On Sunday, MOCA's "Art in the Streets" show opens at the Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo. Aside from being the "very first major U.S. museum exhibition of graffiti and street art," according to My Modern Met, the show is spurring a wave of tagging and graffiti throughout Little Tokyo. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the neighborhood has seen an uptick in graffiti and that museum security guards are patrolling the perimeter of the Geffen Contemporary to keep an eye out for scalawags. MOCA director Jeffrey Deitch is putting a creative spin on the matter--he hopes the taggers come to the show and decide to become the next Basquiat or Pollack. "We want to put out an inspirational message," he told the Times. "'If you harness your talent you can be in a museum some day, make a contribution and a living from it.'" My Modern Met has lots of shots of the exhibit, including Banksy-galore.
· MOCA's "Art in the Streets" Exhibit Bringing Unwanted Graffiti [LA Times]
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