Dennis Hopper “Double Standard” at the Geffen MOCA LA, CA
I was out in lovely Southern California for a few days last week, and one of the highlights of my time there was the opening of the Dennis Hopper retrospective at the Geffen MOCA in Los Angeles. This show was important for several reason: It was the first show under new Director Jeffrey Deitch (jeffrey, and his gallery in NYC were responsible for putting on just about every important artist in the past 15 years). The show was curated by famed artist and director Julian Schnabel. Hopper himself was involved in the process of putting the show together until he passed away back in May, and it is the first time a vast majority of his work is on display in the same place.
I knew that Hopper was an artist, and that he surrounded himself with other famous artist of the time, but man, i had no idea. His photographs act as the centerpiece – 9 huge walls filled with them, all hung salon style. Out from there, in the surrounding space, are his painting, combines, more photos, sculptures and some films. A truly incredible show, and one you should all go out and see if you are in the LA area.
Some iPhotos i snapped while having my mind blown:
online, looking into the lobby space. there was a second pop style sculpture on the other side of the lobby
all sorts of information
overview of some of the photo walls. place was packed!
from a series of images shot in the south
Rauschenberg-inspired combine. photograph with found objects(tissue boxes)
this is a mellow 20 foot tall canvas, based on one of his photos
another wall of photos, mostly artist and gallery folks
2 shots of Warhol at the Factory
Warhol and his 'workers' at the factory
3 shots of artist Robert Rauschenberg getting his tongue stamped for reasons unknown
this film was playing in one of the rooms. It was a 45 second loop of a guy sitting in a lawn chair and getting blown up. Photos left and right are before and after images, and the film projector itself was pretty cool looking
Little did i know that the Geffen has a really solid permanent collection. It was a nice surprise after checking out the show. Few snaps of what i saw below.
Christopher Wool painting. This was done in the 50's kids...
Allen Ruppersberg collage piece. wow.
and finally, a personal favorite of mine, Jean-Michel Basquiat. just amazing