Ann Philbin & Jarl Mohn in Dialog

Ann Philbin has been the director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles since 1999. Throughout her tenure, she has helped remodeled the establishment—which is affiliated with the College of California, Los Angeles—into one of many nation’s most intently watched museums, hiring and creating main curatorial expertise and establishing the Made in L.A. biennial. She additionally secured free admission to
the Hammer starting in 2014 and spearheaded a $180 million capital marketing campaign to remodel the campus on Wilshire Boulevard.

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Jarl Mohn is likely one of the ARTnews High 200 Collectors. His Los Angeles dwelling focuses on his deep holdings in Minimalism and Gentle and Area artwork, whereas his New York residence presents a take a look at rising artists from LA. Mohn and his spouse, Pamela, are additionally main philanthropists: they endowed the $100,000 Mohn Award for the Hammer’s Made in L.A. biennial, and have given hundreds of thousands to the Institute of Up to date Artwork, Los Angeles (ICA LA) and the Brick (previously LAXART).

In August, Mohn introduced that some 350 works from his household assortment could be collectively shared by three museums, the Hammer, the Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork, and the Museum of Up to date Artwork. Known as the Mohn Artwork Collective, or MAC3, the reward contains dozens of works acquired from Made in L.A., in addition to funds to proceed so as to add to the gathering, together with from Made in L.A. Earlier this week, Philbin’s successor was named. Zoë Ryan, the director of the Institute of Up to date Artwork on the College of Pennsylvania (ICA Philadelphia), will assume the Hammer’s directorship in January.

ARTnews spoke with Philbin and Mohn in June on the Hammer’s workplaces to be taught extra about their love and assist for all issues Los Angeles.

ARTnews: What introduced you each to LA, and what was your sense of the artwork scene once you arrived?

Jarl Mohn: I used to be working in New York at MTV. A part of my job was to handle relations with document labels, music artists, and their managers, so I used to be in Los Angeles each month for per week for years. I might test into the Sundown Marquis in West Hollywood and spend per week going to the golf equipment, listening to music, calling on document labels. I fell in love with town. I stored saying to myself, “I’ve to discover a solution to transfer to this city.” After I had the prospect to maneuver, I related with HBO and so they gave me Movietime, which I changed into E!

Ann Philbin: I moved to LA in 1999. I had been the director of the Drawing Middle [in New York] for 9 years, and I felt it was time to maneuver on to the subsequent factor. I stored getting letters from UCLA about this job, and I might throw them away. Lastly, my good friend the artist Lari Pittman known as—he was on the search committee—and stated, “Why haven’t we heard from you?” I stated, “I’ve by no means even heard of that place, and I like my life in NYC. Why would I am going there?” And he stated, “As a result of it has nice potentialities.” The place was empty and moribund however I believed, rattling, I do know what this may very well be. One factor led to a different, and I took the job and moved to LA.

ARTnews: LA was a really completely different city 25 years in the past.

Philbin: All my buddies in New York had been like, “Are you loopy? You’re transferring to Los Angeles? You’re ruining your profession.” Folks actually made me nervous, however I believed, I’ll give it 5 years most, after which I’ll hightail it again to New York. However I fell in love with town too. And, in fact, 25 years later, it’s a completely different artwork world right here. I like the truth that you’ll be able to construct issues right here as a result of it’s a younger metropolis with all types of potentialities. It’s not totally baked but. The town was teeming with artists—it was the rationale why I knew I might be OK in LA. There was one thing wanted locally, particularly for rising artists. At the moment, the younger artists who graduated from all of the artwork faculties felt they needed to transfer to New York so as to have a profession. It appeared like there was a chance right here from an institutional perspective.

ARTnews: Jarl, how did you discover your approach from music and leisure into supporting the visible arts and serving to remodel town?

Mohn: It occurred organically. I liked town as a result of the music, tv, and movie industries—the companies I used to be in—have all the time been foundational parts of town, and I like how inventive town is, now that we’re speaking in regards to the visible arts as effectively. This can be a hotbed of creativity. Being round artists has all the time been very thrilling and fascinating to me. The way in which I got here to visible arts is as a result of we had a brand new home and my spouse, Pam, stated, “I feel we have to begin gathering artwork.” I stated, “That’s the dumbest factor on the planet—gathering artwork is loopy. The whole artwork world is about as much as make the most of folks like us that don’t know what we’re doing. We’re going to be taken to the cleaners.”

Philbin: And also you had been! [Laughs.]

