April 20—or 4/20, a shorthand reference to marijuana—may not exactly be a national holiday, but it does get the attention of a lot of people in Los Angeles, where dispensaries for the drug seem as numerous as gas stations. Acknowledging the day was not just not just a bunch of stoners, but also members of the high art community who came to celebrate the Museum of Contemporary Art gala, known this year as Yesssss!, raising $2.5 million in the process.
This year's guest curator was New York visual artist Rob Pruitt. To that end, the gala—which the museum's Paula Morehouse and Veridiana Pontes-Ring oversaw in partnership with producer Bounce-AEG helmed by Carleen Cappelletti—was far from just a pretty dinner party; it was, rather, a mash-up of disparate ideas that also paid homage to cannabis subculture. The event celebrated the opening of the first major U.S. museum retrospective of works by Swiss-born artist Urs Fischer, and the idea was to complement Fischer’s propensity to bridge the ordinary and the fantastical through surprising combinations.
The evening began at Grand Avenue with a private preview of the exhibition, after which guests headed to the Geffen Contemporary for dinner on shuttles that presented a video by Cheech Marin giving an impromptu pottery lesson filmed while he was making clay sculptures for the exhibition.
The Geffen building was transformed with an array of absurdist images. More than 650 gala guests were seated, in Hawaiian leis, at Italian trattoria-style tables covered in red-and-white checked tablecloths with Chianti bottle drip candles. Centerpieces included bong vases with hemp, and a soundtrack included bird calls and whale songs. Burly men dressed as angels floated above the dinner guests, suspended from scissor lifts.
Video projections streamed across the walls over the course of the evening, showing the likes of YouTube hits, Internet cat memes, how-to videos, and wildlife documentaries. The outdoor lounge area, bathed in underwater projections, was located close to the smoking area and a so-called “4/20 buffet,” which included munchies like pizza, Chinese food, and junk food. The marijuana leaf motif featured prominently on the menus and on glittery pillows and throw blankets that adorned seating groups. Festivities continued with such offerings as a goat petting zoo and a cotton candy machine that spun candy onto glow sticks. A Parisian bistro-style dinner from Wolfgang Puck was barely underway when the U.S.C. marching band took over the hall, weaving between tables. The Go-Go's headlined the eclectic entertainment roster.
