Art Museum of California under crisis, draws huge public support

Los Angeles, November 23: On Sunday, around 450 art lovers and supporters gathered at the ‘Museum of Contemporary Art’ (MOCA), which is facing closure due to financial crisis, to show their support and participate in the public show.

The 25 years old museum is nowadays facing financial crises and, hence, merger with some other art institutions. But art lovers in the country are against it and showing huge support for this museum.

To help museum overcome this financial crises, a number of patrons have offered huge amount of donations. Billionaire Eli Broad offered $30 million as donation but, as others were also offering huge donations, only $10 million have been accepted.

Many renowned, famous artists like Andrea Fraser, Katie Grinnan, Martin Kersels, Alexis Smith, Jennifer Steinkamp and James Welling were present at the public show for the support. Large number of workers from other local museums were also crammed in the standing room of the museum.

A speech by art historian George Baker on the subject of ‘Conceptual Art’ was scheduled for the afternoon on Sunday. Instead, he gave his precious time for the forum when approached by the artists Cindy Bernard and Diana Thater last week.

An event for nearly an hour on the ‘significance of the museum’ was conducted by Mr. Baker, Ms. Bernard and Ms. Thater, for the workers, peoples and art lovers gathered there.

Possibility of joint venture or merger of MOCA with ‘Los Angeles Country Museum of Art’ (LACMA) in the near future was discussed but the notion drew skeptical response from the artists.

“MOCA is one of the most important institutions for postwar art in this country, with a very different program and culture than LACMA. A merger would be horrible,” said Ms. Fraser.

The director of MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Kimberli Meyer, also added, “We can’t let this be our Bear Stearns. If something happened to MOCA, it would change the chemistry of the L.A. art world.”