MOCA Pacific Design Center

5/29/2013

My review is a little biased since I live right up the street AND the first (and only) exhibit I saw was excellent. If I could give a 3.5, that would be my honest rating.

I'm bad with museums and culture, so this was perfect. It's a mini two story MOCA, right next to the Pacific Design Center and across from the West Hollywood library, and it's free! I think it's the perfect way to do something cultural/interesting without spending forever pretending you "get" modern art (I don't).

I caught a great exhibit on happiness and the metrics of it, as told through graphic design and installations and was very impressed. Would I like it less if it had been an exhibit I didn't "get"? Probably. But it was still a fun walk down from Santa Monica to the library for lunch and then a stroll around the fountains at PDC and mini-Moca. An easy little way to hang out with your friends in great weather? I'm in.

12/24/2014

Very underwhelming.  This could be my lack of research on this museum before entering, but I couldn't believe how small this museum was. I literally walked through in maybe 7 minutes. Won't be back.

4/18/2013

A two story exhibit that free and located in nearby WeHo?  Yes.

This past Saturday went to check out the Design Center and saw the Stefan Sagmeister exhibit titled 'The Happy Show'.

I really enjoyed his work and interactive exhibits like the one where you smile into a seemingly open space which then triggers a flood of colors onto the 3D words which read 'Step up to it' or the gumball machines from 1-10 which dispense only one gumball per person at a time.  The number is supposed to be commensurate with your happiness.  All of his work is candid and real and thought provoking.

Unfortunately someone broke the exhibit where the person rides a bike which powers phrases on a neon sign but it may be up and running again soon.

I would definitely go again.  This exhibit is on display until the 9th of June at MOCA Pacific Design Center.

The museum curator of sorts was a bit snappy when my friend asked for a map.  Sorry he didn't realize it was only 2 floors relax bitch!

Other than that what a great space with creative wonderment.

Here is a link with pictures of the exhibit:
thehappyshow.tumblr.com

1/9/2014

The MOCA building is squat and yellowish--totally unremarkable, but situated in the plastic RGB monstrosity that is the Pacific Design Center it manages to look stately and dignified. Entrance is free, which is nice.

The exhibition I went to paired Bob Mizer and Tom of Finland, the post-war purveyors of beefcake and phallus fantasy.  The pairing was not particularly imaginative (Mizer hired Tom of Finland to illustrate the covers of his catalogs, and was actually the one who came up with the "Tom of Finland" nom de plume) nor did it tell any revelatory histories, or situate them in art history in an eye-opening way. A wall text in the Mizer gallery suggested that the way he laid out his catalogues, the grids of beefcake photos labeled with letters and numbers, was interesting in relation to the serial production of minimalist and pop art that would come after it--but if the curators really wanted to make that point, shouldn't they have included some of that art? and wasn't that art just responding to standard commercial practices, of which Mizer was just one example? In relation to modern art trends like appropriation and collage, there was a pair of Tom of Findland's "mood boards," with pictures he'd cut out of magazines and newspapers and porn rags, which were visually interesting, especially ones where he had drawn over the photographs to give the men the cartoonishly large buttocks and pecs that characterize his drawings, or the pic of three policemen where he'd drawn huge cocks coming out of their uniform flies. These details were rather small and easy to miss if you weren't paying attention so I wish the curators had done more to draw attention to these moments.

In terms of the history not of art but of erotica, you don't get the impression that either Mizer or Tom was influencing the other, they were both doing what they were doing at the same time. That, and the predominance of a handful of masculine archetypes--gladiators, sailors, cowboys, bikers, farmboys, mechanics--inscribed some fairly narrow contours for the mid-century homoerotic imagination. I had to wonder what Bob and Tom would make of mpreg, or furries, or World of Warcraft slash drawings with orcs fucking elves, or whatever else is polluting Tumblr and DeviantArt these days. You've come a long way, baby!  

