Archive for the 'Museums' Category
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Last Chance :: Elizabeth Peyton
Earl’s Court, 1997. Oil on board, 10×8 in.
The Art Collector’s strongly urges anyone in the NY area to see Elizabeth Peyton’s exhibit at the New Museum before it closes on January 11. Consisting of more than 100 works from the past fifteen years, Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton marks the first comprehensive survey of the artist’s career to be held in an American institution.
Peyton’s works are at once nostalgic and completely fresh, an ode to the forgotten art of figurative painting and a celebration of modern subjects. Through depictions of instantly recognizable cultural icons to her most intimate friends, Peyton inspires us to rejoice in the beauty that arises from the remarkable individuals who have impacted our lives.
The exhibit travels to The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis from Feb. 14-June 14, 2009, and then moves on to Whitechapel Gallery in London and the Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastrciht, Netherlands.
Pati, 2007. Oil on board, 9×7 in Zoe’s Kurt, 1995. Oil on board, 14×11 in.
Thursday, December 18th, 2008
The Big Takeover
Image: © Original Artist / cartoonstock.com
Seasoned art and culture critic, Lee Rosenbaum, has written some interesting commentary over the last several days regarding Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s proposed “merger” with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. As previously reported, MOCA is at the brink of financial collapse and is in dire need of rapid injection of funds.
In a press release issued Dec. 16, LACMA stated the “goal of this plan would be to preserve the independence and integrity of both institutions while combining their operations and infrastructure,” including a “merger of Board leadership,” and the ability for MOCA’s permanent collection to be housed and exhibited in LACMA’s several museum spaces.
Rosenbaum calls the plan an attempted takeover, and a move by LACMA and its Director/CEO, Michael Govan, to take advantage of a struggling MOCA in its time of need, arguing that ”instead of being a perpetrator of pernicious takeover mischief, Michael Govan should have been a collaborative colleague, offering to provide space and support for MOCA’s insufficiently exhibited, superb permanent collection, without insisting on assuming control over it (as would happen under a single-board, single-director merger).”
Since LACMA’s announcement this past Tuesday, several voices have spoken out against the deal, or offered alternative plans. Grassroots organization MOCA Mobilization has delivered a petition of 3,200 signatures to MOCA’s board, stating “we support an independent and autonomous MOCA. We condemn any plan now or in the future to merge MOCA with any other institution.” Furthermore, in an effort to stall the merger, a motion was filed by the Los Angeles County City Council, petitioning the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency to give MOCA $2.8 million in rent money. In return, the museum would agree to accept $30 million in financial assistance offered by philanthropist Eli Broad.
Read more at: CultureGrrl
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
Sol LeWitt’s 25 Year Installation @ Mass. MoCA
Image: John Mcalister/Mass MoCA
Sol Lewitt’s final conceptual undertaking before his death last April is now on view at Mass MoCA. Spanning the artist’s career from 1969-2007, Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retropspective, compiles 105 large-scale wall drawings, housed in a newly restored three-story mill on the Massachussetts MoCA grounds. Here, it becomes abundantly clear why LeWitt is regarded as one of the most significant conceptual and minimalist artists of the twentieth century. Staying true to his form, none of these hugely influential wall drawings were created by LeWitt himself. Rather, the artist conceptualized a series of simple step-by-step instructions which could be executed by virtually any marginally trained artist - anywhere at any time.
It is almost poetic that LeWitt did not live to see this massive undertaking come to light. The very fact that these works were created after his passing and will remain on view for the next 25 years, serve as the ultimate testament to an artist whose mission was to span time, space and tangible forms. In his own words, ”In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art” (”Paragraphs on Conceptual Art”, Artforum, June 1967). Arguably, in death LeWitt’s artistic vision has truly been realized, perhaps more so than it ever could have been during the course of his wildly accomplished lifetime.
Can’t make it within the next 25 years? - Read on for a selection of our favorites, or visit the museum’s online gallery, including time-lapsed photography of the creation of several pieces.
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Broad Injects Millions Into LA Art Institutions
Image: LA Times
This past week billionaire collector, Eli Broad, officially announced he will move ahead with plans to open a new contemporary art museum in Beverly Hills. The new 25,000 square foot institution will house the Broad Art Foundation and permanent collection, including seminal works by Jean Michel Basquiat, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Damien Hirst. The announcement comes less that a year after Broad gifted $56 million in funds to open the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Broad Contemporary Art Museum.
