Broad Wins in Los Angeles

That seems to have ended pretty much the way everyone thought it would.  The great story here, though, is the way that artists, curators, and the public seemed to work together throughout December in a united front.  The group included Andrea Fraser, Katie Grinnan, Martin Kersels, Alexis Smith, Jennifer Steinkamp, and James Welling, among others. Two comments:

Eli Broad in Los Angeles on Tuesday:

“Today is a great day — it’s really the rebirth of MOCA. We’ve known for years that MOCA loves L.A., but today we know that L.A. loves MOCA as well.”

Cindy Bernard in response:

“It’s like President Bush at 5 p.m. on a Friday making major announcements,” Ms. Bernard said. “It undercuts our ability to have a real discussion, and it underscores MOCA’s lack of transparency.”

[Top 10 of 2008] #6 - Jennifer Steinkamp: Daisy Bell and Left Clavicle

Jennifer Steinkamp, Daisy Bell, 2008, video projection, dimensions variable.

Jennifer Steinkamp, Daily Bell and Left Clavicle
Lehmann Maupin - 201 Chrystie Street
September 7 - November 2, 2008

The show’s press release offered some heavy theory and oblique references (to early computing and science fiction) to explain Steinkamp’s animated walls of sumptuous, scrolling flowers. Somehow, though, I don’t think anyone who visited Lehmann Maupin’s beautiful new warehouse space on the Lower East Side were so easily distracted from the rarity on display: beautiful video works about color, scale, and perspective, the original cornerstones of art. This was one of the only times that I’ve ever walked into a gallery and felt there was too much to take in, too much to see. It was certainly the first time a single piece had made me feel that way.


Jennifer Steinkamp, The Invisible Man, 2007, video projection, dimensions variable.