ART WEEK: LACMA 1

The Jorge Pardo Pre-Columbian art installation at LACMA is my favorite gallery of the museum's permanent collection. The modern sculptural walls and color gradations mark a stark contrast against the South and Central American antiquities.

I reread the LA Times Review from when the exhibit first opened, which praised and critiquing its avant guard displays. According to Christopher Knight, "To decorate is not just to embellish but to valorize. LACMA's often exceptional collection of ancient art deserves nothing less -- especially the fine ceramic vessels and sculptures. Pardo's eccentric, unexpected scheme delivers. It accomplishes two feats. Obscure works of ancient art are elucidated, and so is our contemporary experience of them." I, for one, appreciate this sculptural experience, which modernizes classic works and lets us interact with them in a contemporary way.