Tag: museum curators

Artillery was always skeptical about the selection of Jeffrey Deitch as director of MOCA. In 2010 we did a cover story musing on the idea of Deitch at the helm. Preposterous! was our first reaction. And we backed it up with interviews from Los Angeles and New York dealers, curators and artists, all expressing their misgivings. (see Volume 4, issue 4, March/April 2010) After Deitch took his position, rumors spread like wildfire about the disharmony between Chief Curator Paul Schimmel and Deitch, and we awaited the departure of either one of them; who would be the first to go was anyone’s guess. It turned out to be Schimmel.

Now Deitch has stepped down. It’s been referred to as a resignation, but one can only assume he was asked to leave. Deitch gave up a lot—and was paid a lot—to come out here and take over a museum, so I can’t imagine that he resigned voluntarily. Now, he most likely can’t wait to get the hell outta Dodge. What a fiasco.

From the moment I heard Deitch speak at the first MOCA press preview, it was obvious to me that the guy was out of his element. He always looked like a deer in the headlights behind that microphone. His diminutive stature and barely audible nasal voice made me feel sort of sorry for him. What was he thinking when he accepted the position at MOCA? What was he doing in LA?

On the few occasions that he allowed himself to be quoted, I liked what he had to say. He always talked about pushing the envelope and doing things that maybe not everybody would agree with. I do appreciate his gutsy far-out ideas for museum shows. I’m actually sorry I won’t get to see the disco show. I was sort of looking forward to that; it’s sort of a funny idea. It would have been better than Urs Fischer’s muddy mess over at MOCA’s Geffen now.

It appears disco was the last straw for John Baldessari, who had reached the limits of his tolerance with Deitch and resigned. And I can understand and appreciate that. I really can’t see Baldessari at a disco—what a scary thought! And of course Schimmel’s firing didn’t help much with the rest of the board members.

Some say Deitch’s crowning achievement at MOCA was the 2011 “Art in the Streets” show. It was controversial, but that’s what art should really be. That’s why hiring Deitch was intriguing, to say the least. We were all willing to give him a chance. Then Deitch tapped into Hollywood, and why wouldn’t he? LACMA Director Michael Govan schmoozes with celebrities all the time. But Deitch seemed to be only wining and dining the stars, and not letting them pick up the tab.

We tried to like Deitch at Artillery, where we just tell it like it is. Sure, our gossip columnist had a field day with Deitch. There was constant fodder for Mr. Mulholland’s On The Wag column with Deitch’s Hollywood love affair: Cary Grant’s homestead, James Franco’s James Dean reinvention, Kalup Linzy in the soaps, the human head center pieces for a MOCA benefit.

MOCA made a mistake. They traded substance for glitz. They let Schimmel go and now he’s onto greener pastures, and MOCA is left with nothing. They sold their soul. No director, no cutting-edge chief curator and a sans-artists board. But guess what MOCA still has? Eli Broad.