The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA Presents California Art 1974 -1981

Written by Xander Densmore Tuesday, 11 October 2011 22:13

Los Angeles, CA.- As part of the Getty Museum's Pacific Standard Time initiative, bringing together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California for six months beginning October 2011 to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene, the Geffen Contemporary at the Museun of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is proud to show "Under the Black Sun: Californian Art 1974-1981". The exhibition will be on view until February 13th 2012. Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981 will constitute the most comprehensive survey exhibition to date to examine the exceptional fertility and diversity of art practice in California between 1974 and 1980, a unique period in American history when the political and social roles of artists, the authority of institutions, and the "objecthood" of art were all being questioned.

The years bracketing the exhibition represent the ignominious departure and auspicious arrival of two presidential leaders from California: Richard Nixon (1974) and Ronald Reagan (1980), respectively. The exhibition will argue that the rise of pluralism was the result not only of the collapse of established canons but also the proliferation of new and divergent genres, mediums, and modes of production that reached their apex in the mid- to late 1970s in California, where, in comparison to the East Coast, artists were free to pursue catholic interests in the absence of the dominating forces of art institutions, commercial venues, and critical discourses. Organized by MOCA Chief Curator Paul Schimmel, Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-81 will feature approximately 500 objects from 130 artists, ranging from decorative art to representational painting, conceptual performance to spectacular public demonstration, and documentary video to staged photography. A fully illustrated, 312-page catalogue featuring newly commissioned essays by Francis Colpitt, Thomas Crow, Charles Desmarais, Peter Frank, Schimmel, Kristine Stiles, and Rebecca Solnit; an annotated exhibition chronology; a selected bibliography; and a checklist of works will accompany the exhibition.

Founded in 1979, MOCA is the only museum in Los Angeles devoted exclusively to contemporary art. It is committed to the collection, presentation, and interpretation of work produced since 1940 in all media, and to preserving that work for future generations. In a remarkably short time, MOCA has developed one of the nation's most renowned permanent collections. Now numbering over 5,000 works and steadily growing, this invaluable cultural resource provides extensive opportunities for education and enjoyment to thousands of national and international visitors. Today the museum is housed in three unique facilities: MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center. MOCA's mission is to be the defining museum of contemporary art. MOCA engages artists and audiences through an ambitious program of exhibitions, collection, education, and publication. MOCA identifies and supports the most significant and challenging art of its time, places it in historical context, and links the range of the visual arts to contemporary culture. MOCA provides leadership by actively fostering and presenting new work, emerging media, and original scholarship. A former police car warehouse in Little Tokyo renovated by the noted California architect Frank O. Gehry, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (formerly The Temporary Contemporary) opened in 1983. This location offers 40,000 square feet of exhibition space and a branch of the MOCA Store. Visit the MOCA website at ... http://www.moca.org

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