Santa Monica wants to be home of Eli Broad's Westside museum

The Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to launch formal negotiations with art collector and philanthropist Eli Broad to secure the museum he intends to build on the Westside for his 2,000-piece contemporary art collection. 

The plan outlined in a report by City Manager P. Lamont Ewell, proposes that Broad build on 2.5 acres of city-owned land next to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.  It also calls for the city to lease the land to Broad’s foundation for a “token” amount, to put forward about $1 million for design and construction, to provide parking, and to plant and maintain the exterior landscaping.

“The collection is deep. And the collection is wide. And, may I add, the collection is Broad,” joked City Councilman Kevin McKeown during the meeting. “It is a remarkable opportunity for our city. “

The public echoed his sentiments. There were public comments from 20 people, all in support of taking the necessary measures to secure the deal.

Despite their support in continuing negotiations, a few council members remained cautious.

For Eli Broad, a tale of two sites

As my colleague Mike Boehm reported Monday, Eli Broad is considering at least two sites -- and potentially a third -- for a planned museum to hold the collection of his Broad Art Foundation, which is mostly dedicated to post-war and contemporary art and was once assumed to be headed for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Tonight, the Santa Monica City Council will consider a plan for one of those sites, in the heart of the city’s civic center. Meanwhile, talks continue between the Broad Foundation and officials in Beverly Hills about a location at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards.

How do those sites compare in urban and architectural terms as potential locations for the museum building Broad is planning, for which he is likely to enlist a prominent architect? I visited both spots Monday to produce this brief comparative sketch.

The Beverly Hills site is one that Broad has had his eye on for some time. It is a narrow, arrow-shaped parcel of land squeezed between Santa Monica and Little Santa Monica boulevards, and stretching from Wilshire southwest to Charleville Boulevard. It is across the street from the old CAA headquarters, designed by I.M. Pei, and directly between the Peninsula Hotel to the east and the Beverly Hilton to the west. The site is now occupied by a collection of two-story retail buildings opening onto Little Santa Monica, including a Starbucks at the northeastern end.

Eli Broad dangles a museum and a $200 million endowment in front of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and a west side city to be named later*

Eli Broad is ready to build himself a west side museum to house his 2,000-piece contemporary art collection, and send it into the world with a $200 million endowment that he reckons will give it a $12 million a year budget before another penny is earned or raised. That would be the largest single hunk of cash ever bestowed on the arts in Southern California, save for the $700 million 1976 bequest ($2.65 billion in today's dollars) with which J. Paul Getty launched the Getty Trust. [*An earlier version of this post listed the amount as $2.65 million.]

The main questions facing Broad are where and when. At age 76, he wants the "when" to be ASAP, with a minimum of bureaucratic red tape. As for the "where," city officials in both Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are vying  to provide it -- Beverly Hills on the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard, a property that Broad says the city would have to acquire then lease to him for a token amount, and Santa Monica on 2.5 acres the city already owns next to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

Meanwhile, the "what" has gotten much bigger since Broad's plans to build a new headquarters and museum for his Broad Art Foundation surfaced a year ago. A conceptual design he sent last month to city planners  in Beverly Hills call for nearly 50,000 square feet of exhibition space (including a 6,100 square foot outdoor area for sculpture), up from the 25,000 previously estimated.

MOCA's biggest exhibition to celebrate 30th anniversary -- and survival

L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art is getting ready to throw a two-pronged celebration this weekend, centered around a Saturday gala at which pop star Lady Gaga will do a one-off performance with dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet, and, the next day, the opening of the largest exhibition in MOCA's history, drawn almost entirely from its own collection. For the full story on MOCA, its issues and its art, click here.

One reason to party is the 30th anniversary of MOCA's founding in 1979, when a group of contemporary art lovers won the support of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and began planning for a major museum devoted to the art of the present and the post-World War II past. Aficionados of contemporary art in LA. had felt disenfranchised by the 1974 failure of its main previous outlet, the Pasadena Art Museum, which was bailed out by collector Norton Simon and merged with his collection into the wider-ranging Norton Simon Museum of Art.

MOCA's initial venue, now called the Geffen Contemporary, opened in a former city auto repair shop in Little Tokyo, followed in 1986 by the museum's Grand Avenue headquarters. The exhibition "Collection: MOCA's First 30 Years" will occupy all of the Grand Avenue building and half of the Geffen Contemporary, with a single one-day admission covering both venues. The show, featuring about 500 artworks including paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and video and installation art, will run through May 3.

The other reason to celebrate is that MOCA is still here to celebrate, and no longer in apparent financial jeopardy, a year after it publicly declared a state of financial emergency. As much as arts institutions relish being front page news, they don't want the headline to be "L.A.'s MOCA in Deep Financial Trouble," as it was in The Times last Nov. 19.

