MOCA Closes Experimental Programs Unit

Eight months into his job as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeremy Strick has decided to close the museum’s department of experimental programs, headed by longtime curator Julie Lazar. She and her assistant, Brent Zerger, will leave the museum at the end of the month, Strick said Friday.

The decision follows an evaluation of the museum’s curatorial structure, Strick said. “This is basically a move to concentrate our programmatic efforts. We intend to expand in the area of new media and we believe that they should be fully integrated into our whole program,” he said.

The department of experimental programs was established two years ago, partly to study possibilities for presenting new media, including video, film and digital art. But more and more artists now combine new technology with more traditional methods of art-making. “I felt that our programs should be conceived and developed together, rather than separately,” Strick said.

Despite increasing emphasis on new media, Strick doesn’t expect to hire a specialist in that area. “One of the strengths of our programming is that all of our curators have multiple interests,” he said. “Several exhibitions currently under development involving new technology are being prepared by curators who are working in other areas as well, and I would think that’s something we will continue.”

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Lazar arrived at the museum in 1981 as a guest curator, but soon joined the staff and became known for her interest in performance art and other unconventional areas of artistic expression. She was unavailable for comment, but Strick praised her for organizing an exhibition of composer and artist John Cage’s work; the “Territory of Art” radio series; and the recent presentation of “Happy End,” a musical play by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, among many other projects.

“Julie has made an extraordinary contribution to MOCA during her 19 years here and we are very grateful to her,” Strick said.

Zerger--who has held several positions in the museum’s education and curatorial departments since 1992--also has been “a wonderful member of MOCA’s team and has made significant contributions,” he said.