Photo: Lucas Museum Gallery
The framed artwork is by French street artist JR, documenting the 70-ft-tall cut-out of a Mexican toddler that he installed at the border wall in Tecate, Mexico, in 2018.
Hobson's post has drawn comments from Kaws, Ava DuVernay, and Monica Lewinsky.
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However, the dark concrete floor of the Geffen may be visually less distracting than the floor of the Lucas is.
Since a lot of the contents of the Lucas will be so-called syrupy, the ceiling will be a contrast. Since a lot of the contents of the Geffen will be so-called encyclopedic (minus the contemporary), the walls will be a contrast.
The JR piece is tangy, very good for me.
If this is representative of the larger collection, bring on the Lucas.
> of the larger collection
If that were a hand-painted image, I'd be impressed. In that case, an aspect of skill and talent could be determined. But the work (and the image of the child propped next to the border wall too, as shown in the New Yorker article) apparently is a photo enlargement.
Works like that make me think of Dataland, listed as opening this year in a building north of MOCA and the Broad. Or where what's being displayed depends a lot (too much?) on equipment and technology.
However, success has many parents, failure is but an orphan. But there's also the Emperor has new clothes too.
When Chris Burden's Urban Light display became a permanent installation in front of LACMA, I recall thinking that compared with something like water and fountains (such as built into Pereira's entry of 1965 or the Met's Koch Plaza of 2014) it would be, in terms of popularity, sort of a "feh." Wrong. Oh, well.
LAbusinessjournal .com:
Take Outfront, for example. The company is behind the giant iPhone murals on the side of the Hotel Figueroa in downtown. The company calls them “wallscapes for advertisers.”
[Jewel] Addy said the company’s clients “embrace hand paints because of the organic engagement and storytelling opportunities it presents. We’re proud to say most come back.”
Most murals take around five days to complete but complex projects can take longer. Prices range drastically, depending on factors like size, scale and how long the mural will be up. This can range from $30,000 to $150,000.
"This isn’t a quick and easy type of business,” Addy said. “It’s also an expensive one to operate. Labor, materials, and equipment are huge expenses for the business. But we’re committed to our mission of “always hand paint” and the hands-on labor at every step of our craft and process…"
... A while back, I found an article by Leo Braudy which described an ideal collection of narrative art. The Lucas had none of the works in that ideal collection. Google it.
--- J. Garcin
> out of money?
That's what certain features of both LACMA (for decades---and still with the Geffen too) and the Lucas Museum will make people think. Even aspects of the Getty, certainly the size and quality of its collection, seem the same way.
By omparison, museums like the Metropolitan, National Gallery (London or DC) or Louvre always come off as having money, lots and lots of money.
I notice LACMA is going with the same theme that the work in the Lucas is into:
Los Angeles–based artist rafa esparza, who works primarily in performance, installation, and painting... This powerful wall sculpture, referencing the border between Mexico and the United States...
In the David Geffen Galleries, nearby works on paper will amplify esparza’s themes of community and family... [End quote}
It's good to know the Geffen will have plenty of contemporary art, including from an artist who doesn't believe his name should be capitalized. There's already not enough newer works in the BCAM and often the Resnick Pavilion too.
I hope the Price/Goff building for Japanese art also contains a lot of 1900s-2000s-era objects made by people based in Tokyo, Osaka, etc. The more, the better.
The Broad and MOCA should return the favor by installing works done by Degas, Raphael, Carvaggio, etc.