I should note that Mizer's imagery came off as slightly more diverse than Tom's, with some skinnier/less worked out bodies, and a couple of odd additions to the aforementioned Pantheon of Masculinity--there were a couple of guys dressed a wizards in capes, thongs, and pointy hats, waving their wands at walls of runes or holding skull-capped staves. I thought those were really funny. I also liked a sequence titled "The Doctor and The Demon"--one guy with a stethoscope was examining another guy with little horns glued to his temples. Hmm.

Overall it was a fun, light (and, arousing :3) exhibit. But there was an incident that spoiled my impression of MOCA. I was meeting a friend who was running late, and as I lingered there was a shift change for the security guards. The new one was holding a ruler. As she paced the galleries she'd tap it against the walls. FWAP-FWAP-FWAP-FWAP-FWAP. She'd bang it on the metal bars of the stairway's banister. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG. She would even (and this was what really FLOORED ME) bang it on the display cases that were holding Mizer's photos. DING-DING-DING-DING-DING. What a Racket!! I tried to just ignore her but at one point my friend shot her a Look of Death. You won't believe how she responded...

"Am I bothering you?"

Um...

uh...

Obviously there was no conceivable way to respond to this outrageous impudence.

If anyone at the Pacific Design Center is reading this, please Officially Reprimand her noisy rude ass. And confiscate the goddamn ruler

THANKS

9/29/2011

FREEEEEEEEEEE! But I understand why, super tiny museum (will probably take no more than 15-20 min to walk through the entire thing & then some). Wandered in here after a freebie event at the Pacific Design Center. The exhibit that was on display was meh, but the Eleven Heavy Things outside the PDC was awesome! Perfect photo ops!

I am definitely more in awe of the architectural beauty of the PDC. Seems like it would be a nice & unique place for a photo shoot. Walking distance to Urth Caffe (2-3 blocks).

5/31/2011

All showrooms and everything closed on weekends, didn't know that, $10 parking is a little too much for some Tutus display from Black Swan. no camera is allowed, but it is free.

I was surprised there were a few people working at the information center, the entire place was dark and empty. passed the design center, got outside, beautiful fountain and flowers. This Moca is a very small museum, only 2 floors with a few extremely beautiful swarovski decorated dresses and tutus from Black Swan, and the tiara too. loved love them!

It was worth a trip, it's in west Hollywood, lots of restaurants, bars and nightclubs nearby, very easy to go from daytime entertainment to a fun night out. :)

5/7/2013

Super cute lil' tan box of a museum! I waited patiently for its 11:00 AM opening, amusing myself across the street with a savory croissant from the coffee shop below the WeHo Public Library. And it was worth it. I caught Stefan Sagmeister's The Happy Show, filled with all sorts of fun ponderings about the meaning of happiness - presented in multimedia form, as befitting a world-class designer. Lots of interactive pieces, too. The security guards were especially endearing  It IS small, but worth the visit!

6/16/2009

*** MOCA's third location, let's call it "MOCA Lite". ***

this exhibit space is 30' x 40' max on the second floor.
the first floor is entrance, a small store and a little study.
it is a separate building but located on the PDC grounds.

current exhibit running 'til 05Jul is entitled "Boolean Valley".
it's a symmetric array of ceramic cones arranged on the floor.
wow, that's really deep ... not.  it's just a bunch of cones, c'mon!

imo if space is small then exhibit should be relatively small.
in this case, i think the exhibit needs a little bit more space.
that aside, the ceramics are nice but not museum worthy.
but hey, what could i have expected ... MOCA Lite is free.

*** i look forward to more interesting future exhibits. ***

• 

  "Boolean Valley: the Geometry of Clay"

  "Boolean Valley: the Geometry of Clay"
• 

  Store/Study

  Store/Study
• 

  MOCA Lite

  MOCA Lite

9/3/2012

Love coming to see the exhibits here! Wish I could come more often!

4/8/2011

I went to see the Rodarte: States of Matter, currently on exhibition.

Admission to the 2 room museum is free.

The tutu's from the Black Swan were beautiful.

I only takes 5 minutes to see the whole exhibit, so don't put too much money in your meter unless you are going to explore the interior design show rooms next door.