Mohn: —with a smile. I’ve been gathering now for 33 years. I’ve gone by completely different phases. After I discuss to people who find themselves involved in gathering, I all the time inform them: “Your tastes are going to vary. What you want once you first begin just isn’t going to stay frozen in amber. And it’s going to take some time to determine what it’s that you simply actually love.” I imagine that collections have to have a thread, a theme, a by line to make sense as a real assortment, versus an aggregation of objects. It took me about 10 years for that first part, which was my love of Minimalism and Gentle and Area. Then, getting concerned within the artwork group and seeing what was occurring round me and right here on the Hammer, I grew to become extra conscious of the rising artwork group. I stated to myself, Why don’t you begin gathering that? I believed what’s occurring here’s what occurred in New York within the ’50s and ’60s and what occurred in Paris on the flip of the century.

ARTnews: How did you two meet?

Mohn: I don’t keep in mind the entire story however in some unspecified time in the future [art dealer] Doug Chrismas known as me and stated, “Annie Philbin wants some cash for X artist. Would you’re taking a name from her?”

Philbin: It might need been about Lee Mullican as a result of that was the primary present right here, and Lee had simply died so I wished to honor him. All I wanted was $10,000 for a brochure however I didn’t know anybody to name.

Mohn: I feel I might need given you $10,000.

Philbin: Sure, I feel you probably did assist me, and also you had been the one one who did it with out having to fulfill me and get to know me first. In LA, particularly 25 years in the past, elevating cash for the museum required that you simply needed to know folks effectively earlier than you requested for assist. In LA, it was a for much longer and extra intimate course of, even to boost small quantities of cash.

Mohn: I don’t keep in mind what my motivation was. I simply keep in mind having a superb dialog with you. Then it was a time frame earlier than we grew to become buddies and started working with one another. The large change occurred proper earlier than Made in L.A.

Philbin: We had been engaged on the concept of Made in L.A. and Jarl approached the Hammer, MOCA, LACMA, and the Getty, and stated he wished to provide an artist award, a Mohn Prize, to an LA artist. We tried to consider the way to do it collectively and couldn’t determine it out. Then I pitched it for Made in L.A., which you preferred. And that’s how that bought began.

ARTnews: Made in L.A. was already within the works at that time?

Philbin: Sure, however we hadn’t accomplished one but. The curators had been already visiting studios for the primary version in 2012. When Jarl stated he wished to create the Mohn Prize, I mentioned it with the curators, my staff, after which the Artist Council, a rotating committee of a couple of dozen artists who advise us about all types of issues associated to the museum’s practices. We take their opinions and recommendation very critically. We defined to the Artist Council {that a} collector and philanthropist named Jarl Mohn wished to provide a prize for $100,000 to “the perfect artist within the present,” to be decided by a jury of museum curators. Nicely, they didn’t like the truth that it was known as a “prize,” however they felt comfy with “award.” The opposite factor they didn’t like was that it might go to one artist. That required a bigger dialog, so I requested the Council in the event that they wished to talk to Jarl instantly. After a really tense and sturdy dialog, we determined to do three awards: the Mohn Award ($100,000); a Public Recognition Award ($25,000), for which the general public votes on their favourite artist; and a Profession Achievement award ($25,000) for “brilliance and resilience.” It price Jarl much more cash, however everybody got here away very glad, together with the Artist Council.

Mohn: And it made it a greater thought. When Annie known as me the primary time to inform me there was pushback, I used to be like, ‘You’ve bought to be kidding me—how can anyone object to this?’ However we ended up with one thing higher. One of many objections the Artist Council had—which I didn’t perceive utterly then and have a larger appreciation for now—is their dedication to the sense of group right here. They acknowledge it as one thing very particular and distinctive to this metropolis. They satisfied me that it was actual. After I look again now at the place we’re as a metropolis, I feel one of many issues that’s nice about LA is the extremely robust sense of group. I feel it differentiates us from nearly another place on the planet. And the Artist Council, which Annie put into place, has been one of many causes that that exists.

Philbin: Ultimately, all of it labored out, and the individuals who have acquired the Mohn Award through the years have gone on to nice careers, like Kandis Williams and Lauren Halsey, to call a pair.

Mohn: I feel the momentum has simply elevated over time. The final Made in L.A., in 2023, I took teams by the exhibition and noticed issues on my twelfth go to that I hadn’t seen earlier than. It was so wealthy. Each time I got here by, whether or not it was a weekday morning or a weekend night time, all of the galleries had been stuffed, with each potential age group, each strata of society. It’s touched so many lives—not simply artists however the individuals who stay right here. It’s actually engaged them in artwork.

ARTnews: Jarl, extra lately you gave $4.4 million to the ICA LA and $1 million to the Brick. How did that come about?

