Today, I went to the MOCA Museum and checked out the gallery. The line to the ticket booth was not very long. I think the corona virus scare was keeping a lot of Southern Californians from going out. The museum offered bathrooms and hand sanitizer, so we were covered. I was interested in paying the extra $10(student’s price) for the special exhibit, however they were only doing general admission at the time. So with my extra cash I donated it towards the free admission.

Artist: Liz Larner ( 1960 Sacramento; Lives in Los Angles
You might have to live like a refugee, 2019

There were a lot of abstract artworks at the contemporary museum. This one really caught my eye because it looked so awkward and weird. The title had me thinking about what the artwork portrayed. The very small 3D sculpture the size of a barbie doll that is all green. “You might have to live like a refugee”, made me think that the green lady was a runaway refugee fleeing from her native country from communism, terror, or even war. She was running away from something, with a wall in front of her. The wall could symbolize the obstacles such as hardships trying to get to another “safe” country. The obstacle could even be a language barrier or even lost of comfort from her old home. I’m not sure if that was what the Artist was going for, but it started to make more sense to me.

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Carlos Cruz – Diez
1923, Caracas, Venezuela d. 2019, Paris
Cromosaturacion, 1965

This next artwork was more of an interactive one. We had to put on these shoe covers to prevent dirt or any debris from getting in the artworks space. The whole place was drywall with fluorescent lights and colored plastic. Each room was a different color. I liked how simple the presentation was but it made me feel different in each room. The colors gave me a different mood, from cool blue to dangerous red. The green one just felt very earthy.

I don’t think I understood this one complete so I had to dig up and read up the explanation on his website. Carlos explains that the “work relates the ideas that origin of every culture lies a primary event as a starting point. A simple situation that generates a whole system of thoughts, sensitivity, myths, etc.”
“The Chromosaturation is an artificial environment composed of three color chambers, one red, one green and one blue that immerse the visitor in a completely monochrome situation.” I enjoyed walking into every room to be greeted by a different color and felt the monochrome situation in every room.

“This experience creates disturbances in the retina, accustomed to receive wide range of colors simultaneously. The Chromosaturation can act as a trigger, activating in the viewer the notion of color as a material or physical situation, going into space without the aid of any form or even without any support, regardless of cultural beliefs.” The colors did feel more solid and physical than just light. I felt like every room had its own presence.

I enjoyed this Art Museum thoroughly and have recommended to a lot of my friends in the Orange County since LA is out of their scope.