More than a month of drama and brinkmanship followed, with MOCA's board eventually choosing a $30-million bailout offer from Eli Broad (one of those 1979 founders) over a proposal from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to take MOCA under its umbrella in a way promised to preserve MOCA's separate identity.

MOCA officials say that on top of Broad's bailout, they've raised $30 million in gifts and pledges over the past year, mostly from museum board members -- and that the gala is expected to bring in $2 million. On a more chastening note, "MOCA New," as the chapter kicking off this weekend has been dubbed, is also at the moment "MOCA less," with spending and staff reduced 25%, and just one exhibition other than the 30th anniversary retrospective currently announced for the two downtown venues.

-- Mike Boehm

Photo: MOCA's chief curator, Paul Schimmel, stands in a gallery displaying Mark Rothko paintings. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Related:

MOCA faces serious financial problems

MOCA accepts Eli Broad's $30 million lifeline, appoints CEO

MOCA cuts staff and exhibitions to balance its 2009 budget

MOCA has gifts, officers and trustees; pronounces finances fixed

Monster Mash: Move to save Claremont Museum; Eli Broad's Beverly Hills museum; Honolulu Symphony cancels concerts

-- Stay of execution?: The city of Claremont is considering a measure to assist the Claremont Museum of Art, which is on the verge of closing. (Contra Costa Times)

-- Moving forward: Eli Broad is currently under property and lease negotiations with the city of Beverly Hills for his long-planned museum. (Beverly Hills Courier)

-- Dire measures: The Honolulu Symphony has canceled its remaining concerts for 2009 and may lay off half of its musicians. (Honolulu Advertiser)

-- Art of diplomacy: Germany and Egypt are planning talks over a contested statue of Nefertiti. (Agence France Presse, via Art Info)

-- Back in business: Oxford's Ashmolean Museum has finally re-opened to the public after extensive renovations. (BBC News)

-- Retro hit: "The Marvelous Wonderettes," the off-Broadway musical that originated in L.A., will close Jan. 3 after a 16-month run. (Variety)

-- Award winner: Russian pianist Georgy Tchaidze has won the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary. (Globe and Mail)

-- Classical twist: A ballet adaptation of Bizet's opera "Carmen" in South Africa is given a soccer-themed twist. (Agence France Presse)

-- And in the L.A. Times: A large outdoor fork sculpture attracts attention in Pasadena; music critic Mark Swed compares conductors Gustavo Dudamel and Alan Gilbert; art critic Christopher Knight discusses a "maybe" Michelangelo. 

-- David Ng

Photo: The Claremont Museum of Art and its former director, William Moreno. Credit: Alex Gallardo / Los Angeles Times

ArtReview ranks Eli Broad, Michael Govan, Glenn Beck among 'Power 100'

The magazine ArtReview announced this morning its list of the art world's "Power 100" and several prominent L.A. names were among the illustrious, including Eli Broad (No. 7), Michael Govan (No. 40), Tim Blum and Jeff Poe (sharing No. 31).

One of the most notable inclusions in this year's list is conservative political commentator Glenn Beck, who came in at No. 100. Beck's place on the list is no doubt due to his recent controversial foray into art criticism, when he lambasted art created for New York's Rockefeller Center.

According to the magazine, entrants are "ranked according to a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout (although in these times that’s no longer such a big factor) and activity in the previous 12 months – criteria which encompass artists, of course, as well as collectors, gallerists and curators."

The No. 1 spot this year goes to Hans Ulrich Obrist, who is co-director of exhibitions and programs and director of international projects at London’s Serpentine Gallery. ArtReview described him as "a tireless advocate for contemporary art who operates close to the centre of a network of influential thinkers and agenda-setters. "

The highest-ranking artist on the list is Bruce Nauman, who earlier this year received a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

ArtReview, which is based in the U.K., said that a third of last year’s entries have fallen off the list and were replaced with newcomers. Damien Hirst fell from first place last year to 48th this year, while Charles Saatchi also fell significantly.

Click through to peruse the entire list...

Monster Mash: Gustavo Dudamel thrills Hollywood Bowl; Tony Roberts falls ill; Annie Leibovitz's prize

-- Big welcome: Gustavo Dudamel made his debut Saturday as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new music director to a packed Hollywood Bowl crowd.

-- Brain trust: LACMA's Michael Govan has joined an advisory panel for the long-planned Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

-- Theater illness, part one: Actor Tony Roberts falls ill during a preview performance of "The Royal Family" on Broadway, forcing the cancellation of the matinee show.

-- Theater illness, part two: Actor Michael Gambon withdraws from Alan Bennett's play "The Habit of Art" at the National Theatre in London due to illness.

-- Packing her bags: Controversial artist Tracey Emin is threatening to leave Britain for France in protest over tax policies and the government's attitude toward the arts.

-- Hardly a drag: The stage adaptation of the 1994 movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" is scheduled to open on Broadway in the spring of 2011.

