I’m not usually one to bitch too much about the art coverage in the local press. Most people know it’s far below what passes for coverage in other cities of our size and smaller. This could be because really what our little town produces is politics and policy – we are unfortunately viewed as a small player in art. If people have serious interest, they can easily afford to go to new york for the day and purchase what they want.
That said the museum beat here is sometimes lacking and it is a shame because the shows that come here are great. So it disappoints me to read the very first line of the Post yesterday:
“John Baldessari, one of the most influential artists in Los Angeles…”
I’m going to assume that most readers of this blog know who JB is. So I’m not going to mention that he is one of the leading artists as it pertains to conceptual art, Artists Books, photography, (or post-photography – my term) and intellectual discourse in the world of art. (sorry I just did).
Many of you know that the Hirschhorn was recently rehung by JB – the Museum gave him open and full access to the entire collection and he went for it. I realize the choice of JB is interesting, but the bigger idea behind it (if there is one) is going to become clearer after this hanging goes down – or when you finish reading this missive. Did JB make some interesting choices and pairings with the collection – of course he did. At worst he is an agent provocateur, at best he is connecting thoughts that might be considered non-historical (in other words more about artist influencing artist indirectly). The truth, frankly is going to fall somewhere in the middle. This will lead to questions about where are all the great pieces that are not up, etc., etc.
I would expect to see a massive rehang in the fall of 2007 of the entire collection spotlighting the masterpieces and hidden gems in this collection and it being done with great fanfare. This will follow on the heals of the big rehangs this summer; the Whitney and the Tate. This could very well be a great chance to reintroduce the Hirshhorn to the public.