On my way to see the Good Design show at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) today, I was stopped in my tracks by another show whose space is defined by whorehouse pink walls. Stepping off the elevators onto the third floor, I came face to face with a quartet of famously aggressive posters by graphic designer James Victore; videos of work by the radical San Franciso art collective, Ant Farm; and body armor designed for protection at violent street protests.

This is Rough Cut, a show that proposes that "Good Design does not have to be pretty." The curators, Paola Antonelli and Patricia Juncosa Vecchierini have selected 98 objects from the museum's collections whose impact derives from their powerful engagement with meaning and emotion rather than on refined, formal design qualities.

Installation of Rough Cut at the Museum of Modern Art. Photos: Peggy Roalf.

Victore's poster Racism, for example, was inspired by the 1993 riots between Hassidic Jews and African Americans in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Using the simplest of means - black paint, hot pink paint and a brush, Victore rendered the word "racism" as a powerful visual in which the letter C becomes a toothy snarling jaw that devours the following letters. So much for pink being a girly color...

On an adjacent wall are four pieces by Stefan Sagmeister, reigning enfant terrible of design. In a poster announcing the American Institute of Graphic Arts' Fresh Dialogue series, the designer had photographer Tom Schierlitz shoot a pair of cow's tongues, whose slightly obscene appearance had tongues wagging around town.

In the center of the gallery is a platform on which a group of mainly black pieces of furniture vie for nastiness ratings. To me this seems a bit of a stretch, as the laser cut foam chair, roughly based on the classic butterfly chair in MoMAs design collection, is actually a handsome piece and comfortable to boot. And the chandelier by Ingo Maurer, made of carefully smashed porcelain crockery, is too beautifully designed to be thought of as rough in any way.

But Matthias Megyeri's Sweet Dreams Security Fence, on the adjacent wall, comes to the rescue. The designer hones in on heightened fears about home security that pervade his native London. The result, in his hands, is a clash between the desire for beauty and the need for protection. Here, cute bunnies top the heavy-duty iron poles of the gate while other lovable creatures adorn the chains, padlocks and razor wire, all designed to assuage the various phobias of his imaginary client.

Through the end of August the Museum of Modern Art extends its gallery hours on Thursdays until 8:45 pm, also offering music in the garden along with a cash bar and snacks. 11 West 53^rd Street, New York, NY. 212.708.9400. Please visit website for information.

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