Star-studded movie premieres and award-show parties are commonplace in Los Angeles, but it was a museum opening on Saturday night that drew celebrities away from other Hollywood functions, including the smattering of Grammy-related fetes in town that evening. Tony Bennett, Christina Aguilera, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes were among the attendees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's black-tie gala to unveil the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. The A-list guest list hinted at the influence of the museum's namesake, billionaire Eli Broad, who footed its $56 million cost and whose foundation owns most of the works on display, including pieces by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Rauschenberg.
Guests entered the high-style event through artist Chris Burden’s permanent outdoor “Urban Light” installation, a collection of vintage lampposts that illuminated the way to a pre-dinner cocktail reception in a pavilion featuring Jeff Koons’s tulip sculptures.Event producer Ben Bourgeois, who worked with Lacma’s Michael Ruff, strove to create an atmosphere in keeping with the museum’s architecture and artwork: “The party itself is a contemporary art installation,” said Bourgeois, who brought in a temporary 22,000-square-foot steel structure for the dinner portion of the evening. Bourgeois covered the interior of the space, including the walls, tables, and chairs, in white Ultrasuede, and hung 12 cube-shaped light installations (also covered in Ultrasuede) with bottom panels lit using programmable plasma-screen tiles.
Lionel Richie performed during the dinner, as did musician William Joseph, who performed his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on a floating stage that descended from the structure's ceiling. Once the stage hit the floor, the structure’s south wall dropped, revealing BCAM. “[Joseph’s] new version of 'Kashmir' is very contemporary, uplifting, and motivating, and it has a great crescendo that is the perfect moment to reveal the museum,” Bourgeois said. “It’s has a little bit of old married with something modern for the reveal.”
Guests followed an illuminated central plexi floor path glowing in red—complementing the prominent red accents of the museum’s architecture—to view the inaugural installation. Members of an electronic violin orchestra sat on pedestals uplit in red and played “Kashmir” as attendees strolled from the structure to the museum.
Guests entered the high-style event through artist Chris Burden’s permanent outdoor “Urban Light” installation, a collection of vintage lampposts that illuminated the way to a pre-dinner cocktail reception in a pavilion featuring Jeff Koons’s tulip sculptures.Event producer Ben Bourgeois, who worked with Lacma’s Michael Ruff, strove to create an atmosphere in keeping with the museum’s architecture and artwork: “The party itself is a contemporary art installation,” said Bourgeois, who brought in a temporary 22,000-square-foot steel structure for the dinner portion of the evening. Bourgeois covered the interior of the space, including the walls, tables, and chairs, in white Ultrasuede, and hung 12 cube-shaped light installations (also covered in Ultrasuede) with bottom panels lit using programmable plasma-screen tiles.
Lionel Richie performed during the dinner, as did musician William Joseph, who performed his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on a floating stage that descended from the structure's ceiling. Once the stage hit the floor, the structure’s south wall dropped, revealing BCAM. “[Joseph’s] new version of 'Kashmir' is very contemporary, uplifting, and motivating, and it has a great crescendo that is the perfect moment to reveal the museum,” Bourgeois said. “It’s has a little bit of old married with something modern for the reveal.”
Guests followed an illuminated central plexi floor path glowing in red—complementing the prominent red accents of the museum’s architecture—to view the inaugural installation. Members of an electronic violin orchestra sat on pedestals uplit in red and played “Kashmir” as attendees strolled from the structure to the museum.
BCAM\'S opening gala
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Costumed performers and stiltwalkers circulated around artist Chris Burden's light installation.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Light installations hanging from a temporary structure's ceiling featured the BCAM acronym.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Programmable plasma-screen tiles illuminated the undersides of the hanging installations.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Red-faced members of the Red Man Orchestra played "Kashmir" as guests entered the museum.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Musician William Joseph performed on a descending stage.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
Ice sculptures in the shape of waiters served up champagne.
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography
