Scope and Content
The MOCA Exhibition Archive represents a nearly complete record of exhibitions and events organized by the curatorial department, including unrealized projects. Materials date from MOCA’s earliest programmatic activities in 1980 to the present. Arranged chronologically by exhibition opening date and event occurrence, the files include project descriptions; exhibition checklists; correspondence with artists, lenders, co-organizers, and participating venues; curators’ notes; budget and funding proposals; loan agreements; installation designs; catalog production material; printed ephemera; as well as press releases and media coverage. There are also files for exhibitions organized by the director’s office.
Not only has MOCA retained almost all of its paper files, but it has also commissioned photographers to visually record every exhibition and performance. Of MOCA’s collection of approximately 10,000 installation images of exhibitions between 1983 and 2005, over 4,500 have been scanned and digitized. In 2005, the museum began to document exhibitions exclusively in digital form.
Of particular note, the MOCA Exhibition Archive contains the files for large thematic and landmark single-artist retrospective shows for which MOCA is internationally well-known. Among those with extensive materials are Automobile and Culture (1984); A Forest of Signs: Art in the Crisis of Representation (1989); Blueprints for Modern Living: History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses (1989); John Baldessari (1990); Arata Isozaki: 1960-1990 Architecture (1991); Helter Skelter: LA Art in the 90s (1992); Hand-Painted Pop: American Art in Transition, 1955-1962 (1992); Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture (1992); Robert Irwin (1993); Rolywholyover a circus (1993); Hall of Mirrors: Art and Film Since 1945 (1996); Cindy Sherman: Retrospective (1997); Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object, 1949-1979 (1998); In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O’Hara and American Art (1999); Barbara Kruger (1999); At the End of the Century: One Hundred Years of Architecture (2000); and Willem de Kooning: Tracing the Figure (2002). The archive also includes documentation of live performances, radio programs, film series, and permanent collection exhibitions, products both diverse and distinctive of MOCA’s curatorial department.
All materials in the archive are considered inactive. Files in the curatorial offices relating to exhibitions with extensive world tours are considered active until the last venue has closed. Inactive material is accessioned into the archive on an annual basis in chronological order.
Qualified researchers may make an appointment to view the original archival files at the MOCA Library. Please contact the librarian, Lynda Bunting, at or (213) 621-1792.
Credits
The MOCA Exhibition Archive was made possible by a grant from the Getty Foundation through the special initiative “On the Record: Art in L.A. 1945-1980.” This generous award supported the arrangement and description of MOCA’s historic institutional archives for the benefit of students, scholars, and the general public.
MOCA Librarian Lynda Bunting managed the overall project. Processing Archivists Skye Lacerte and Julie Yamashita arranged and described the bulk of the archival collections, as well as encoded the EAD finding aids. Image Processor Max Warsh oversaw image conversion from slide to digital. Web Generalist Bret Nicely was responsible for the design and concept of the web site. Initial archival processing and cataloging of many exhibitions was performed by numerous volunteers and interns.
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