MOCA, Rodney Graham, “A Little Thought”; Orange Lounge, “Hypermedia”

September 6th, 2004 · No Comments · Artists, Los Angeles, Writing


A Reverie Interrupted by the Police, 2003, Rodney Graham


Cannonball, 1989, William Wegman

We saw some really great shows this weekend.

Saturday, after our customary early morning walk to breakfast — this time to Zumaya’s on Greenleaf; excellent huevos rancheros with verde sauce, btw — we headed out to downtown Los Angeles to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA to see the much-anticipated Rodney Graham exhibition, “A Little Thought.”

Few artists come as close to what we do as Rodney Graham, with the notable exception of Matthew Barney, who is definitely an inspiration when it comes to process, but his content gets a little too creepy for my taste. But Graham is wonderful, and right up my alley: an experimental musician and writer, he comes to audio/visual installations with such a generosity for material and content that it’s a sensory feast.

The exhibit comprises around 10 a/v installations, artifacts of previous works, including costumes, sheet music, and artist’s books, listening booths, and architectural models. Few art shows have us running from one room to the next and back again just so we don’t miss anything cool. I could have stayed at MOCA all day and never been bored.

On Sunday, we checked out OCMA’s newest venture, the Orange Lounge. We were curious about “the first museum space on the West Coast devoted exclusively to the presentation and interpretation of video, computer and Internet-based art, audio works, and other forms of new media.” Particularly since this new museum space is located in the enormous and super high-end mall: South Coast Plaza.

It’s a small, beautifully designed space with computer terminals in comfy sitting stations and easy access to a database of some of the best video art ever made. We’re talking Nam June Paik’s Global Groove, Willam Wegman, Pipoletti Rist, Bill Viola, Christian Marclay, Diana Thater, audio works by DJ Spooky, John Cage, and more and more. There’s a lounging station where you can lay down to watch the Bill Viola video.

Allz I got to say is: the Orange Lounge KICKS TUSH.

Category: Artists · Los Angeles · Writing

No Comments so far ↓

There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

Leave a Comment