Perhaps "good riddance" would be an appropriate bicoastal response to the slaps in the face that culture-lovers in New York and Los Angeles suffered this month at the hands of fickle artistic leaders. Amsterdam-born Jaap van Zweden's unexpected announcement on Sept. 15 that he would terminate his relatively brief tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic at the end … [Read more...] about Jaap & Klaus to Flee to Their European Homelands, Terminating Tenuous Tenures at NY Phil & LA MOCA
Search Results for: moca
Molesworth Speaks! Silenced at LA MOCA, She Vents (about Alice Neel) at Zwirner (with video)
Having been fired a year ago from the prestigious (but precarious) perch of chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Helen Molesworth resurfaced with a splash on Wednesday night at the David Zwirner gallery, New York. Feeling liberated, she flavored her well attended walkthrough of Alice Neel: Freedom (to Apr. 13) with a salty disquisition on "tits," … [Read more...] about Molesworth Speaks! Silenced at LA MOCA, She Vents (about Alice Neel) at Zwirner (with video)
Grousing about Klaus: Is Biesenbach Right for MOCA?
Much as I try, I can't muster great enthusiasm for the appointment of Klaus Biesenbach to the directorship of MOCA, Los Angeles, mostly because the shows he organized in Manhattan, with the exception of this one (for me, a nostalgia trip), were not among my MoMA favorites. I've seen too few shows at MoMA's Queens outpost (an inconvenient drive for me from New Jersey) for … [Read more...] about Grousing about Klaus: Is Biesenbach Right for MOCA?
Art Museum Day’s Odd Couples: Corcoran/GWU, MASS MoCA/Crystal Bridges, Smithsonian/Hebrew University
In the provocative spirit of CultureGrrl, come join me, faithful art-lings, in an unconventional commemoration of Art Museum Day, spotlighting some unlikely pairings that have recently hit the news. Whether conceived in a spirit of innovation or desperation, they've caught our attention by being unexpected and a little eyebrow-raising: ---There have been new developments in … [Read more...] about Art Museum Day’s Odd Couples: Corcoran/GWU, MASS MoCA/Crystal Bridges, Smithsonian/Hebrew University
CultureGrrl Omitted from MOCA’s Storify of Its Twitter Q&A with New Director Philippe Vergne UPDATED
For those of you who may have been preoccupied by Good Friday and Easter preparations, LA MOCA today posted a Storify of its Friday #askMOCA Q&A on Twitter with its new director, Philippe Vergne. His cryptic replies---far less than the 140-character limit, for the most part---weren't all that illuminating. But he does get points for his display of openness to hearing (and … [Read more...] about CultureGrrl Omitted from MOCA’s Storify of Its Twitter Q&A with New Director Philippe Vergne UPDATED
Another Dicey Choice: LA MOCA Picks Dia Art Foundation’s Philippe Vergne As Director
After the Deitch Disaster, LA MOCA needed to make an impeccable choice for its next director. Instead, it's made a flawed one. Philippe Vergne, director of the Dia Art Foundation since 2008, does have a lot going for him---deep, impressive curatorial credentials, including distinguished work at the Walker Art Center, where he was deputy director and chief curator, … [Read more...] about Another Dicey Choice: LA MOCA Picks Dia Art Foundation’s Philippe Vergne As Director
MOCA’s Unfinished Revival: “Financial Stability” (but no director yet)
With today's announcement that it has "met and exceeded its goal of raising the museum’s endowment to a historic high of over $100 million," LA MOCA has upped its endowment goal to $150 million, saying that it has succeeded in "secur[ing] its financial stability." What it hasn't yet secured is a permanent leader who can stabilize its revolving-door directorship. Randy … [Read more...] about MOCA’s Unfinished Revival: “Financial Stability” (but no director yet)
MASS MoCA’s Kiefer Deal: Single-Collector Exhibition on Steroids (plus what’s next for the Hall Collection and for Joseph Thompson)