2/26/2012

a neat little sister space to MOCA grand avenue and MOCA at the geffen contemporary, this MOCA is dropped right next to the outdoor plaza/fountain at the pacific design center in west hollywood. the space itself is this free-standing cube shaped block of stone that looks strangely anachronistic in comparison to the blocky, primary colored buildings that make up the pacific design center.

i have to say that my favorite architectural detail of the building are the huge cantilevered doors- they make a really neat entryway- but the exhibition space is pretty nice for such a small museum with only two floors. it's free admission with usually one show mounted at a time and the exhibits, in my opinion, are very hit or miss.

it's worth a trip if you're in the area but i never really go out of my way to visit this MOCA. not to mention that parking can also be a hassle but i think that's endemic to most of west hollywood.

8/22/2011

Pedestals for Strangers
Discovering The Curve MOCA and Miranda July

Are you over anxious? Under loved? Over stimulated? Under funded? Over overwhelmed? Or under understood? Do you need a Burrbery think-bubble around your head?

Then Miranda July made Eleven Heavy Things for you.

Until October 23rd, 2011,  you and your friends can interact with Miranda's eleven things  on the lawn outside the Pacific Design Center on Melrose.

If you are feeling hyper emotional  (or hyper allergic) that day, they might even make you cry.

If you are an atheist that day, they might make you think how we are all robots, programmed to follow the same roller coaster of emotional torment for no reason at all. Then you might cry too.

But crying is fun, and good for the skin. So go see this exhibit. It's interactive for God's sake. How fun is that?

And while you're feeling poignant, pick up a copy of Miranda July's short story collection: No One Belongs Here More than You , because it's super good. It's like you're standing on twelve of these pedestals at once, balancing precariously above the Earth, and understanding everything as if for the first time.

P.S. In addition to your trip to this exhibit (or after Oct 23rd, 2011) you can check out ecusitely designed, obscenely expensive furniture at the Pacific Design Center on week days, and bland depressing minimalist modern art made of trash at the The Curve/MOCA space behind the Design Center on weekends. It's free..which is a little over-priced.

But the fountain outside is pretty.

8/23/2011

i planned a museum day during a wknd to stop by MOCA (PDC and Geffen)..

1st stop- Rodarte: States of Matter exhibit (Black Swan costumes)
moca.org/museum/exhibiti…
The exhibit was about to end so i wanted to check it out.. you walk in and there's one room with about 5 dresses.. walk up the stairs and there are a few more dresses.. that's it.. i wish there were more dresses available and the presentation was more than just plain lights that were on and/or flashing (but what do i know, i'm not a curator) .. the rodarte pieces were absolutely amazing in person, i wanted more.. oh well, good thing this location is free.. i would've been annoyed if there was admission bc i was done with the tiny two room museum within 15 min..

8/10/2009

What a let down.  It's too small to even call it a museum.  I suppose the only people who visit this MOCA are those who are already at the PDC for other business or those who are dining at Red Seven. I was in the former group and I thought I'd check out the museum since I was already there.  

On the first floor there are a couple of employees manning the door (& looking bored), a small gift shop area and the restrooms.  The exhibit is on the second floor.  It's just one open area so it's only suitable for one exhibit at a time.

Right now the exhibit is called Feathered Edge and it's a bunch of colored strings that form curves.  It looks like a 3D model of something that belongs on a computer monitor. I was "wow"ed for a moment, and then I was done with the whole museum. Yep, that's it, in and out in 3 minutes.

If I had made a special trip to see MOCA PDC, I would have been really upset.  At least it was free.

8/11/2012

This was the worst museum i have ever seen. It is like... empty and the art that is there is awful. also, parking is way over priced. not worth it at all and without a doubt the WORST museum in LA, if not the world.

8/3/2011

UGH, please knock this place down already!!!....whose bright idea was it to put up this very ugly building that totally detracts from the beautiful PDC???.....or at least cover the outside in yellow (or whatever color) tiles like the PDC.....ask 100 people if they've ever been inside and 99 will say no....what WERE they thinkin when they erected this place?

7/14/2011

not like in NY. small hall...has ONE exhibition (if you can call it that).

11/30/2010

small single exhibition gallery. good for a quick drop in if you are in the area.