Mohn: There’s no grand technique right here. I might weave a narrative and reverse-engineer it to inform you it was all a part of a plan. However being concerned with Annie and the Hammer and Made in L.A. modified my life, and has introduced me an unbelievable quantity of pleasure. [The gifts] had been only a pure extension.

ARTnews: Annie, are you able to discuss extra in regards to the infrastructure you’ve constructed right here, like Hammer Tasks?

Philbin: Hammer Tasks happened as a result of we had the motivation, however we additionally had these small areas everywhere in the museum that had been constructed for functions apart from galleries. They felt like good locations for laboratories for artists—area by which we might invite artists early of their profession to exhibit and never fear about “scholarship” or “museum high quality” points. We wished to have a construction that might accommodate all this stuff—in addition to experimentation, nimbleness, and an artist-centric strategy. One of many issues that I felt from the second I arrived on the Hammer is that I wished to make an establishment that spoke at first to the artists on the town. They’d be our major viewers. They’d be who we’re going to speak to and make exhibits for. Most of the people will come later. It took a very long time for most of the people to know or care about what we had been doing. As an alternative of specializing in attendance figures, this was our strategy, and I feel it labored for us. [Making admission] free was additionally a giant step.

Mohn: What 12 months was “THING”? That’s when the Hammer got here on my radar.

Philbin: “THING” was in 2005. That was form of the primary Made in L.A., though we didn’t label it that on the time.

ARTnews: What about “THING” caught your eye?

Mohn: I’ve all the time preferred objects and sculpture. I simply keep in mind how revolutionary that present was, and what number of objects had been in it. It was all new to me—and it was thrilling. I simply liked that present and the truth that it was all LA artists: Jedediah Caesar, Matt Johnson, Nathan Mabry, Rodney McMillian, Kristen Morgin, Joel Morrison, Kaz Oshiro, Mindy Shapero. I had by no means seen something prefer it.

Philbin: That exhibition actually did resonate for folks, and there was a whole lot of consideration on it from the bigger artwork world.

Mohn: I nonetheless have a particular affinity for all of the artists who’ve been in Made in L.A., significantly these from 2012, as a result of it was the primary one. There’s a handful of artists—together with Analia Saban, Liz Glynn, Kathryn Andrews, Nery Lemus, and Mark Hagen—that I’ve remained buddies with since 2012, and when a brand new Made in L.A. opens, now we have lunch after which we undergo the present collectively.

Philbin: It’s true you could have made good buddies. You stuffed your entire gala desk with 20 Made in L.A. artists! What’s wonderful about the best way you acquire, Jarl, is that you’ve two distinct collections. The Minimalist assortment, right here in LA, is a powerful group of artists, together with Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Michael Heizer, Mary Corse, and James Turrell, to call just a few. Then your home in New York has all of your Made in L.A. artists. It’s a visible cacophony. It’s great you can so passionately embrace each these issues concurrently.

Mohn: That was another excuse why I wished to discover what was occurring right here with rising artists. Minimalism and Gentle and Area—I like them. I’m not an professional, by any means, and there’s a lot extra to be taught. However after some time I knew the artists, I knew the collection, I knew the years. I wished one thing in good situation with respectable provenance at a worth that is sensible. So  I questioned, What’s one thing else I can mine? What can I dive into that will likely be an limitless exploration?

Philbin: —and life-enriching, as a result of you could have relationships with the youthful LA artists. These individuals are your buddies.

Mohn: Sure, and most of them are far youthful, which has nice advantages. We did a tour of our New York dwelling early on, when Annie was on the town for one of many artwork festivals with a bunch of museum patrons, and Annie stated, “what I discover actually fascinating is the best way you’ve been capable of finding the Minimalist thread in all these new artists.” And I used to be like, “that’s utterly what I shouldn’t be doing,” as a result of my function in getting concerned in rising LA artwork was a way of discovery, one thing new. It compelled me to assume extra expansively about what I used to be buying. With out my even being conscious of it, I used to be gravitating to a really minimalist strategy, and Annie’s remark actually compelled me to open the lens.

Philbin: You may have one of many first Turrell theaters, proper?

Mohn: I’ve the one one. There are a whole lot of areas, however I’ve the one theater.

Philbin: Oh, I didn’t notice that. Jim designed all of the furnishings, and the entire ceiling of the room, in fact, opens as much as a Turrell skyspace. It’s a spectacular present earlier than the present—and also you started working with Jim on that. After which the opposite mind-boggling bold piece in your assortment is the Michael Heizer, which is your most up-to-date set up. What number of tons does that rock weigh?

