Speculation and Criticism Swirl Around L.A. Museum Chief ...

October 22, 2012, 10:20 am

The New York Times examines the tenure of former Manhattan art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director of Los Angeles? Museum of Contemporary Art and the divisions it has wrought in the institution?s board and the Southern California culture scene.

An unconventional but widely hailed choice when he was appointed in 2010, Mr. Deitch?for decades a major figure on the New York art scene?has drawn criticism over the ouster of the Los Angeles museum?s longtime top curator and for staging a series of celebrity- and pop-culture-oriented shows.

Attendance at the museum, widely known as MOCA, has more than doubled under Mr. Deitch?s direction, but detractors have painted him as a poor fundraiser and a tool of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, the institution?s chief benefactor.

?In New York I was always really appreciated for my contribution, but you would think that all I?ve done here is court Hollywood and do celebrity art,? Mr. Deitch, who has kept a low media profile amid the controversies, told the Times in a rare interview. ?I?ve never experienced this kind of distortion.?

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Source: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/speculation-and-criticism-swirl-around-l-a-museum-chief/56122

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