News – 01 Aug 2018
MOCA Los Angeles Names Klaus Biesenbach As New Director
The longtime director of MoMA PS1 heads to the West Coast
Klaus Biesenbach. Courtesy: MOCA, Los Angeles; photograph: Casey Kelbaugh
Klaus Biesenbach. Courtesy: MOCA, Los Angeles; photograph: Casey Kelbaugh
German-born curator Klaus Biesenbach, currently director of New York’s MoMA PS1 and chief curator at large at the Museum of Modern Art, has been named the new director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. ‘It is humbling to be invited to lead a museum that has already achieved so much, and that in so many ways represents the highest aspirations of contemporary art,’ Biesenbach commented.
Co-chairs of the MOCA LA board, Maurice Marciano and Lilly Tartikoff Karatz, praised Biesenbach as ‘one of the world’s most knowledgeable, wide-ranging, and innovative museum executives of contemporary art.’ Biesenbach was reportedly unanimously appointed from a shortlist of 40 candidates.
Biesenbach has been with PS1 since 1995. Exhibitions curated by him at MoMA include the populist 2010 Marina Abramović retrospective ‘The Artist Is Present’, as well as the much-criticized ‘Björk’ show in 2015, as well as a Kraftwerk retrospective in 2012. Prior to MoMA, Biesenbach founded Berlin’s Kunst-Werke Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Berlin Biennale in the early 1990s.
Biesenbach departs an institution embroiled in a #MeToo-inspired lawsuit. Last month, curator Nikki Columbus claimed that MoMA PS1 had retracted a job offer as their curator of performance after learning that she had recently given birth.
Meanwhile, Biesenbach is heading to an arts institution which has also had its share of troubles. MOCA LA limped through the financial crisis in 2008, after a USD$30 million bailout from philanthropist Eli Broad, and has since gone through a rapid succession of directors. The directorship of Jeffrey Deitch (2010–13), during which chief curator Paul Schimmel departed, was criticized for its ‘celebrity-driven’ programming. Philippe Vergne was named director in 2014.
The past year has been particularly difficult for MOCA LA. In February, Mark Grotjahn refused the museum’s 2018 gala award, pointing to a lack of diversity among past laureates. And in March, the museum made the headlines again after Vergne fired chief curator Helen Molesworth – it was reported that the two had clashed over MOCA’s artistic direction. Two months later, it was announced that Vergne was out – with the museum and director deciding ‘by mutual agreement’ for the contract not to be renewed in March 2019.
Some commentators have criticized the appointment of Biesenbach on social media. ‘One white European male leaves. Another enters,’ critic Jerry Saltz tweeted. But Catherine Opie, who was on the museum’s search committee, said of Biesenbach: ‘He comes to MOCA with a level of mutual trust with artists that is crucial for everything this museum does today, and that we hope it will be able to do in the future.’ Biesenbach’s start date at the museum has yet to be confirmed.
新闻- 01八月2018摩卡洛杉矶命名克劳斯BieSebbAh作为新导演2分钟，长期导演的MOMA PS1前往西海岸克劳斯BieSebbAh。礼貌：MOCA，洛杉矶；照片：凯西Kelbou克劳斯BieSebbAh。礼貌：莫卡，洛杉矶；照片：Casey Kelbaugh German出生的策展人Klaus Biesenbach，现任纽约MOMA PS1主任兼大型艺术馆馆长，被任命为洛杉矶现代美术馆的新导演。比森巴赫评论说，被邀请去领导一个已经取得了如此多成就的博物馆，这在许多方面都代表了当代艺术的最高抱负。莫卡LA董事会主席Maurice Marciano和Lilly Tartikoff Karatz共同称赞Biesenbach是“世界上最有知识、最广泛、最具创新性的当代艺术博物馆管理者”。据报道，比森巴赫从40个候选人名单中一致获准。比森巴赫自1995以来一直与PS1合作。由他在MOMA策划的展览包括民粹主义2010阿里莫维奇的回顾“艺术家出席”，以及备受批评的“BJ O’RK”展在2015，以及克拉夫特尔克回顾2012。在MMA之前，BieSebbAh创立了柏林的昆斯特沃克当代艺术学院和90年代初的柏林双年展。Biesenbach离开了一个牵涉到一个充满灵感的诉讼中的机构。上个月，馆长Nikki Columbus声称，MOMA PS1在得知她刚刚分娩后收回了一份工作表现。与此同时，比森巴赫正前往一家艺术机构，该机构也面临着一些麻烦。2008年，在慈善家艾利布朗德3000万美元的援助下，摩卡公司一瘸一拐地度过了金融危机，此后，董事会迅速接踵而至。首席策展人Paul Schimmel（Jeffrey Deitch）离职的导演（2010—13）因其“名人驱动”节目而受到批评。Philippe Vergne在2014被任命为导演。过去的一年对莫卡拉来说尤其困难。二月，Mark Grotjahn拒绝了博物馆的2018年度大奖，指出过去的获奖者缺乏多样性。今年3月，在Vergne解雇首席策展人Helen Molesworth之后，博物馆再次成为头条新闻。据报道，两人在摩卡艺术方向上发生了冲突。两个月后，有人宣布Vergne外出了，博物馆和导演决定通过双方的协议来决定2019年3月不续期的合同。一些评论家批评了BeeSebbac在社交媒体上的任命。一个白色的欧洲雄叶。另一个进来，批评家Jerry Saltz推特说。但是，博物馆的搜索委员会的Catherine Opie对比森巴赫说：“他来到莫卡，与艺术家相互信任，这对博物馆今天所做的一切都是至关重要的，我们希望它能在未来做。”比森巴赫在博物馆H的开始日期。目前尚待确认。新闻洛杉矶克劳斯BieSeNbAh MOMA PS1 La MOCA
