Recovery slow for The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles

MOCA Grand Avenue, Los Angeles California

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles has gained notoriety in the recent economic meltdown as an art museum struggling with serious financial woes. It's minimal government funding, its dwindling endowment, combined with the cash shortages all museums faced from decreased gifts, MOCA has been a poster-boy for museums in danger of closing due to the recession.

MOCA has taken steps to keep itself afloat, from temporarily shutting down the Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo, to cutting jobs, to pleading to members for increased support. Hard to believe that a little over a year ago, the star-studded Takashi Murakami exhibition was hosted by the Geffen Contemporary.

I visited MOCA's flagship location on Grand Avenue yesterday, where a basic Highlighting Recent Acquisitions exhibition was being held. A low effort, especially with MOCA being in Los Angeles and having a penchant for more avant-garde art, but this exhibition is yet another effort MOCA is taking to retain members and attract more visitors (a "greatest hits" exhibition of contemporary art is just to do that, or act as a filler in between more substantial exhibitions).

Nevertheless, MOCA is worth the efforts of sustaining its existence, and hopefully will be able to emerge from the recession as the contemporary art museum Los Angeles deserves.