As we patiently wait for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to complete construction in Los Angeles, California’s Exposition Park, it’s nice to know that the museum is taking part in events celebrating art history in Downtown L.A.
Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of attending one such event, entitled “What Is the Value of Art?”, which was presented by the Lucas Museum in partnership with Zocalo Public Square, Arizona State University, Neuehouse, and KCRW.
This panel discussion was held in the historic Los Angeles Herald Examiner building, once occupied by the William Randolph Hearst-owned newspaper of the same name. Just entering into the lobby made the trip to Downtown L.A. worth it, as I had never visited before and was thankful for the chance to admire its Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival styles.
Once we were ushered into the sizable event space, housed within ASU’s offices in the building, slides on large screens informed attendees of the topic of that evening’s discussion, plus promoted the eventual opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Then moderator Helen Molesworth took the stage, accompanied by artists Hamza Walker, Joel Garcia, and Andrea Bowers. Unfortunately, the Lucas Museum’s Director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont was unable to participate in the panel as scheduled due to a family emergency, but it was still a fascinating and insightful conversation between four extremely knowledgeable members of the flourishing L.A. art community. As moderator, Molesworth posed a series of questions and prompts to the panelists, including “Describe an encounter with a work of art that informed the work you are doing now” and “What is the value of art outside of its current market price?” The bulk of the discussion focused on the topic of art as it relates to capitalism, but it also evolved into a chat about the value of the individual artists themselves and how art becomes an engine for social justice.
The afterparty for this event was held in Neuehouse’s space at L.A.’s historic Bradbury Building, which was built in 1893 and famously served as a filming location for the movies Blade Runner, Double Indemnity, Chinatown, 500 Days of Summer, Marlowe, Wolf, The Artist, and numerous other projects for film and television. It was great to visit this landmark again, and especially wonderful to see what it looks like at nighttime. On the whole, I had a great time at the “What Is the Value of Art?” event, and felt I learned a lot about the fine art world– certainly a departure from spending the bulk of my time immersed in popular culture.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is currently scheduled to open sometime in 2025. For future events from Zocalo Public Square, be sure to visit their official website.