Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) - What's Next?

[Lyubov]

During the most recent Representative Assembly meeting on 15 April, several motions were made and carried, regarding the Museum of Contemporary Art, MoCA.

Minutes: http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8929
Transcript: http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8927

NL 4-12 MoCa Charter Acceptance Act was moved to Archaic Code.
NL 4-13 MoCa Franchise Agreement was moved to Repealed Laws.

https://cdsdemocracy.org/code-of-laws-2/

Finally, a "Motion to start a thread on the CDS forums to initiate a conversation about the purpose of and the running of the MoCA, and what its future should be." carried. This post is made in compliance with that motion.

Some recent background:

Visiting the museum today shows an outside poster advertising the exhibit, "Blurring Reality: Opening January 2012". A sign inside promotes the "Art Lovers Ring", but touching it returns the error, "Sorry, no kiosks could be found in the database". The exhibit information notecard lists 45 works from 2004 through 2011.

Beginning with the 10 December 2018 RA meeting, the NL 3-6 MoCA Act has been an agenda item listed for review. At the 7 January meeting, the RA carried a "Motion for Kyoko and Emilia to form a "working group" with interested citizens (Delia etc) to renew the MoCA act and then execute on this new vision."

http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8821

During the 26 January RA meeting, "Kyoko reported that she has established the task force which will consist of Emilia, Rosie, Delia, Kayly Ialy, and herself. A first meeting still needs to be set."

http://forums.slcds.info/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8833

Since this time, the NL 3-6 MoCA Act "working group" progress report has been either "no report" or the issue has been tabled. As a result, at the most recent RA meeting a motion carried to bring the topic to this forum for discussion.

What is the purpose of MoCA and how should it be run? What should the future of MoCA be?

[Rosie Gray]

Here is the text of NL 3-6, which is now out of date for several reasons and is under review by the RA:

NL 3-6 MoCA Act

This Act establishes a Museum of Contemporary Art to be build by the Guild and owned and operated by the city.

The maintenance and operation can and should be outsourced to a private group
(either from within the guild or not – guild gets first choice). So there will be no “deed”.
Just a standard contract agreed between the City and the private group, where the
private group is entitled to all the revenues and benefits on the MoCA (and it even gets
the building for free), but the City owns the land beneath.

The “contract” should have a duration (say, 3 months) and set some goals (eg. number
of artistic & cultural events held there, number of visitors, traffic generated for the
City, etc.), and be automatically revalidated if all goals are achieved. If they aren’t, it’s
up to the City to discuss more reasonable goals, or make a new contract with a
different group.

Point one of this act was to establish the building to be created by the then Guild, to be owned and operated by the city. The Guild mentioned is the original guild, and referencing the city is because this was before we were the Confederation of Democratic Simulators. We inherited this from Neualtenburg.

Point two references a private group, with a duration and goals. As far as I know for all the time I've been in the CDS there has only been the one group with control over the MoCa project; MoCA Neufreistadt. Looking at the 46 group members of MoCA Neufreistadt, there are 34 people that haven't even logged into SL since 2017. It would seem that the group either needs a revival or an admission that it has run its course.

This brings me to the question of what is our vision for the MoCA? Should we continue with the idea of a museum of original contemporary virtual world art? Should we be housing the really old works located there now forever? i.e. the full bright yellow 'Infra Assemblage' experimental piece from Adam Ramona, 2007 on the roof now. It's kind of interesting when you go and have a look at it, and walk around within the pieces as they create music. It's an interactive musical instrument, quite beautiful in its way. However, I'm afraid that is lost on most people who seem to view it completely as an eyesore from afar.

What could we do to revive the MoCA? I'd love to hear people's ideas.

[Em Warden]

We already have the Art Café, the Bauhaus (presently featuring Kandinsky and a couple of other famous painters) and Kayly Iali's place in LA. We once had a temporary art exhibition in the Biergarten, and that could certainly be repeated if somebody has the energy to arrange it. And now we also got the huge Victoria Luise Museum of Art.

These places exist because of a personal interest in art. MoCa too must once have been founded by people with a strong interest in art, but the project quietly died- unmoarned as it seems. The reason may well have been the restrictions and demands connected to it, which certainly could have hampered the enthusiasm in the long run. But the probable reason is that most of the people who started it and believed in the project are no longer here.

Normally I feel a deep reverence for CDS history, but in this case I see no reason to try some kind of reconstruction. To me the MoCa building is a museum showing an old art museum, if that makes sense. Everything depends on whether some citizens have the time, energy and interest to start over with something new. It will mean a lot of work, and we will need an enthusiastic curator/gallerist or two.

