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The Broad: can a $140m gallery revitalise downtown Los Angeles? The Broad: can a $140m gallery revitalise downtown Los Angeles?
(1 day later)
When the door clicks shut and you stand enclosed in the Infinity Mirrored Room, a dark, mirror-lined chamber with thousands of tiny lights pulsating like a micro-cosmos, it can feel as if the stars are aligning for the Los Angeles arts scene.When the door clicks shut and you stand enclosed in the Infinity Mirrored Room, a dark, mirror-lined chamber with thousands of tiny lights pulsating like a micro-cosmos, it can feel as if the stars are aligning for the Los Angeles arts scene.
The room sounds like something out of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but is in fact an inaugural installation at the Broad, a $140m museum of modern and contemporary art which opens in downtown LA this week.The room sounds like something out of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy but is in fact an inaugural installation at the Broad, a $140m museum of modern and contemporary art which opens in downtown LA this week.
Named after Eli and Edye Broad, the billionaire philanthropists who financed it, the museum is the boldest attempt in a decade to transform a notoriously desolate, sterile city centre into a world-class arts hub.Named after Eli and Edye Broad, the billionaire philanthropists who financed it, the museum is the boldest attempt in a decade to transform a notoriously desolate, sterile city centre into a world-class arts hub.
Related: The Broad review – supersized cheese grater hits LA
The 120,000-square-foot structure on Grand Avenue will offer free admission to a collection of 2,000 works which includes pieces by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Robert Therrien, Damien Hirst, Cy Twombly, Cindy Sherman and Takashi Murakami.The 120,000-square-foot structure on Grand Avenue will offer free admission to a collection of 2,000 works which includes pieces by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Robert Therrien, Damien Hirst, Cy Twombly, Cindy Sherman and Takashi Murakami.
Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, an experiential artwork subtitled The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, is one highlight. It can accommodate just one visitor at a time for approximately 45 seconds, totalling around 600 people daily.Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room, an experiential artwork subtitled The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, is one highlight. It can accommodate just one visitor at a time for approximately 45 seconds, totalling around 600 people daily.
The Broad, a three-storey structure with a honeycomb facade, joins the Walt Disney concert hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) to form a cluster of cultural flagships along the optimistically named Grand Avenue Arts Corridor.The Broad, a three-storey structure with a honeycomb facade, joins the Walt Disney concert hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) to form a cluster of cultural flagships along the optimistically named Grand Avenue Arts Corridor.
“It’s truly rare to establish a brand new museum in Los Angeles or any city. That doesn’t happen frequently, especially on this scale,” Joanne Heyler, the Broad’s director, told the Guardian.“It’s truly rare to establish a brand new museum in Los Angeles or any city. That doesn’t happen frequently, especially on this scale,” Joanne Heyler, the Broad’s director, told the Guardian.
It coincides with a blossoming of contemporary art in LA which was commanding attention from the usually New York-centric arts world, she said. “They say to me, I just can’t not come to LA on a regular basis. You have to come to Los Angeles if you are someone who intensely follows contemporary arts.”It coincides with a blossoming of contemporary art in LA which was commanding attention from the usually New York-centric arts world, she said. “They say to me, I just can’t not come to LA on a regular basis. You have to come to Los Angeles if you are someone who intensely follows contemporary arts.”
The 20 September opening comes amid a rebound for downtown LA, now known to cognoscenti as DTLA. Building sites abandoned during the recession hum with workers rushing to finish condos, hotels and restaurants for a booming real estate market.The 20 September opening comes amid a rebound for downtown LA, now known to cognoscenti as DTLA. Building sites abandoned during the recession hum with workers rushing to finish condos, hotels and restaurants for a booming real estate market.
Uber and Lyft, significantly cheaper than taxis, are enticing weekend revellers from Hollywood, Santa Monica, Silver Lake and farther afield to downtown bars and clubs.Uber and Lyft, significantly cheaper than taxis, are enticing weekend revellers from Hollywood, Santa Monica, Silver Lake and farther afield to downtown bars and clubs.
The New York Times recently reported a “wagon train mentality” among New Yorkers moving to California’s metropolis. Throw in a burgeoning technology scene and the city becoming the US’s candidate to host the 2024 Olympics, and it can seem LA is on a roll.The New York Times recently reported a “wagon train mentality” among New Yorkers moving to California’s metropolis. Throw in a burgeoning technology scene and the city becoming the US’s candidate to host the 2024 Olympics, and it can seem LA is on a roll.
