Fixing LA's contemporary art institutions in 1,149 words

February's must-read is this Christopher Knight piece about LACMA, MOCA, who has what, who doesn't have what, who needs what, and how the whole LACMA/MOCA/Broad Art Foundation situation could be simply, neatly, tidily, brilliantly, and legacy-enhancingly sorted out. (Photo credit.)

First: Knight is neither wholly nor merely imagining this scenario. (You did click, right?) Plans quite similar to the ones Knight outlines have been discussed by various actors. That doesn't mean anything is even remotely imminent, just that Knight is getting behind a germ of an idea that is good enough to deserve a little germinating. The version I've heard more than once doesn't involve a Geffen Contemporary-adjacent property the way Knight's idea does -- it involves the empty lot visible here, the parking lot that forms an "L" with Disney Hall and MOCA (in the center foreground). The mechanics of where a 'new' MOCA would go are less important than that MOCA gets the space it deserves. Like Knight says, MOCA is "the nation's most prominent contemporary art museum." Programmatically it's the best, too.

Next: I know that the Broads and the Broad Art Foundation team have said that the Broads aren't interested in building a museum or in a museum model. But in August, 2004 Eli Broad told the LAT that he wouldn't be building LACMA the Piano if he didn't intend to give it a lot of art. And he changed his mind. That's fine, that's his prerogative, but what's to say he can't (or won't) change his mind again? As I've written, the Broad Art Foundation is already set up more like a museum than anything else.

In fact, TBAF is already pretty good at showing art. The current Broad Art Foundation installation, overseen by director Joanne Heyler, is terrific. The Franz Ackermann on view (to the 'industry' and by appointment only) is awesome. The juxtaposition of Mark Tansey and Neo Rauch in one gallery has me thinking about both artists in new ways.

One of the problems MOCA has now is that it's the only reason to visit downtown LA during daylight hours. If TBAF and MOCA were within walking distance of each other that would change. (Better yet: Imagine a J. Paul Getty Photography Museum there too.) MOCA deserves something like this. The Broad collection is good enough to fill the Isozaki not just with one installation but in multiple installations. We can hope...