Following Curbed's photo essay, KCRW's "fearless art critic" Edward Goldman gets an early walk-through at LACMA's Broad Contemporary Art Museum, still two months away from admitting mere mortals.
More from Goldman:
But it was a recent sneak peek at what's going on behind the scenes at LACMA that gave me the biggest thrill of this season of joy. It's only two months away from the unveiling of the new museum pavilion designed by Renzo Piano and named Broad Contemporary Art Museum, in honor of Los Angeles philanthropist/collector Eli Broad and his wife, Edith... Compared to LACMA's dark and bulky older buildings, the elegant and spacious Broad Museum is bathed in daylight a trademark of Piano's architecture which has made him the most sought-after architect for major museum projects around the world.
I marveled at the rusty curves of the two latest gigantic sculptures by Richard Serra dominating the ground-floor galleries of the new pavilion. And who could resist the sophistication and innocent charm of Chris Burden's installation of 200 antique streetlights the artist collected from all over Los Angeles?
To be honest, I was nursing a small grudge against LACMA for preventing me from getting a early look at the surprise gift of the Janice and Henri Lazarof Collection - including works by Picasso, Giacometti and Brancusi.
But all was forgiven when I was invited to see the museum boardroom and director's office - magically transformed by John Baldessari in the spirit of the recent Magritte exhibition. You have to see it to believe it. Merry Christmas.
· I Wanna Wish You an 'Artsy' Christmas [KCRW]
· Curbed Inside: LACMA's Transformation [Curbed LA]
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