Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

LA MoCA Haven for Revolutionaries

January 12, 2010 by Marion Maneker

Christopher Knight, the LA Times art critic, expresses a little contempt for the choice of Jeffrey Deitch as LA MoCA’s new director:

There is nothing wrong with a lively and robust art market, but Deitch’s commercial commitments are problematic for his new job. The problem is that the market represents a very narrow slice of a vast art-pie. Art commerce gets out-sized press because the public, although generally unfamiliar with and incurious about art, is familiar with and curious about money. In modern capitalism, art and popular culture intersect in the market.

Museums, on the other hand, are places where popular appeal should be irrelevant. Unpopular but potentially revolutionary art ideas need places to be seen, heard and debated. Depth, not breadth, is what matters. That’s what makes the American system of art museums conceptually unique, even if it doesn’t always work out that way in practice.

Critic’s Notebook: MoCA’s Complicated Choice of a New Director (Culture Monster)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Art is Deitch's AssetArt is Deitch's Asset
  • Hitler’s Bunker Meme Gets ArtyHitler’s Bunker Meme Gets Arty
  • 'Jeffrey Deitch Isn't Scared of Anything''Jeffrey Deitch Isn't Scared of Anything'
  • A Deitch Conspiracy Theory a DayA Deitch Conspiracy Theory a Day
  • LA MoCA Gets Chief Curator from Boston, Helen MolesworthLA MoCA Gets Chief Curator from Boston, Helen Molesworth
  • Philippe Vergne Talks His Vision for LA MoCAPhilippe Vergne Talks His Vision for LA MoCA

Filed Under: Critics Tagged With: Deitch, LA MoCA

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor