MOCA Stitched Itself Into L.A.’s Fabric

What did the Museum of Contemporary Art hope to accomplish when it was founded nearly two decades ago? As I leave MOCA, having been there since the beginning, this question comes to mind.

There was absolutely no question in the minds of MOCA’s founders that L.A. was poised to become a dynamic participant in the arts worldwide. Every city has a few magical moments of opportunity, and this was clearly one for Los Angeles, a time when the community was in consensus that an institution devoted to contemporary art and culture could succeed--and then some.

Once the idea for MOCA was firmly in place, within three short years the new museum not only had an initial site but one designed by a great architect, the city’s own Frank Gehry. The resulting converted warehouse in Little Tokyo, now known as the Geffen Contemporary (and popularly known as the Temporary Contemporary), opened in 1983 and became an institutional icon for other cities to build upon. The Tate Gallery of Modern Art at Bankside in London and the recently opened MASS MOCA in Williamstown, Mass., are just two examples of new contemporary art centers for which MOCA has been a model for adapting an existing, under-utilized building to new public use.

The success of this first project carried over to Arata Isozaki’s elegant and now familiar pyramid structure at California Plaza, which opened in 1986. It became a cultural focal point for the redesign of Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles--and a linchpin for the continued growth of the “cultural corridor” that will soon include the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

In the future, we plan to collaborate again with the Little Tokyo community to revamp a large-scale public space that will be a downtown oasis for innovative programming in the arts and will reflect the values of the city’s many cultures.

On another front, the museum also set an early example--now considered necessary for contemporary art to flourish--of giving artists an extraordinary diversity of environments in which to present their work. These have ranged from temporarily closed streets to abandoned buildings, studio-like spaces in the Geffen Contemporary and, of course, the pristine galleries of the California Plaza building. This flexibility and spirit of openness is aimed at promoting a meaningful engagement with the ideas and works at hand--and thus, an immersion in contemporary art and its relevance to everyday life.

The museum maintains as its essential core value a reverence for the creative process--and, hence, for artists’ and designers’ ability to enhance the vibrancy of our lives. From the earliest days at MOCA, the board of trustees and entire staff have focused on the unique relationship that must exist between a contemporary institution and the creative minds that produce its programs. This investment in creativity over the last 16 years has yielded a multitude of returns: the exhilaration of seeing Elizabeth Streb’s dancers defy the laws of gravity; the stunning sight of Richard Serra’s monumental sculptures in silent assemblage; the deeply moving religiosity of Robert Gober’s installation on biblical themes; the Case Study exhibition, with its full-scale reconstruction of two houses; “Helter Skelter: Los Angeles Art in the 1990s,” which is still giving off sparks, and so many others. We’ve also had the immensely rewarding opportunity to be the first venue for a new and exquisitely talented generation of artists, such as Judy Fiskin, Toba Khedoori, Ann Hamilton, Richard Wilson, Hirokazu Kosaka and Renee Green, to name just a few.

In short, what’s been accomplished in the last 20 years is the building of a highly original institution, one that I am confident will continue to evolve and be responsive to a rapidly changing world and the audiences and artists within it. I’d like to think, as I leave MOCA, that we’ve had a part in giving this city increased and much-deserved stature as a center for contemporary art and culture. I’d like to think that we have spurred a new level of artistic dialogue originating from Southern California and reaching worldwide. I’d like to think that by engaging MOCA in such unusual projects as the building of new low-cost housing (as we did with the Case Study exhibition), we’ve made a real difference in people’s lives. I’d like to think that through the generosity of many donors, the museum has embarked on a permanent collection that will allow the community to appreciate, from multiple points of view, the art of our time.

I know that in continuing to explore the world of contemporary art and culture, the museum will continue to be a vital force in Los Angeles and beyond. I feel fortunate that I have had the extraordinary opportunity to be part of this adventure, and that, as I move on to become president of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, I have the chance to help foster the development of a new generation of creative minds.