Modern West

I was lucky enough to get a little sneak peak of the new LACMA exhibit, Modern West, which is set to open tomorrow. The parking lot was completely full yesterday with everyone rushing to see Magritte in its last couple days -- but right across in the Hammer Building, the caution tape is still up and the paint is half-dry. Just a couple security guards, me, and the paintings.

My perennial favorite, 'Going West'. This is from when Pollock was still of the cowboy persona and not hiding away in East Hampton, and to me is Van Gogh meets Thomas Hart Benton [if you haven't noticed, one of my all-time favorites]. The show this time around is more tame, no eye catching decorations, but the work and concept is really great. How did modern art become western anyway? That's one of the questions the pieces will be answering, and there are also a couple O'Keefe's that aren't very often exhibited in group shows, so that's quite exciting. The Ansel Adams inclusion is a little bit cliched, but overall, Austen Bailley and the American Art department did a great job adapting the show from Houston.