Not for everyone: just a mile south of the Arts Corridor thousands of homeless people live in the desperate squalor that is Skid Row. And violent crime, which tumbled for the past decade, has recently surged.Not for everyone: just a mile south of the Arts Corridor thousands of homeless people live in the desperate squalor that is Skid Row. And violent crime, which tumbled for the past decade, has recently surged.
Public interest in advance of the Broad’s opening has been intense, said Alex Capriotti, director of marketing and communications, during a tour of the museum for media. Within a week of bookings going online there were more than 70,000 ticket requests, she said. “It completely crashed our system.” Requests now exceed 100,000.Public interest in advance of the Broad’s opening has been intense, said Alex Capriotti, director of marketing and communications, during a tour of the museum for media. Within a week of bookings going online there were more than 70,000 ticket requests, she said. “It completely crashed our system.” Requests now exceed 100,000.
Admission will be free thanks to a $200m endowment from the Broads, who have set aside $340m in total for the museum. Displays include a sheep in a tank of formaldehyde, by Hirst, a set of gigantic tables and chairs, by Therrien, which evoke Alice in Wonderland, a charcoal rendering of riot police in Ferguson, by Robert Longo, as well as sculptures, paintings and video installations.Admission will be free thanks to a $200m endowment from the Broads, who have set aside $340m in total for the museum. Displays include a sheep in a tank of formaldehyde, by Hirst, a set of gigantic tables and chairs, by Therrien, which evoke Alice in Wonderland, a charcoal rendering of riot police in Ferguson, by Robert Longo, as well as sculptures, paintings and video installations.
Tourists and locals may add the Broad’s cave-like passageways and sunlit exhibition spaces to their cultural itineraries but the architecture has left some critics unimpressed. And it remains unclear whether the museum can revitalise a prestigious yet lifeless swath of downtown, as its founders hope.Tourists and locals may add the Broad’s cave-like passageways and sunlit exhibition spaces to their cultural itineraries but the architecture has left some critics unimpressed. And it remains unclear whether the museum can revitalise a prestigious yet lifeless swath of downtown, as its founders hope.
An enduring marriage, fortune-building, philanthropy, missed deadlines and a lawsuit paved a zig-zag path to the museum’s construction.An enduring marriage, fortune-building, philanthropy, missed deadlines and a lawsuit paved a zig-zag path to the museum’s construction.
Eli Broad, now 82, was an ambitious young man when he married Edye, now 79, in Detroit in 1954. While the blunt-talking entrepreneur earned a $6bn fortune in real estate and retirement investment plans, his art-loving partner nudged him into collecting works by leading postwar and contemporary artists. “I was very excited when Eli became interested [in art],” she once told a crowd at the LA public library. “Because the acquisition budget went up.”Eli Broad, now 82, was an ambitious young man when he married Edye, now 79, in Detroit in 1954. While the blunt-talking entrepreneur earned a $6bn fortune in real estate and retirement investment plans, his art-loving partner nudged him into collecting works by leading postwar and contemporary artists. “I was very excited when Eli became interested [in art],” she once told a crowd at the LA public library. “Because the acquisition budget went up.”
After moving to LA in 1963 Eli became the city’s biggest art patron and helped found LA’s Moca. He later quit its board in frustration, part of a pattern of rows with administrators and figures such as Frank Gehry, yet continued bankrolling the Moca and helped to keep the Gehry-designed Walt Disney concert hall on track during an early crisis.After moving to LA in 1963 Eli became the city’s biggest art patron and helped found LA’s Moca. He later quit its board in frustration, part of a pattern of rows with administrators and figures such as Frank Gehry, yet continued bankrolling the Moca and helped to keep the Gehry-designed Walt Disney concert hall on track during an early crisis.
The Broads lend pieces to museums around the world through the Broad Art Foundation, a practice set to continue, but decided to build their own showcase.The Broads lend pieces to museums around the world through the Broad Art Foundation, a practice set to continue, but decided to build their own showcase.
Sites in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills were rejected in favour of Grand Avenue, a hilltop of big, modern structures in the Bunker Hill area which overlooks city hall and the Los Angeles Times (which Eli tried to buy).Sites in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills were rejected in favour of Grand Avenue, a hilltop of big, modern structures in the Bunker Hill area which overlooks city hall and the Los Angeles Times (which Eli tried to buy).
