I have never made an opinion of Michael Govan, Director of LACMA until now. He has an impressive resume, but it's all on the East Coast and therefore unimpressionable. He's white bread. He is fairly good-looking and he can speak. This being LACMA, I expected nothing great of Govan and I feared nothing bad. I assumed he would create a tight contemporary niche to counter the crowd-pleasing King Tut treasures and Monet water lilies. Boy, am I surprised. Now, my mind has been made up. Govan is King. Regardless of the value of Heizer's "Levitated Mass," Michael Govan's name is now above the title. The sheer spectacle and showmanship of the rock's delivery has earned Govan more points than there are stars in heaven.
The international publicity exploded like a roman candle. All across the world, every major news outlet dazzled us with gleaming photographs, all expertly choreographed to delight. It had the pageantry of a Hollywood premiere. In the old days, publicity value was measured in column inches. The Heizer rock has consumed billions and billions and billions of bytes.
I applaud Govan, for he has truly created a dialogue. Art is on the lips of wise academics, curious cab drivers and anyone seeking sensation. Could that money have been better spent feeding the poor? Does art nourish the soul? All good stuff.
I never thought anyone could take LACMA so far. Galloping Govan is great. Suddenly MOCA looks rather naked. Go, Govan, Go. You have my full support. LACMA is going to get very interesting. The public institution will become the shiniest star in the LA art constellation.
For a less global and more intimate relationship with the rock, I provide a link to Deborah Vankin's hilariously weary article in the LA Times. Click Here.
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GORDY GRUNDY is a Los Angeles based artist. His visual and literary work can be found at www.GordyGrundy.com
