LACMA’s home for contemporary art opens -- at the top

As one of the first to arrive at the new Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday, 3-year-old Claire Paul of Beverly Hills rode up in the elevator clutching a balloon animal in one hand, a section of which exploded with a loud pop along the way.

Little did Claire or her family know that, as they stepped off the elevator and onto the museum’s third floor, they would be confronted with a giant version of the balloon pet: Jeff Koons’ 10-foot “Balloon Dog (Blue)” in the middle of a veritable toy store of the artist’s artwork including “String of Puppies” -- which looks just like it sounds -- and a fish tank containing three basketballs floating in water.

Like many of the 5,000 visitors who were holding tickets to BCAM on the first day it opened to the public, the entire Paul family, adults included, seemed like kids in a toy shop as they explored the often whimsical artworks by Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari displayed in the light, bright galleries.

The $56-million Renzo Piano-designed BCAM, the county art museum’s first home for contemporary art, mainly contains pieces from the massive holdings of LACMA trustee and donor Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, who funded BCAM’s construction.

Unfortunately for the first wave of visitors at 11 a.m., BCAM’s open-air escalator, which provides a spectacular view of the Hollywood Hills, stopped working midway to the top, causing them to huff and puff the rest of the way to the third floor, though it began working again within the hour.

Staffers quickly directed the next group of entrants to an elevator inside the building -- and they were not disappointed. The main lift is 21 feet wide, 16 feet high and 9 feet deep, with windows that also provide a city view. And, in the elevator, visitors are literally inside an artwork: A dramatic piece by Barbara Kruger lines the elevator shaft with red, white and black.

Visitors seemed tickled by the whimsy of many of the contemporary artworks inside the building as well as those stationed on the plaza as part of the $156-million first phase of a massive, multiyear redesign of the LACMA campus. And they hailed both the new focus on contemporary art as well as the ongoing reinvention of the 20-acre campus as a much-needed change, transforming a staid county museum of mismatched buildings into a more open, user-friendly facility.

That journey begins with the three-story BCAM, where the usual museum experience is flipped: The main entrance is on the top floor, and visitors work their way down. On Saturday, Angelenos seemed pleased to realize that their county museum had been turned upside down in more ways than one.

Steven Alexander, 42, of Los Angeles spent only “15 or 20 minutes” inside, less excited by contemporary art than the chance to see a new exhibition of African art in LACMA’s redesigned Ahmanson Building. But he called the re-do of the entire campus “grandiose, exciting -- it’s a little more alive than it used to be.”

Josh Giese, an avid museum-goer who lives just blocks from LACMA, though critical of BCAM as representing the vision of “one high-powered collector and his consultants,” was dazzled by the new building, saying it represents “a turning point” for the city.

“This museum always seemed like it was out of it,” Giese said. “All of a sudden it seems like this museum is where it’s at. I watched this project from when it was a hole in the ground until now, and this building feels like it’s part of the community. It’s beautiful and elegant, but does not eclipse its surroundings.”

Jennifer Malone, a Pasadena graphic designer, called Piano’s BCAM design “industrial chic -- and with the elevator and the escalator, it’s an experience all the way through.”

Their comments would please LACMA Director Michael Govan, who acknowledged in an interview prior to Saturday’s opening that entering the museum complex before the redesign was “quite dreary.”

During the three-day holiday weekend, about 15,000 people are expected to trek through BCAM.

Admission during the weekend is free but requires a ticket, and all available spots have been reserved.

But the rest of the LACMA galleries will be open throughout the weekend free of charge, and outdoor installations may be visited by all. Also free this weekend are family activities including music, magicians, trolling performers and balloon artists to make animals for the kids, such as the one toted by Claire Paul.

“My middle son said to me: ‘I don’t like museums, I don’t want to come,” said Nancy Paul, mother of Claire, Matthew, 5, and Spencer, 7. “But then he saw the basketballs in the tank and was excited to see that basketballs could be art.”

And Spencer was enthusiastic about the “humongous” elevator. In fact, that’s why he likes much of contemporary art: “It’s humongous.”

Perhaps it was the immenseness of many of BCAM’s works of art, including Richard Serra’s giant steel curves and Robert Therrien’s oversized table and chairs, that brought out visitors’ sense of wonder.

Museum guard James Hainzan, stationed under Therrien’s table, said that when people walk under and around the piece, they say they feel like Alice in Wonderland, going from tall to small.

“It seems to bring out a lot of messages for people,” he mused. “One lady came in, a very big lady, and said, ‘This is a message to me to just stop eating.’ Another man laughed and said, ‘This makes me feel like my dog, waiting under the table.’ It seems to bring out a lot of feelings of childhood, and fun and happiness.”

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diane.haithman@latimes.com