Art Takes Wing in Los Angeles With Angels and Billboards

Art Business News, May, 2001 by Laura Meyers

For instance, two billboards interact with motorists at an intersection of three busy streets (Olympic, Fairfax and San Vicente). One message states: "Three Roads Converging at a Pizza Joint, 2001" (there's a Shakey's Pizza at the junction). The other billboard shouts: "Cellular Symphony Behind Glass, 2001. Mobile phones, vehicles"--an obvious reference to L.A.'s car-and-phone culture.

"Men Running With Keys" is a billboard on restaurant row, where most of the famous eateries provide drivers with valet services. Standing tall next to a group of television satellite dishes at Sony Studios is a billboard proclaiming "Big White Dishes." The message, "Red Glowing Lights, 2001. Brake lights and asphalt," doesn't catch drivers by surprise along a major freeway.

According to MOCA's director, Jeremy Strick, the campaign was created to bring "the MOCA experience" out into the public "by lifting a visually distinct element directly from the walls of the museum." Each multi-media message ends with a credit: "On loan from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles" or "Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles." Strick added: "MOCA provides a framework in which to experience contemporary art. This campaign extends that framework into the Los Angeles community, allowing MOCA to engage with the city at large."