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| Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Photo: Roberto Gomez |
Just announced: Standard
adult admission to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be $25. Seniors will pay $21, and admission will be free to children (17 and under), active-duty military members, EBT cardholders, personal aides/attendants, and museum members.
George Lucas sponsors
free admission for children at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, so a similar policy was expected at his own museum. Overall the pricing is comparable to LACMA's and better for those residing out of Los Angeles County (LACMA charges $30 for out-of-county adults).
Comments
> for out-of-county
> adults).
It bothers me that over 60 years later, a tourist to LA who's visiting LACMA may still think, "hmm, this isn't must-see. Even my own city's art museum is better."
Aoife O’Connell, williamsrecord:
Govan is the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art… But long before he started this role, Govan was an art history and studio art major at [Williams] College.
According to Govan.... “[The museum] embraces the community,” he said. “It actually takes its shape from all the things around it… Los Angeles is very present inside the building… That is what I think architecture can do on a very large scale, civic level, if you’re thoughtful about it.”
In November 1983, Govan wrote a piece...after an outdoor sculpture on campus was inadvertently bulldozed… The sculpture…was a “four-foot wide by six-foot long, two-foot high concrete block chamber covered with wood planks and dirt”… the then-director of facilities management sent a memo...stating that “there was no way that any layman, professor other than art (possibly), or any other rational person would have known that the dirt mound … was a ‘valuable’ piece of sculpture.”
“It made the evening news not because it was an important artwork, but because it looked like a mound of earth, and so ‘regular people’ couldn’t blame anyone for bulldozing it,” Govan said. “It was a very meaningful and beautiful sculpture. [End quote]
The words "thoughtful," "meaningful" and "beautiful" don't come readily to mind when dealing with the Geffen Galleries, its current installation and certainly the overall history of LACMA since 1965.
Earl Powell in the 1980s perhaps could make the excuse that he fumbled the handling of the former Anderson building (eventually the Art of Americas galleries) because he was stuck with the template of Richard Brown and William Pereira.
Although BCAM came before Govan, both the Resnick and now the Geffen are under his watch. Moreover, regardless whether Zumthor's architecture for LACMA is good or not, the Geffen's interiors are very much controlled by the museum's staff, including Govan.
If he interpreted a mound of dirt on Williams College's campus as beautiful, I now do think he may prefer the Geffen having the look of more space than objects to display in it. And, of course, he must truly love the look of plain gray concrete walls and black-metal brackets.
Why LACMA always brings out a lack of clear-cut professionalism in its directors and staffers is a question that has haunted the place since 1965. That's not helped by the city being the last major American metro to build its own public art museum.
However, some of Canada's largest urban areas may not be too different. But Sydney, Australia, in the late 1800s/early 1900s (well before 1965) was able to get in on the act. Although it does come with the asterisk that, as with the MFA in Houston, its looks tend to be more impressive than its collections.
In LACMA's case, it hasn't gotten even the looks down right, and its collection has historically been way too evocative of "Natural History Museum, Expo Park." Which is near where the Lucas Museum will be located.
A perfect circle.
Skipped right over it.
--- J. Garcin
A writer based in NYC a few years ago did an article about Govan/Zumthor and mocked the word "county" in "County Museum of Art." As opposed to "Metropolitan." I guess "county" to him was reminiscent of the image of a tobacco-chewing sheriff and the sound of "sooie, sooie." lol.
https://youtu.be/9pR_G2I1TqA?si=ZqxVnXJvGYKDiw0j
The former curator of European art hasn't been happy with what Govan and Zumthor have done, and the Ahmanson Foundation hasn't been either. Which isn't without reason. This large artwork gifted by them isn't on public view, even though the Geffen has lots of blank wall spaces. And lots of empty floor space too:
https://youtu.be/dqyjeEFNWlE?si=c_8FtbkxB4aA_wec&t=525
As for the Ardabil Carpet, it's displayed in a room where 2 of the 4 walls are blank. I guess LACMA doesn't have enough in its collection worth showing on those 2 other walls. The Geffen is perhaps too large for LACMA.
I wonder what J. Patrice Marandel's reaction to the Geffen Galleries has been? But one of the museum's other top curators, going back decades, Stephanie Barron, certainly should be happier. Contemporary is all over the museum, from the BCAM to the Geffen. However, she may resent the description of LACMA as a "de facto museum of contemporary art, but frankly...not a very good one."
> over it.
Hey, J Garcin, that's not nice. I try to put as much effort into my comments as W. Poundstone puts into his blog. Sheesh. So damn rude.
BTW, how are all the rubes doing in NYC? Its building named for Geffen is sort of rube-ish too.