LACMA’s focus needs to be on art

NICOLAI Ouroussoff’s commentary (“Prudent Decision for LACMA Is a Setback for the City,” Dec. 10) is entirely off the mark.

The notion of the Los Angeles County Art Museum spending up to $300 million (and probably more, by the time all the bills would be paid) to replace fully functional museum buildings was and is completely misguided, particularly when there is plenty of room for improvement in the museum’s collection and when local artists could well use some commissions, support and opportunities to show their work.

Our county art museum is an institution intended, in large part, to acquire and present artwork. That is where its money should primarily go, not toward erecting another L.A. architectural monument that does little or nothing to further the contribution to our culture of the art within.

Robert Moskowitz

Woodland Hills

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LACMA board member Walter Weisman’s comments about dumping the Rem Koolhaas redesign of the museum’s bewildering, mediocre campus brings to mind “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” Leadership is not a reflexive action. Ouroussof’s commentary brought it all home.

Perhaps the board should be reminded how many of our beloved structures (not just buildings, but bridges, dams and other infrastructure) were constructed during the Great Depression. Other options? LACMA already selected Koolhaas’ design as the most cohesive, intelligent and cost-effective solution. Fund-raising cannot be based on Wall Street’s many peaks and valleys. Failure of the Guggenheim to raise funds for yet another franchise does not doom us to failure as well.

Perceived “public mindedness” has a great deal to do with the attractiveness of contributing to a democratic institution like a museum. Voters saw through the transparent “earthquake retrofit” bond measure, and so it failed. But they were happy to fork out $3.35 billion in property taxes to build 79 new schools. Folks aren’t necessarily cheap; we are just waiting to be asked the right way. LACMA’s board is not up to the job.

Steven Dornbusch

Los Angeles