This press release (full text at the link) hit my inbox at 7:04 p.m. NYC time. It provides no explanation for the falling-out between LA MOCA and its suddenly departed, widely respected, veteran chief curator, Paul Schimmel.
But MOCA’s official announcement does tell us this:
Paul Schimmel has resigned from his position to become an independent curator, after 22 years
with the institution, organizing some of the museum’s most successful exhibitions. Mr. Schimmel will continue
working with MOCA on the upcoming exhibition “Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void, 1949-1962”
(Sept. 29, 2012-Jan. 7, 2013), which explores abstraction and destruction in the period.In
recognition of his many contributions to MOCA, where Mr. Schimmel has been Chief Curator since 1990,
the Board of Trustees announced the naming of The Paul Schimmel Exhibition Space at The Geffen
Contemporary at MOCA in his honor.
If I were you, I’d keep an eye on the LA Times‘ Culture Monster blog for more on what’s really going on in this sorry saga. In the meantime, here’s some astute commentary by that newspaper’s art critic, Christopher Knight. And here’s what “Unreasonable Eli” Broad tweeted just one hour ago.
If I learn more, you’ll learn more.