Less than a week after being recognized for his own art with an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Beastie Boy Mike D opened Transmission LA: AV Club, an art exhibit at L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art he curated to acknowledge and share the work of others.
Described on MOCA’s exhibition detail page as “an interdisciplinary festival featuring the work of 16 contemporary artists, musicians, designers, filmmakers, and chefs,” Transmission LA is a 17-day, multi-medium cultural experience that attacks all five senses simultaneously through a combo of visual art, music and food strategically positioned throughout MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary exhibit space. Among the featured artists are sculptor Tom Sachs, chef Roy Choi and multimedia artist Cory Arcangel, and visitors to the exhibit will be treated to such unique installations as gigantic colored pinwheels and rooms covered in insane projections. There’s also an all-black room at the center of the show with nothing in it but the latest Mercedes-Benz (the event’s sponsor) concept car called the Concept Style Coupé and a few pairs of headphones playing an exclusive soundtrack produced by Mike’s fellow Beastie, Ad-Rock. Mike tells The Daily Beast he even wanted to get the now-famous Tupac hologram to make an appearance at the exhibit, but couldn’t because it had another show to do at this year’s Coachella festival.
To sum up the whole thing, Mike says it’s basically a “grown-up theme park, a Six Flags for adults.”
“I can truly say this installation will leave visitors stoked or nauseous or both,” he tells the Beast.
Transmission LA also features a number of live musical performances from the likes of Santigold, Diplo, DJ Jeremy Sole, even the West Coast’s own legendary Egyptian Lover (no, really!), making it an experience that’ll surely be hard to forget.
“The most exciting thing possible is when something is accessible and hits you viscerally, but also has a deeper artistic ambition and sophistication on another level,” celebrated street artist Shepard Fairey, most widely known for designing the signature images of U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, told The Hollywood Reporter after attending the event. “The best music does that and I think the best art does that, so bringing the two together in a space like this is fantastic.”
Transmission LA: AV Club runs through May 6. Check out some pictures and video of the exhibition below.
For more on Transmission LA: AV Club, visit the MOCA website, the show’s Facebook page or The Avant/Garde Diaries.