Broad’s philanthropic pursuits don’t stop here. This week he offered an additional $30 million to help keep Los Angeles MOCA afloat. As previously reported, the museum has burned up its funds and is is on the brink of financial disaster. In a Nov. 21 LA Times op-ed, Broad said, ”I’d like to make a proposal to the MOCA board and to the civic angels of Los Angeles. I’ll step up if you do too. The Broad Art Foundation is prepared to make a significant investment in MOCA — $30 million…It is vital that the museum remain on Grand Avenue, keep its collection and continue its tradition of world-class exhibitions…This is not a one-philanthropist town…with a global recession that has hit every American’s pocketbook, charitable giving has declined…The philanthropic community must not turn its back on MOCA. We must make it one of our civic priorities.”
In total, Broad’s spending would represent a cash injection into Los Angeles’ art institutions in excess of $1 billion.
Sources: The New York Times / LA Times / Art Observed
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
MOCA Crisis
Image: Liz O Baylen / Los Angeles Times
It’s hard to feel bad about losses incurred by international auction house giants or millionaire collectors in the past few weeks, but it comes with heavy heart that we report the latest victim of the financial crisis - Los Angeles MOCA. The LA Times reports that with practically all of its remaining funds dried up, the museum is struggling to meet operating costs. While MOCA is seeking a large infusion from donors, it is weighing all possibilities, including a potential merger with another institution. Museum Director, Jeremy Strick says MOCA is in talks with several partners, but remained firm stating shutdown or takeover were not likely. ”All the possibilities being explored involve MOCA retaining its identity, continuing its program, expanding its collection,” Strick said, adding, “I think it is time for this city to step forward and offer the kind of financial support commensurate with the work being done.”
Want to do your part? Take a few minutes to become a member, and then use your 10% discount on something from their museum store
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
Beautiful Losers Madrid
Margaret Kilgallen
The latest installment of Beautiful Losers, the traveling museum exhibit and documentary film conceived by Aaron Rose, is currently on view at La Casa Encendida cultural center, in Madrid, Spain. The show features some of the most successful artists to emerge from the DIY graffiti, skate, punk, and hip hop cultures, including Barry McGee, Kaws, Futura, Phil Frost, Stephen Powers (ESPO), Todd James (REAS), Shepard Fairey, Thomas Campbell, Cynthia Connolly, Evan Hecox, Jo Jackson, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine, Geoff McFetridge, Ryan McGinley, Ryan McGinness, Terry Richardson, Clare E. Rojas, Ed Templeton, Romon Yang, Tobin Yelland, Glen E. Friedman, Ari Marcopoulos, and Raymond Pettibon, and the late Margaret Kilgallen. Click for lots of images courtesy of our friends at Guillotine. On view till Jan. 4, 2009.
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
Kehinde Wiley - The World Stage: Africa, Lagos - Dakar
Here’s a peak from Kehinde Wiley’s current exhibit at the Studio Museum In Harlem, where his latest monolithic paintings from the World Stage series are on view. For this body of work, Wiley situated himself in the both Lagos, Nigeria and Darkur, Senegal. Here, he found his models and invited them to pose in positions reflecting local statues and monuments from the African-European colonial period. This is not the first time the Studio Museum has welcomed Wiley. In fact, it was during his 2001 tenure as artist in residence that Wiley first experimented with having his subjects (then picked off the streets of New York) take on historical poses present in classical European portraiture. On view till October 26, 2009, free on Target Free Sundays. More after the jump, click pics for larger images.
Friday, July 4th, 2008
Sonic Youth July 4th / Museum Exhibition
Sonic Youth - River to River Festival free Fourth of July 2008 concert, Battery Park, NYC.
The Art Collectors thanks SY for rocking the Fourth of July rain away with a bit of the old school.
SONIC YOUTH ETC.: SENSATIONAL FIX
In more art related news, the traveling museum exhibition, Sonic Youth Etc. : Sensational Fix, has begun its international jaunt around the globe. The exhibit serves as a retrospective of the band’s many artistic endeavors over the past 27 years, and showcases collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers and musicians, including Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppola, Richard Kern, Richard Prince, Gerhard Richter, Raymond Pettibon, Rita Ackermann, and Mike Mills to name a few. Click for more: Read the rest of this entry »