A Tale of Two Museums: MOCA and LACMA

This is a tale of two museums, The Museum of Contemporary Art and the L.A. County Museum of Art.

MOCA building on Grand Avenue in 1986.

Guests at Chris Burden’s Exposing the Foundation of the Museum, 1986/2019, site-specific excavation. Courtesy of the Chris Burden Estate.

Four tumultuous decades later, that history is being celebrated with MOCA's sixth director, Klaus Biesenbach. On the job seven months, he was able to announce a $10 million dollar gift by MOCA president Carolyn Powers to help fund free admission.

MOCA's Collection is a snapshot of the staggering commitment of past directors and curators to building one of best contemporary collections in the country.

MOCA in the last decade, he has a lot of ruffled feathers to smooth. He seems remarkably willing to perform that uneviable task. A collective sigh of relief seemed to permeate the evening, which was attended by past directors and curators in a gesture of reconciliation.

Daytime view of north stairs facing east, Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner. Photo courtesy of LACMA.

All of which brings me to LACMA and its director Michael Govan, who has completely transformed a moribund museum into one of the most popular places in the city. Under his direction, the museum installed the one of the most selfied works of public art, the grove of vintage lights by one of the city’s most revered artists, the late Chris Burden. At this point, I could go on and on about their excellent recent exhibitions with an unprecedented focus on contemporary art, including Robert Rauschenberg’s previously unseen opus 1/4 Mile, closing June 9.

Michael Govan. Photo courtesy of LACMA.

Prior to Govan’s 2006 hire, Renzo Piano, an esteemed architect of museums, was on board to complete what is now the Broad Museum of Contemporary Art and the Resnick Pavilion. Even at that time, it was clear that it was not going to be cost effective or aesthetically desireable to renovate the 1966 LACMA buildings, a William Pereira design that had proved problematic and unwieldy. Curators, historians and artists have have been complaining about it since the day it opened. The 1986 attempt to disguise it with a giant facade and courtyard by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer didn’t help.

Interior view of a central gallery, Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/The Boundary. Photo courtesy of LACMA.

Govan could have let Piano continue building, which also entailed tearing down the old museum. He chose the more difficult path.

Interior gallery, Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner/The Boundary. Photo courtesy of LACMA.

Same for Biesenbach at MOCA. Give the guy a chance.