-- Fiscal hard place: The Port Huron Museum in Michigan is considering deaccessioning certain works to help remedy a budgetary shortfall.

-- Belated premiere: A long dormant play by the late filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder finally makes its debut in Germany.

-- Confession: A former Marine pleads guilty to the 2007 theft of works by Picasso and Chagall from galleries in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Fla.

-- Consolation prize: Debt-ridden photographer Annie Leibovitz will receive an award from the Georgia O'Keefe Museum as part of its Women of Distinction series.

-- David Ng

Photo: Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

MOCA announces fundraising milestone, new (and returning) trustees

The Museum of Contemporary Art, revealed to be in dire financial straits late last year, said today that it has raised nearly $60 million since December, hailing the figure as indication of a turnaround at the institution.

The downtown museum has also coaxed two disgruntled trustees who quit during the fallout to rejoin the board.

The fundraising total includes December’s $30 million pledge from the Broad Foundation; $16.4 million in trustee gifts; $3 million from individual patrons, $6.7 million from the museum’s annual fund and $3.8 in trustee dues -- a total of $59.9 million.

MOCA chief executive Charles E. Young said in an interview Thursday that the fundraising total, raised in less than a year, is reason for optimism in the wake of the monetary crisis that resulted in staff layoffs, canceled exhibitions and the resignation of museum director Jeremy Strick, who was quickly appointed director of the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.

"I think it means we’ve come a long way, and we’ve got a long way to go," said Young, who was appointed as the museum's first-ever chief executive in late December to oversee a restructuring of its finances. "This doesn’t mean we can rest on our oars at all. I’m very pleased we’ve done so well, but what we’ve done is to be able to put the museum back on a sound financial basis and to begin to restore the resources that had been lost to the endowment fund."

A Baryshnikov kickoff fundraiser at the Broad Stage

On Friday evening, arts lovers celebrated three marvels close to their heart --- Mikhail Baryshnikov’s first visit to Los Angeles since 2004, the launch of the Broad Stage’s second season and the one-year anniversary of Santa Monica College’s performing arts venue, so geographically desirable for Westsiders.
As playwright David Mamet put it, “I think the sheerest divisor in life is not good and evil -- it’s the 405.”

The happy occasion was the opening gala for the Broad Stage’s 2009-10 season, which raised more than $350,000 for the fledgling venue. The dinner and performance drew many an FOD -- Friends of Dale (Franzen, the Broad’s director) or Dustin (Hoffman, the artistic advisory board chair, who was filming in Canada) – as well as fans of Baryshnikov and the arts. Minglers included major donors Eli and Edythe Broad, plus actors Don Cheadle, Gena Rowlands and Ali McGraw, former Mayor Richard Riordan, author Judith Krantz, Summit Entertainment’s co-chairman and president Patrick Wachsberger and arts philanthropist Ginny Mancini.

The evening’s centerpiece was Baryshnikov’s performance with dancer Ana Laguna of “Three Solos and a Duet,” the first of two evenings here kicking off their international tour's U.S. visit. Los Angeles was an intriguing launch pad for the older dancers’ much-anticipated tour --- their liquid movement seemed to call Hollywood’s youth obsession into question simply by existing (Baryshnikov is 61, Laguna 54).

Monster Mash: Michael Jackson art contest proposed; Rem Koolhaas discusses CCTV building controversy; 'Receptionist' extends

-- Subway art: A New York City councilwoman has proposed an art contest in honor of Michael Jackson to be held at the subway station where the pop star filmed the music video "Bad," which was directed by Martin Scorsese.

-- Starchitect speaks: Architect Rem Koolhaas rejects claims that his CCTV building in Beijing has pornographic imagery.

-- Hold, please: Adam Bock's "The Receptionist," starring Megan Mullally at the Odyssey Ensemble Theatre, has extended its run through Nov. 21. 

-- Architectural landmark: The Mt. Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains is still threatened by the spreading Station fire.

-- Uncertain fate: Disney's acquisition of Marvel is unlikely to change prospects for the halted "Spider-man" musical planned for Broadway, according to one report.

-- Billionaire chat: Eli Broad talks about philanthropy, art and education.

-- Still kicking: Songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman deny reports that they have withdrawn from the Broadway-bound "Busker Alley" due to ill health.

-- Box-office hit: Edinburgh Fringe says that it sold a record number of tickets for this year's festival, surpassing the previous record by 9%.

-- Rallying the troops: Long Beach Museum of Art tries to drum up support as the city mulls budget cuts.

-- Big windfall: A small museum in Allentown, Pa., has received a gift of 500 works once owned by modernist artist Peter Grippe.

-- Passing: Influential Boston artist Michael Mazur has died at the age of 73.

-- David Ng

Photo: the album cover to Michael Jackson's "Bad" album. Credit: Epic