“There was a time when it was said that if you wanted to make it as an artist, you had to make it in New York. That’s no longer the case.”
The Broad Museum in downtown Los Angeles. Image copyright 2016 by Anna Boudinot.
Eli Broad made a bold statement last year when the Broad Museum opened, both the statement above and the statement of the museum itself. Described architecturally as “the veil and the vault,” the visually compelling building was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro as not only an art museum, but also a massive storage facility for the Broads’ 2000 pieces of postwar and contemporary art. In the twelve months the museum has been open, it has also functioned as a magnet for millennials and a target for some local scorn.
Like many stories of notable sites in Los Angeles, this one begins with a tycoon. Eli Broad (pronounced brode) began making a fortune in the 1960s by building tract homes. Later, he moved into the life insurance industry. He and his wife Edythe have been art collectors and philanthropists for decades, though their philanthropy has been known to come with some serious strings attached. For example, Broad's substantial contributions to Los Angeles charter schools included training of school administrators “who later were criticized for ‘corporatizing’ the public school system by closing rather than rehabilitating underperforming schools,” according to LA Weekly. The Broads also served as founding members on the board of MOCA, and reportedly Eli Broad insisted on exerting such control over the museum that at least one of MOCA’s founding artists fled in protest.
That the Broad Museum, which is located right across the street from MOCA, literally has Broad’s name on it does not do much to dispel any rumors of Broad’s domineering nature. Though the private museum charges no admission to the public, one wonders if this is due to Broad’s desire to use it as a massive tax write-off rather than his desire to share his art collection with the world. Eighty-five percent of his collection is housed in the museum’s massive “vault,” of which visitors can get a glimpse as they traverse the central staircase in the museum.
Takashi Murakami and Jeff Koons on display at the Broad Museum. Photo copyright 2016 by Anna Boudinot
The collection itself has also drawn some ire. The New York Times called it “ordinary, old-school, [and] predictable,” the Washington Post labeled it “the usual high-end trash,” and one Yelp reviewer remarked “is it just me but does every piece of art have a penis on it?” (Come to think of it, I’m not sure if that last one is a complaint.) Prominent artists represented include Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jasper Johns, and California favorites Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari, but apparently there isn’t enough of their work inside the museum to satisfy the art critics. During my recent visit I paused to admire each of the above artists, but lingered for longer over “The Rose” by Cy Twombly, “Like You” by Lari Pittman, and “No Title” by Robert Therrien. A monstrous exhibition of Cindy Sherman’s photographs was a bit overwhelming, and the reservations to spend 60 seconds inside of Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room” had already closed for the day. The museum seemed a little disjointed, but it was the same type of disorientation I feel when I happen to stumble across top 40 music on the radio.
In other words, this seems to be a museum for the new generation, people who don't remember life before the internet. The Broad caters to this completely, from offering free wi-fi to visitors to dedicating a Twitter account to live updates on how long the wait is to get in. The Broad's general Twitter account has 21,000 followers at the time of this writing and its Instagram account has 182,000. The Los Angeles Times reports that 25% of visitors first heard about the museum through someone else's social media feed. I've also noticed that a piece by Therrien, “Under the Table,” has replaced Machu Picchu as the location to pose in for online dating profile pics.
Detail of “Like You” by Lari Pittman. Photo copyright 2016 by Anna Boudinot
Millennials are not the only demographic who are particularly drawn to the Broad. In the museum's first year, it reported 823,216 visitors (three times what was expected), 62% of whom self-identified as “not Caucasian.” Considering that the national average for art museum-goers is only 23% non-Caucasian, the Broad seems to be drawing people in who normally might never set foot in an art museum. The free admission probably has a lot to do with that, which makes me think that other museums should be making a greater effort to share art with the community rather than keeping it locked away as a privilege for only the wealthy and white.
Eli Broad might be more generous than we think.
Though admission to the museum is free, reservations are recommended and can “sell out” weeks in advance. Check the museum's website for more information.
While in the neighborhood, check out the Bradbury Building, Angel's Flight, and Grand Central Market.