I've been an enthusiastic admirer of the inspired, resourceful stewardship of MASS MoCA under its director, Joseph Thompson, ever since I wrote a rave review in the Wall Street Journal when the cutting-edge contemporary art institution opened in 1999. But as you may have guessed from my Tuesday WSJ piece on the opening of MASS MoCA's new Anselm Kiefer pavilion, I was wowed … [Read more...] about MASS MoCA’s Kiefer Deal: Single-Collector Exhibition on Steroids (plus what’s next for the Hall Collection and for Joseph Thompson)
“Leadership Changes”: Text of LA MOCA’s Announcement on Jeffrey Deitch
The expected has now happened. LA MOCA's official announcement of the eventual (but still indeterminate) departure of Jeffrey Deitch has just hit my inbox. As far as I can tell, it's not on the museum's website at this writing, but you can read it in full at the above link. Saying that Deitch "will be stepping down," the release about "leadership changes" (including … [Read more...] about “Leadership Changes”: Text of LA MOCA’s Announcement on Jeffrey Deitch
My KCRW Radio Commentary on Deitch’s Possible Departure from MOCA UPDATED
UPDATE: You can hear us now: A little too quickly for me to give you a proper heads-up (although I did announce it on my @CultureGrrl Twitter feed, in the righthand column of the blog), I contributed commentary this afternoon on Southern California's public radio station, KCRW, regarding an unconfirmed artworld development that's been touched upon during the … [Read more...] about My KCRW Radio Commentary on Deitch’s Possible Departure from MOCA UPDATED
“Everybody Must Get Stoned”: LA MOCA’s Far-Out Gala
The description of LA MOCA's benefit gala last night, contained in a press release from the museum that just landed in my inbox, requires little comment. It operates as its own parody. In her raised-eyebrow recap of last night's festivities, Jori Finkel of the LA Times called the extravaganza, "one weird night." Particularly strange, she said, was "a fake appearance by … [Read more...] about “Everybody Must Get Stoned”: LA MOCA’s Far-Out Gala
BlogBack: John Sandercock, NY Attorney, on Whether MOCA Broke California Law
I still have had no response from LA MOCA to my various questions, regarding the museum's uncertain future and checkered past, but CultureGrrl reader John Sandercock, a New York attorney with no connection to the in-recovery Los Angeles museum, helpfully explains for us why officials from MOCA and legal experts might disagree with the assertion in a 2010 LA Times article (which … [Read more...] about BlogBack: John Sandercock, NY Attorney, on Whether MOCA Broke California Law
MOCA Reports Commitments to “Nearly Triple” Museum’s Endowment (and requests a CultureGrrl correction)
In an announcement that just hit my inbox, LA MOCA exulted that its trustees "have obtained commitments over the past two weeks that will boost the endowment to more than $60 million, a record high in the museum's 34-year history and a reflection of the board's commitment to keep MOCA as a museum dedicated solely to contemporary art." This is putting their money where their … [Read more...] about MOCA Reports Commitments to “Nearly Triple” Museum’s Endowment (and requests a CultureGrrl correction)
Anti-Broad Bromide: Roberta Smith’s Muddled LA MOCA Analysis
In her Critic's Notebook piece about the LA MOCA mess that hit the NY Times' website this morning (and presumably will appear in tomorrow's paper), Roberta Smith once again demonstrates that her brilliance as an art critic is not matched by equal acumen in analyzing museum-management issues. Setting the scene for her muddled analysis, Roberta proclaims this in her first … [Read more...] about Anti-Broad Bromide: Roberta Smith’s Muddled LA MOCA Analysis
MOCA’s Confusion-Sowing Declaration of “Independence” (plus the details of Eli Broad’s penalty clause for museum mergers)
The uncertainty regarding LA MOCA's future, caused by a demonstrably under-performing board and administration, reached new heights late yesterday with the museum's release of a three-sentence statement titled, “MOCA Trustees Committed to Independence.” Intended to provide some clarity regarding the museum's murky prospects, it only muddied the waters further: The Board is in … [Read more...] about MOCA’s Confusion-Sowing Declaration of “Independence” (plus the details of Eli Broad’s penalty clause for museum mergers)