art in the streets the geffen contemporary at MOCA, los angeles on now until august 8, 2011

installation view of ‘art in the streets’ at the geffen contemporary at MOCA image © designboom

designboom recently visited ‘art in the streets,’ an exhibition featuring graffiti and guerilla art interventions from 60 international artists at the museum of contemporary art, los angeles (MOCA). curated by jeffrey deitch, roger gastman and aaron rose, this show is the first major museum survey on the movement since its beginning in the early 1970s.   

the main floor is broken up into mini-exhibitions, with rooms of work by seminal artists such as banksy, keith haring, and rammellzee. special sections of the sprawling space highlight los angeles’s specific contributions to the genre like cholo graffiti and dogtown skateboard culture, and historical context is provided by an extensive chronology on the floor above, illustrated with artwork, photos, video and ephemera.

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 2 image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 3 image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 4

the exhibition featured customized cars, such as this 1966 buick special by keith haring image © designboom

after jeffrey deitch censored a commissioned mural by italian street artist blu earlier this year, the exhibition has received some criticism for institutionalizing a movement which began as a rebellion against the commercialization of art. in fact, the artist banksy has sponsored ‘free mondays’ until the exhibition’s close, stating: ‘I don’t think you should have to pay to look at graffiti. you should only pay if you want to get rid of it.’

the show has also been controversial among conservatives, questioning the formal celebration of vandalism, especially among young and impressionable members of the audience.

stay tuned for more coverage of this exhibition.

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 5 aerial view of the exhibit image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 6 aerial view of the exhibit image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 7 a glimpse of the historical timeline upstairs image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 8 installation by steve powers image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 9 image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 10 work by shepard fairey image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 11 installation by swoon image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 12 a work by banksy image © designboom

art in the streets at MOCA, los angeles - 13 image © designboom