MOCA Art in the Streets

So this isn't a beauty/fashion post. Instead I wanted to share a little bit of LA!

The Museum of Contemporary Art (or MOCA as we call it in LA) is the west coast answer to New York's MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) and London's Tate Modern.
MOCA is special because there are 3 branches and each I feel has a unique vibe. There's the Pacific Design Center which has a more fashion oriented vibe (currently on display are Rodarte creations including the ones seen in the movie Black Swan), there's the main Grand Ave location, and the Geffen Contemporary.
I went to the Geffen Contemporary to see an exhibit titled "Art in the Streets". Its about street art and graffiti.

Street art these past few years has experienced a MAJOR explosion thanks to artists like Shepard Fairey and Banksy. Surely you've heard of these two names right?

Image from HERE

Shepard Fairey created this historic and verrrry popular image of Obama during his presidential campaign. A viral photo indeed.
Street art has appeared in fashion too!

Image from HERE

Creative Director of Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, commissioned street artist Stephen Sprouse to design a line of speedy bags. Pretty cool right?

The MOCA (Geffen) is located in the heart of downtown LA in Japantown. Its actually a pretty large space. Probably was a factory or something at one point.

Even the bathrooms got to take part in the fun!

The point of this exhibit was to look at graffiti and street art as legitimate forms of art. Growing up in Los Angeles...pretty much everything gets tagged on. We kind of view it as ruining property. After a seeing this exhibit, however, I can say that I appreciate the more sophisticated street artists out there.

Los Angeles is definitely not lacking in culture (a popular criticism I hear) or a wonderful art scene and I think this proves it. If you happen to be in LA or live in LA come visit this exhibit! Its very fun and entertaining as long as you bring an open mind :) It runs til August.

So even though this post is a far cry from my usual stuff, I hope it was a fun read and you learned something!

And in case you were wondering....I did exit through the gift shop....

Cheers!