Take an art exhibition, a silent auction, and a James Bond-themed fund-raiser, and you'll get a very large, upscale crowd packing the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).The valet parking at MOCA shut down early on Saturday night when Park One ran out of space. With so many people attending, a large line of guests waited to get into the museum. The guests who braved the line stood patiently on that red carpet, with their fur coats and fancy suits, staring at the circular red, white, and black POP 007 logo projected onto the venue on their right, and at The Collection's platinum Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the high-performance British sports car made famous in the Bond movies. Over the P.A. system, played a jazzy rendition of the revered secret agent's theme song. Once inside, the crowd was greeted with a silent auction to the left, an art exhibition to the right, and a party in the back, all under the guise of a formal gala.
The auction featured such items as a Nile cruise and other exotic international trips, a two-night and three-day stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, sports memorabilia like an Alonzo Mourning HEAT jersey and a signed basketball, home design items such as a pair of John Adler-sculpted Man & Woman decanters, a BOSE stereo system, glamorous jewelry, and roughly two dozen other items.
The art exhibition just across the way, entitled Merce Cunningham: Dancing on the Cutting Edge Part 1, featured several installations—such as Ernesto Neto's Otheranimal, a piece using pellets to weigh down sections of an outstretched Lycra fabric in order to represent sensuous skin—to build up to the main exhibit. That exhibit, a digital video entitled Lifelike, was a joint effort between Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar, Marc Downie, and Merce Cunningham. Cunningham, an 87-year-old former dancer, wanted to dance for the crowd, but due to his advanced age, instead put sensors on his hands and "danced" with those. His motion capture video was then given to dancers to emulate the hands' movements. One black screen and a couple of photography tricks later, the result premiered as this breakthrough exhibit featuring a dancing green light and several choreographed shadows.
Behind all this fun, a party was raging in MOCA's Paradise Courtyard, courtesy of event coordinators Le Basque Catering & Productions. Guests walked in past a 60-foot video wall that featured bold graphics and images of a distinctive Bond-like character, an installation produced by graphic designer Zoa Martinez.
After doing so, they could choose between entering Prager Productions' white casino tent or visiting the various food stations. The tent, which definitely would have met with Bond's approval, featured the top prize of a weekend's use of the Aston Martin. If people weren't gambling in there, they were munching right outside. The Sonesta Hotel & Suites, Coconut Grove's food station offered items such as the "License to Roast" (roasted rack of lamb with aji panca demi glace, aji amarillo mashed potato, cilantro, and aji panca oil) and the "Thunderball Shots" (lightly poached shrimp and squid in a cream rocoto sauce), both to be consumed alongside "Ceviche Martinis" (which were "shaken, not stirred" with traditional ceviche marinade). Two smaller stations—catered by Sara Sharpe Catering and TasteBuds—provided similar items. Additionally, Touch Catering had butlers passing around hors d'oeuvres, Ghirardelli provided chocolates, and public relations firm Harrison & Shriftman hired Grey Goose to handle all the liquor from an ice sculpture-topped bar.
Design in the courtyard, such as the candelabras and vases, was handled by Jose Zaldivar of Karla Conceptual Event Experiences, and it all nicely complemented the sophisticated music provided by both DJ Hottpants (8 PM to 9:30 PM) and DJ Shlomi (9:30 PM to 12:00 AM). One section was dressed in all-white linens, square tables, and couches. Another section contained lengthy black-clothed cocktail tables topped by feathery mini lantern centerpieces. Throughout the venue, there were circular sofas backed by neon-lit acrylics. There was also a white screen, reminiscent of the installation inside, that displayed silhouettes of Katie Stirman Productions' dancers. All was made to appear very upscale and was, for the most part, created using Elegant Parties' rentals.
The highlight of the night was when MOCA director Bonnie Clearwater got on the microphone and announced that Dolores and Dr. Sanford Ziff had donated $120,000 to the museum in the form of an endowment. This news paved the way for a performance—including a sultry rendition of "Diamonds Are Forever"—by famed drag queen Adora. The night gathered 800 people and raised more than $300,000 to fund art acquisitions by emerging and mid-career artists for MOCA's permanent collection.
—Albert del Toral
Games like blackjack and roulette were played in the white casino that Prager Productions set up for a chance to win a weekend's use of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
The MOCA entrance featured a red carpet in the middle, a platinum British sports car to the left, and the POP 007 red, white, and black logo projected onto the wall on the right.
Representing sensuous skin and building up to the main art exhibition, Ernesto Neto's Otheranimal installation weighed down sections of pink Lycra using pellets.
Mini football helmets, signed basketballs, and player jerseys were just some of the sports memorabilia present at MOCA's silent auction to benefit its permanent collection.
MOCA wall branding, neon-lit acrylics, a buffet-style food station, and black linen-clad cocktail tables with jazzy centerpieces defined the Paradise Courtyard's decor.
Sonesta Hotel & Suites, Sara Sharpe Catering, TasteBuds, Touch Catering, and Ghirardelli all contributed food stations topped with roses, candles, ice sculptures, etc.
Several attendees posed in front of the 60-foot video wall, which showed clips of a James Bond-like figure living the good life.
Dancers from Katie Stirman Productions boogied in front of a white screen, leaving guests on the other side to see only their shadows moving to the beat.
Karla Conceptual Event Experiences and Le Basque Catering & Productions coordinated most of the party's decor, resulting in simple yet elegant furnishings like this all-white table and chair set.
Sporting a white cocktail dress and some black fur, famed drag queen Adora drew more than her share of stares as she performed songs like "Diamonds Are Forever" for guests.
