[ 03.2015 | Los Angeles ]

the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which opened in 1965, is situated on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile area of LA. the roots of LACMA lie in the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, founded in 1910. with a collection of almost 130,000 objects from antiquity to present, the art museum in the heart of the city is the largest in the western United States. in addition to the art exhibits, also talks, art camps, film and concert series are further attractions for more than a million visitors annually.

the iconic installation ‘Urban Light’ (2008) by Chris Burden is characteristic for the museum. it shows 202 restored iron antique street lamps from the 1920/30s era. the lamps – all painted in a uniform grey – are of 17 styles (height: 6-9m); and most of them once lit the streets of the region. the solar-powered lights are switched on at dusk and bring a touch of romance and magic to the forest-like large-scale assemblage sculpture.

assemblage: yes; romance and magic: no. a needle in a haystack describes something that is difficult/impossible to locate in a much larger space. a figure of speech, that is said to go back on Sir Thomas More, the author of ‘Utopia’, in 1532.

sources:
lacma.org | articles.latimes.com | thewatchdogonline.com