Broad Gesture

Eli the Broad has come forward and offered to put in 30 million in dollars to save MOCA (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-oe-broad-2008nov22,0,2108831.story). The catch is that this is a matching fund offer, good only if some other philanthropic patron(s) steps up to the plate with the same amount. Fair enough, I feel, since the level of museumness that MOCA aspires to achieve requires deep pockets. Some feel that art museums should be above such tawdry affairs (http://coagula.livejournal.com/)- a noble dream but not realistic. The history of museums is filled with tales of donors and patrons contributing funds, objects or other means of support for certain compensations. Check the names on founders lists of the major players back east and you'll see industrialists, financial moguls, aging debutantes... Look into past shows from any major museum and there will be the odd clinker show or WTF exhibit.

Museums are not the altruistic institutions they play on TV. They have sordid pasts, filled with tawdry affairs, illicit dealings conducted in back rooms and dubious business associates.

Donors used to be able to write off significant funds with choice donations until tax reform put the pinch on that. Museums have been used to launder money and broker stolen goods. Counterfeits and questionable artworks have been legitimized through the these institutions. Art is a dirty word. Modern art is tainted with bravado and hubris. To think that our local example would be free from that is ludicrous. There is little difference between corporate sponsorship for an exhibition and privileged patrons pushing a show based on their collection or brother-in-law's sister's Sunday paintings.

Mr. Broad's offer is an unique opportunity for LA's part time players to move up into a position that would establish a stable and consistent art patronage. The money is here, even in this gloomy economic atmosphere. Many local collectors get their art in NYC. Its time to steer them homeward. Broad's editorial challenge brings up a critical point about the development of a central cultural nexus in downtown LA. The projects presently lined up will suffer setbacks that could mire the efforts to build a real city core.