4 LACMA Los Angeles—One of the newer major metropolitan museums in the United States, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was founded in 1961, when it became an independent entity from the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art (itself founded in 1910). LACMA moved into the core of its present complex on Wilshire Blvd. in 1965. This year, it is celebrating half a century at this location with a show descriptively titled 50 for 50: Gifts on the Occasion of LACMA’s Anniversary, which opened in late April as a semipermanent installation. The remarkable generosity of the museum’s patrons is effectively showcased here, ranging from Hans Memling’s Christ Blessing (1480) to Ernst Kirchner’s Dancer with Necklace (1910) to Bruce Nauman’s First Hologram Series: Making Faces (D and K) (1968). Prominent within such august company are two works of African art, a rare Kota janiform reliquary guardian fi gure from the Ndassa subgroup, the promised gift of Terry and Lionel Bell; and a Baga serpent headdress from Guinea, the promised gift of Bobby Kotick. The latter will be remembered for its record-breaking sale at Sotheby’s in 2008. Further, the show includes elements of the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of photography from Polynesia, also gifted for this show. This consists of more than 5,000 photographs, glass slides, original postcards, cartes de visite, and single photographic images that have been acquired over the course of thirty-fi ve years. The collection ranges in time from the 1860s to the present and includes the work of notable photographers such as Arthur James Iles, Thomas Andrew, and Frances Flaherty. Another part of the collection includes documentation on the history of surfi ng. This covers innovations in the sport from the 1950s through the 1960s and includes numerous posters and graphic works representing beach life, water sports, and the development of tourism in the Pacifi c from about 1900 onward. In addition to being included in the anniversary show, part of the Blackburn photography collection is on view in LACMA’s Pacifi c Galleries. Also at LACMA is African Textiles and Adornment: Selections from the Marcel and Zaira Mis Collection, on view until October 12. Featuring more than thirtyfi ve dynamic textiles and commanding headdresses, this exhibition emphasizes the profound visual impact of African textiles. Not only are these garments visually compelling, but they are also laden with emblems of power that signify the wealth, status, prestige, or even divinity of the bearer. Fashioned in a variety of techniques and enhanced with a broad range of natural materials, these extraordinary garments and headpieces sculpt the body into iconic form and serve as aesthetic surrogates for power and esteem. ABOVE LEFT: Duke Kahanamoku. C. 1917. Gelatin silver print. Partial gift of Mark and Carolyn Blackburn and purchased with funds from LACMA's 50th Anniversary Gala. LEFT: Serpent headdress, a-Mantsho-na-Tshol. Baga, Republic of Guinea. Possibly late 18th century. Wood, pigment. H: 166.4 cm. Promised gift of Bobby Kotick in honor of the museum’s 50th anniversary. Photo © Sotheby’s. BELOW: Robe, headdress and mask. Bamileke, Grasslands, Cameroon. Late 19th–early 20th century. Marcel & Zaira Mis Collection. Photo © Mauro Magliani, styled by Sandrard. BELOW: Headdress. Tetela, DR Congo. Late 19th–early 20th century. Marcel & Zaira Mis Collection. Photo © Mauro Magliani, styled by Sandrard. BOTTOM: Ceremonial robe. Yoruba, Nigeria. Late 19th– early 20th century. Marcel & Zaira Mis Collection. Photo © Mauro Magliani, styled by Sandrard.
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