Los Angeles County Museum of Art director Michael Govan is speaking publicly for the first time about the museum’s long-awaited David Geffen Galleries.
The interview, which went live today, appears in the relaunch of True Colors, Vanity Fair’s art-world newsletter written by Nate Freeman. The newsletter will now land in inboxes weekly on Fridays with interviews, art-market intelligence, and dispatches from across the art world.
The debut edition features Govan discussing the museum’s controversial new building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, a $720 million structure set to open to the public next month after years of construction, debate, and rising costs.
In the interview, Govan framed the project as an attempt to rethink the role of the museum in the 21st century:
The project has been one of the most closely watched museum construction efforts in the US in recent years. Critics have questioned both the demolition of several earlier LACMA buildings and the design of the new structure, which spans Wilshire Boulevard and introduces a single-floor layout of 347,500 square feet of gallery space.
For Govan, the project represents a rare opportunity to rethink how encyclopedic museums present the story of art.
The design aims to move away from traditional museum hierarchies that separate artworks strictly by geography or chronology, encouraging visitors instead to encounter objects from different cultures and eras in closer proximity.
The building has also required extensive engineering to account for Los Angeles’s seismic conditions.
The massive concrete structure sits on base isolators designed to allow it to move during earthquakes, a feature intended to help protect both the architecture and the museum’s collection.
Govan has faced years of criticism over the project, particularly regarding the demolition of existing buildings and the rising cost of construction. The design itself has drawn pointed commentary from critics, some of whom likened the undulating structure to everything from an airport terminal to an amoeba.
But Govan suggested that strong reactions are inevitable when cultural institutions undertake projects of this scale.
He also indicated that the museum chose not to aggressively counter criticism as the project developed.
“No, no, let people get invested,” Govan said, recalling discussions with the museum’s public relations team about how to respond to the controversy and the idea that “everyone should be on [the museum’s] side.
Elsewhere in the interview, Govan emphasized that the building was conceived specifically for Los Angeles and its cultural landscape.
“LA’s the place to try it, I don’t think you could have done this in, even, Chigaco, or Cincinatti.” he said of the experimental design approach behind the museum.
When the David Geffen Galleries open next month, the museum will host a series of events including galas and concerts, as well as large-scale installations featuring works from LACMA’s collection that had been off view during construction.
Vanity Fair‘s Spring issue, on newsstands March 31, will feature exclusive photographs of the new museum.