Mohn: Three-and-a-quarter tons. It’s in my workplace, embedded within the wall—the rock in a field. I noticed that piece initially once we went to Metropolis in 2007/2008. I fell in love with the piece, after which it got here up years later on the FOG Design+Artwork honest [in San Francisco]. Gagosian was promoting it. In a giant area, all you need to do is truck it in and drywall. In a home, it’s a bit completely different. For us, it required eradicating an exterior wall, reframing it in metal, digging down 4 toes, placing in industrial concrete and rebar, after which closing my avenue for 3 hours, craning it over the wall, rolling it into place, bolting it into the concrete. Oh, and I needed to jackhammer a fire out, which took seven days. I confirmed an image of the development to Heizer, who noticed an exterior wall gone and stated, “that’s a hell of a dedication.” I don’t need this to sound detrimental, however I want extra people who find themselves dedicated to artwork had been dedicated to not simply the establishments that acquire this stuff however to the idea of gathering issues which are onerous to gather, versus shopping for a portray and placing it on a wall.

Philbin: Nothing is an excessive amount of hassle for you! I simply visited the Kramlichs up in Napa Valley. I had by no means seen the Herzog & de Meuron home and their media assortment. It’s the proper instance of that form of bold gathering of artwork that may be very troublesome for many collectors. The artwork got here first, and so they constructed round it.

Mohn: Artwork museums do this too. And that’s one of many nice issues that they do for the cities and the communities that they’re in. I feel, for collectors, it’s necessary to have a set meaning one thing. I don’t care if it’s porcelain dolls from the Franklin Mint: simply stand for one thing! However to have one thing that nobody else has actually makes a set distinctive and particular. That’s what I like in regards to the Turrell screening room and the Michael Heizer. When folks see the boulder in the home, they’re not going to neglect it. They could or might not prefer it, however they’re not going to neglect it. That’s what we had been making an attempt to do.

ARTnews: What would you say are some current pivotal moments in LA’s artwork scene?

Philbin: I feel the best way the LA museum group has turn out to be a lot stronger during the last 20 years is an important factor. Between the Hammer, MOCA, LACMA, the Broad, ICA LA, and the Brick, there’s an pleasure round modern artwork establishments. Add to that the rising worldwide gallery scene and the Getty’s PST ART initiative, and you’ve got a really dynamic artwork ecology. For those who rely the musicians, filmmakers, visible artists, and makers on this city, now we have extra inventive folks per capita right here than anyplace on the planet. What a distinction the final 20 years have made. I feel this inventive explosion goes to be sustained.

Mohn: A pivotal second and an ideal studying expertise for me was Pacific Commonplace Time [now PST ART]. What I noticed and realized from that’s how a lot establishments liked working with one another, which will get again to the notion of group and collaboration.

Philbin: The Getty deserves huge credit score for displaying how a lot is happening right here from an institutional perspective, and bringing it to the fore. The form of scholarship that they’ve invited and supported has modified the canon of artwork historical past. The primary version was extremely necessary. Our present, “Now Dig This!: Artwork and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980,” went to MoMA, and so they bought works of a dozen Black artists who entered their assortment for the primary time. That’s canon-changing. This fall, greater than 70 exhibitions will open throughout Southern California as a part of the PST ART initiative.

ARTnews: What do you assume the longer term holds for LA and its artwork scene?

Mohn: I’m a giant believer in momentum, and the momentum I see right here is exceptional. I feel it’s the confluence of a whole lot of issues: all of the establishments on the town, the collegial nature of the artists, nice artists getting their MFAs—at UCLA, USC, Otis, CalArts, ArtCenter—and staying right here, galleries coming into city. As a enterprise individual, I don’t know that there’s sufficient to assist all of the galleries right here, however I feel the truth that they need to be right here is a good signal. I feel that is—and will likely be for a very long time—the epicenter for creativity, all creativity writ massive: tv, movie, music, visible arts. Ten, 20 years out, I solely see it being larger and higher.

Philbin: Additionally, change is afoot. Change is going on in each sector of our world proper now. I don’t know what’s going to occur right here on the Hammer, however will probably be completely different. There’ll be a youthful era in cost, and will probably be thrilling to see what is going to unfold. For the reason that pandemic, there are shifts so profound that I don’t assume now we have even realized but the place we’re going. I feel the quantity of change that’s going to be occurring within the subsequent decade is fairly unimaginable. The way it all shakes out is nerve-wracking, however will probably be fascinating. Those who all the time discover a solution to manifest anew are the artists, in order that they’ll determine it out a method or one other.

ARTnews: Is there anything?

Mohn: I need to know what Annie’s going to do subsequent.

Philbin: I don’t know. I actually imply it. However I do know I’m not completed working, so one thing will unfold.

Mohn: That’s good. I like listening to that. You’ve been too necessary to this city. 

A model of this text seems within the 2024 ARTnews High 200 Collectors concern.