I read about this the other day in the Times, that Koons’ Tulips were getting so scuffed and damaged by visitors that they had to go home to the Broad-cave. And Charles Ray’s Firetruck apparently just can’t take the heat of being on public display. I’m not really sad to see the Koons go, but Firetruck seemed a good fit for the museum. I was at LACMA yesterday for a meeting and saw the Koons go away. Maybe this is an opportunity to replace it with a more durable (and better) work by a LA artist? Tulips was located in the perfect spot to meet people, outdoors, by the ticket booth, but in the shade. Something inviting, durable, that doesn’t require a comically large cordon or a virtual army of security to protect it, maybe even sit on-able, is called for, perhaps?
Technorati Tags: Jeff Koons, Tulips, Firetruck, Charles Ray, LACMA, crates, art, sculpture, contemporary art
Good riddance to Tulips, I say. I agree completely that it’s the ideal spot for some art-as-furniture application.
It’s a meeting spot where people are going to linger around – if you’re going to have a sculpture on display, it better be something that people can touch. Besides, the awesomeness of Chris Burden’s Urban Light was blowing away the boring Koons balloon boredom, anyways. I’m going to miss Firetruck, though, I thought that was a good place for it.
And why not have it be something people can touch, sit on, get close to? I mean isn’t that what you are supposed to do with art- interact with it? Too bad about firetruck- I liked the whimsy of it. I think LACMA should be looking for a California artist to do something for that spot, anyway.
I too would rather see some more work by a California or at least West Coast artist in that key spot.
Charles Ray IS an artist based in California (Los Angeles)
Although you should “interact” with art, that doesn’t mean you need to touch it. You wouldn’t touch the surface of a painting on canvas; why should sculpture be treated any differently?
My bad. I totally forgot that Charles Ray is based in LA, and now I feel like a dope. I guess I just don’t think of him as a very “LA” artist.
When it comes to outdoor sculpture, I think that touchability is a key value. I have no problem with a sculpture that can’t be climbed all over, but anything that’s outdoors should probably be able to take some regular human contact.