines about Monroe—headlines that highlight Monroe’s most underrecognized traits and achievements, such as her production company and her interest in politics, philosophy, poetry, and the like.

Curator Lee Avant, who was in “The Headline Room” when I arrived, said that the space marks a contrast from the most popular headlines about Monroe during her time, which were “usually unkind.” The Headline room sets the tone, according to Avant, immediately signaling the part of Monroe’s life they want to focus on.

Next comes “The Library,” an homage to Monroe’s 400-book collection and her passion for poetry and literature. Three titles are on display here, all the very same copies from Monroe’s personal library: Harlow Shapley’s “Of Stars and Men,” Joseph Murphy’s “The Miracles of Your Mind,” and “Oh Careless Love” by Maurice Zolotow. The latter was sent to Marilyn alongside a letter from the publishers, stating that Zolotow specifically requested she be sent an advance copy.

“Mr. Zolotov obviously had a wonderful time writing this escapade, and we hope you’ll have as good a time reading it,” the letter reads, dated July 6, 1959. It is on display in the Library next to her copy of the book.

Alongside the genuine copies and the library wall structure holding them, this room also demonstrates Monroe’s personality and intellectual curiosity using audio. Three rotary telephones sit on a table at the exhibit’s center, each item the same cool green color; playing on the phones are clips of Marilyn speaking, sourced from her interview with Richard Meryman for LIFE Magazine—her last interview before she died on August 4, 1962 at the age of 36.

I then entered the next space: “Marilyn’s Office–Mind of the Strategist.” This exhibit is home to a desk with a typewriter and another rotary phone atop it, with real documents from Monroe’s professional life on display in the desk. The exhibit focuses heavily on Monroe’s production company, which she founded with friend and photographer Milton Greene.

The documents on display in the desk include bank statements from Colonial Trust Company recording Marilyn Monroe Productions’ financial activity, Monroe’s call sheet for “Something’s Got to Give,” her address book, and more, all intended to demonstrate that she was much more than a 1960s sex symbol.

Curator Max Tootleman told me that Monroe was known for having everyday contacts, like a gardener, right beside superstars like Frank Sinatra. The address book in the Office exhibit is actually open to Sinatra’s entry. Tootleman noted how, while the other entries and even Sinatra’s name were printed by Monroe’s secretary, she had inscribed Sinatra’s address into the book by hand.

After “The Office” comes “The Vanity.” This area acknowledges Monroe’s iconic looks and “blonde bombshell” image, featuring a jacket and blouse from her personal collection and the popular beauty products at the time, including her favorite and the renowned Chanel No. 5 perfume.

“This environment reframes glamour as an intentional practice, using personal objects and wardrobe to show how Marilyn constructed and controlled her public image,” a press release on the exhibition by the Genesis newsroom reads.

After “The Vanity,” the exhibition changes course: rather than a new room boasting artifacts and documents, the next stop is “The Screen Experience–The Transformation.” Here, I walked down a long hallway, immersed in visuals on the walls around me and Monroe’s voice descending from the speakers. The multimedia installation is a sensory experience that follows Monroe as she evolves from Norma Jeane Mortenson into the icon she’s known as today.

The final space in the exhibition is “The New Beginnings Hall.” Following the two-minute screen experience, I entered a hallway with a starry night sky projected on either side and four small screens, two on each side wall. I was encouraged to draw on the screens; in this room, visitors are encouraged to reflect on their own dreams and legacies by drawing and subsequently watching their creation float across the starry hallway. I drew a star.

“Manifesting Marilyn” is a thoughtfully crafted and educational exhibition, staffed with deeply knowledgeable and friendly faces.

“Seeing the world of Marilyn Monroe come to life through the vision of Genesis House provides a unique way for fans and new audiences alike to see her through a new and modern lens without being disruptive to her legacy,” Dana Carpenter, executive vice president, Entertainment at Authentic said. “This space reflects who she was beyond the image and allows each visitor to see her as a unique multifaceted individual who continues to make a generational impact.”