Made it to the newest contemporary art museum in town brought to us by Maurice and Paul Marciano of GUESS? fame and their Marciano Art Collection. Housed in the Scottish Rite (like graduate school for Masons) Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard, it definitely made for a fun Friday afternoon exploration.

Featuring more than 100,000 square feet, the building was designed by Millard Sheets in 1961 then recently re-conceptualized by Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY. I found the glimpse into Mason culture particular fascinating. A “theater of ritual”: the building contained classrooms, meeting rooms, an impressive library, a 2,000-seat auditorium and a dining hall that could serve up to 1,500.

….long before Hollywood existed Masons were staging elaborate costumed rituals in front of fantastical painted backdrops. Indeed, many of the film industry’s early pioneers, including Cecil B. DeMille, Louis B. Mayer, Darryl F. Zanuck, and Walt Disney, were Masons.

But, back to the art.

Containing over 1,500 works by more than 200 artists, dating from the 1990’s to the present day, the Collection embodies a variety of formal and conceptual approaches in all mediums–ranging from painting, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, to installation, performance, film and digital work.

Taken during a work field trip on June 9, 2017.

la la land work life contemporary art Marciano Marciano Art Foundation Masons museum