The swooping, glistening Disney hall, which opened in 2003, gave the city’s philharmonic orchestra an architectural triumph for a home but did little to inject urban vitality into a zone bereft of street life. Wide streets, little shade and meagre stores and restaurants give few incentives to visit on foot, or reason to bury the old joke about LA being 72 suburbs in search of a city.The swooping, glistening Disney hall, which opened in 2003, gave the city’s philharmonic orchestra an architectural triumph for a home but did little to inject urban vitality into a zone bereft of street life. Wide streets, little shade and meagre stores and restaurants give few incentives to visit on foot, or reason to bury the old joke about LA being 72 suburbs in search of a city.
In 2010 the Broads chose Elizabeth Diller, of the New York architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R for short), to build the museum. In addition to storing and exhibiting a vast art collection the building was tasked with revitalising downtown and fitting in with its flashy Disney neighbour.In 2010 the Broads chose Elizabeth Diller, of the New York architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R for short), to build the museum. In addition to storing and exhibiting a vast art collection the building was tasked with revitalising downtown and fitting in with its flashy Disney neighbour.
“Those were three big challenges we had to get our heads around. How could one building do this?” Diller said in an interview. “The ambition of downtown LA to really become a city – that was written into the project.”“Those were three big challenges we had to get our heads around. How could one building do this?” Diller said in an interview. “The ambition of downtown LA to really become a city – that was written into the project.”
Her solution included a “vault” design to store and display the art behind a matte “veil” facade acting as a foil to Disney, plus a plaza with trees and a free-flowing ground floor “arcade” which pedestrians can stroll through. The intense public scrutiny surprised Diller. “I did not expect the attention that that the project has gotten but in a way that’s gratifying.”Her solution included a “vault” design to store and display the art behind a matte “veil” facade acting as a foil to Disney, plus a plaza with trees and a free-flowing ground floor “arcade” which pedestrians can stroll through. The intense public scrutiny surprised Diller. “I did not expect the attention that that the project has gotten but in a way that’s gratifying.”
There were glitches. The timetable slipped. Broad, impatient, invited observers to visit the half-built structure. He also sued a German company, Seele Inc, for $20m over alleged fabrication defects in the museum’s latticed skin.There were glitches. The timetable slipped. Broad, impatient, invited observers to visit the half-built structure. He also sued a German company, Seele Inc, for $20m over alleged fabrication defects in the museum’s latticed skin.
The billionaire has a reputation for ruling with an iron fist, said Heyler, but in fact he encouraged debate. “There is a lot more room for input from his closest advisers than people probably think.”The billionaire has a reputation for ruling with an iron fist, said Heyler, but in fact he encouraged debate. “There is a lot more room for input from his closest advisers than people probably think.”
The director expressed delight with the finished museum. “It’s an effective counterpoint to Disney hall that beautifully references what we are which is a place for ruminating art.”The director expressed delight with the finished museum. “It’s an effective counterpoint to Disney hall that beautifully references what we are which is a place for ruminating art.”
The LA Times architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne, was underwhelmed, calling it an “efficient three-story box” with a “surprisingly punchless facade” which sparkled only in its peripheries. Others have compared the large dimple on the facade, which staff call an “oculus”, to a rectum.The LA Times architecture critic, Christopher Hawthorne, was underwhelmed, calling it an “efficient three-story box” with a “surprisingly punchless facade” which sparkled only in its peripheries. Others have compared the large dimple on the facade, which staff call an “oculus”, to a rectum.
When the Guardian visited last week there was, at midday, a sum total of two pedestrians on the museum’s stretch of Grand Avenue.When the Guardian visited last week there was, at midday, a sum total of two pedestrians on the museum’s stretch of Grand Avenue.
Optimists say that will change when Disney’s performance season begins, and longer term, once a metro station and a Gehry-designed multi-use complex are finished.Optimists say that will change when Disney’s performance season begins, and longer term, once a metro station and a Gehry-designed multi-use complex are finished.
“The car will not disappear but in the end LA will become more pedestrian friendly,” predicted Diller, the architect. “Downtown LA will look different five to 10 years from now.”“The car will not disappear but in the end LA will become more pedestrian friendly,” predicted Diller, the architect. “Downtown LA will look different five to 10 years from now.”