3 days ago
Jeff Koons' 37-Foot 'Split-Rocker' to Blossom at LACMA
Summary
After stops at Versailles and Rockefeller Center,Jeff Koons' 37-foot-tallSplit-Rockerwill call the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) its permanent home. Gifted to the museum by art collectors Lynda and Stewart Resnick, the large-scale artist proof will be planted outside the new David Geffen galleries later this year, and will anchor the new outdoor public art program integral to LACMA's freshly completed expansion.
Koons marries two halves of children's toys for the flower-forward piece – his son's rocking belonging to his son and a dinosaur – evoking the cartoonish, nostalgic charm at the heart of his most famed works. Planted in its metal skeleton are 50,000 native succulents, perennials, annuals and other blooms. According to theLos Angeles Times, the acquisition and attuning ofSplit-Rockerwas years in the making, as Koons and LACMA consulted a team of local horticulturalists for the selection of drought-tolerant flowers fit for the SoCal climate.
The Peter Zumthor-designed Geffen Galleries, which will house the museum's permanent collection, include a new building and outdoor spaces spanning 3.5 acres across both sides of Wilshire Houlevard. Additional works to look forward to feature the likes of Diana Thater, Mariana Castillo Deball, Liz Glynn, Pedro Reyes and more.
Split-Rockerwill be seeded later this summer with hopes to be fully bloomed by next April. In the meantime, Kamasi Washington and his 100-person ensemble are taking over the 110,000-square-feet Geffen galleries for a run of performances on June 26-28. Head to the museum'swebsitefor more details.
