Your telecommunications were contained to these discrete spaces, separate from the rest of your life. Before cellphones, if you wanted to talk to someone, you did it at home, at work or in a booth. I know it and I see it in their presentations,” he said.Pay phones were stationary monotaskers. “The curators are already working across time and space to make more creative and less traditional installations, so they are already acquiring work with an eye towards what that new space will be. He called it a slow but “worthwhile” process and noted that his team of curators are already incorporating the new space into their acquisitions strategy. Everybody puts their own twist on their dinner, so it’s really fun,” said Collectors Committee chair Ann Colgin.Īs for LACMA’s $600 million makeover, Govan said he is hoping to get the necessary entitlements by the end of the summer. “All the dinners have their own personality. On Friday, committee members were treated to one of seven dinners hosted throughout the city in the private homes of major LACMA supporters, which included Ryan Seacrest and Casey Wasserman, among others. As Govan noted in his opening remarks, the open bar and copious wine can certainly help lubricate those decisions.Įven before the dinner had commenced, four of the 10 proposed acquisitions had been bought as gifts to LACMA by private donors. That happened several times throughout the evening. In addition, individual donors can - on a whim - choose to make an impulse purchase if they sense that that room’s enthusiasm is flagging. To augment the membership dues, a live auction was held before the dinner, chaired by LACMA trustee Viveca Paulin-Ferrell, whose husband Will Ferrell sat in attendance. Since its inception in 1986, the Collectors Committee Weekend has emerged as one of the museum’s most reliable fundraising events, helping LACMA acquire 228 artworks over that time period.ĭuring the gala, which has been called the “ American Idol of the art world” on account of the voting component, multiple forces worked in concert toward the ultimate goal of acquiring all the recommended acquisitions.
That requires the museum to rely inordinately on private donors. Unlike most large cultural institutions, LACMA does not have a robust acquisition fund. The gala was the culminating set piece in a two-day affair in which the museum’s 96 voting members raised $3.1 million - and then promptly spent those funds on the new artworks as they sipped Krug Champagne, fine varietals and dined on food prepared by Patina’s Joachim Splichal. “I think that is an aspect that reflects the times.” “This wasn’t intentional, but as the curators came together presenting their ideas about the works they’d like to pursue, it turned out that the majority were by women artists from all cultures,” said Nancy Thomas, senior deputy director for Art Administration and Collections. That made it the most expensive piece paid for by the Committee’s pooled membership dues. “She is recognized but not recognized enough - so she is a superstar artist and her work is undervalued.”Īsawa’s hyperbola-shaped hanging sculpture, which is made of iron, copper and brass wire, was originally valued at $2 million but was purchased for $900,000 by the Committee with an anonymous donor covering the balance. has ever produced,” said LACMA CEO Michael Govan. “Not only is one of the most important artists in the world, but she is certainly one of the most important artist that L.A.