If a majority of us citizens want to keep the MoCa as an art museum or an art gallery, I think we should rename it and avoid cathegorizing the art exhibited this time. We could have, say, a photo art exhibition followed by impressionist art, pop art, citizens' own art works, sculpture, glass art, prehistoric rock carvings, you name it... The exhibitions ought to change at least twice a year to keep the place alive.

As for the building itself, it is, eh, monumental. And futuristic, in spite of it's old age. I know- all the new RL art museums look futuristic and out of place in their surrounding But If we could at least have it re-textured and perhaps a bit less overwhelming, I think that NFS as a whole would benefit from it. That is, if someone volunteers to run the business... If not, one more of Sudane's pretty houses for residents would be welcome to take it's place.

I am looking forward to input from the rest of the citizens.

[Tanoujin Milestone]

Just a footnote: there was a bw video on the ground floor displayed opposite to the entrance some years ago. It was a female dancer, showing what I interpreted as the life of a woman, including giving birth, raising a child and dying in the end. I do not remember credits, but my intuition tells me Sudane could know more about it - anyway, it touched my soul, and I want it back...

Some things are worth to be displayed permanently - there is so much change all the time - we do not need to sweep everything out all the time no matter what

Just sayin‘

[Sudane Erato]

The MoCA is a very old institution in the CDS, one of the originals in fact. Ulrika's conception of "Neualtenburg" (the original name of Neufreistadt) was that, while inspired by the medieval German city of Rothenberg, it would incorporate modernistic elements. The most prominent of these was the MoCA, which originally was a build looking something like a small version of the Guggenheim Museum (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) in New York City. https://photos.app.goo.gl/R8vD9HoEWjUDZS2y8. Sadly, I'm not aware of any external pictures of it. But, when I first joined Neualtenberg in Nov 2004, the Museum was there, and I volunteered to be the Curator... my very first "job" in what would become our community. Pictures of the inside of the museum, and it's place in the city... where it is now, but appearing in its circular form, are in my album "The Oldest Snapshots", here: https://goo.gl/photos/G5eiEJvBt9va2gmy8

I organized a couple of art shows there (as you can see from the snapshots), but the space was VERY cramped, and was early on designated for replacement. A couple of years later (I can check the financial reports to determine exactly when), the creator of the current build was commissioned, and paid, to build the current structure. It was always controversial, but it complied with the concept of providing the modernistic element to the city, so its stayed. I think that after it was build, Delia and others formed the MoCA support group and put on the first exhibition (in which the video that Tan remembers appeared... yes... I was connected with that). Later a second exhibition was mounted.

That's about the extent of my recollection. The institution is very very old, contained within the original conception of the CDS. But the current build, and its program, is newer, so I think that, as is in keeping with the life of communities, we should keep re-thinking and re-purposing institutions and ideas.

Sudane..............

[Awenbunny Lisle]

Perhaps someone who isn't already involved in running the community or perhaps isn't even already a member of the community might be approached? The woman who is running ArtWalk in Raglan Shire. Its a huge undertaking. 150 artists display. We do it yearly. She might be well chuffed to be offered the chance to be curator of a prestigious museum. =) Quite a feather in her Squabbity hat. She's a Tiny. But size shouldn't matter.
Just a thought. I'm sure some of you must know artists who have would love to do such a thing?

[Rosie Gray]

I would expect whoever takes on the MoCa programming to be a CDS citizen. There are a lot of talented folks who are quite capable!

[Kyoko]

Rosie said.

I would expect whoever takes on the MoCa programming to be a CDS citizen. There are a lot of talented folks who are quite capable!

I agree re: citizenship, but there is no reason we can't ask for advice

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

Or you could invite someone "outside" to come join the community...

[Rosie Gray]

Firstly, we need a discussion about what we want the MoCa to be. Without a mandate it would be pretty difficult for anyone to manage the museum.

1) Should the focus be on long-term (I don't mean 10 years, more like 1 or 2 years) displays, permanent sections, an area that rotates pieces frequently?
2) What type of art should go there? Should we allow real-life photography for instance?
3) What organization would oversee the management?
4) Would the management report to the Chancellor? To the RA? To the LUC?
5) How should we honour the history of the MoCA?
6) Should we keep some of the historical pieces as a part of a permanent collection?
7) Who should 'own' the pieces and who should have permissions to move them around or store them, keeping in mind the inherited aspects of this decision?
8 ) What does everyone think of the building itself?

I'm sure there are other questions that I haven't thought of.

[Emilia Avindar]

I need to come look really hard at this build again. From the view of the Chancellor's Office where i was seated at my lovely desk, which Chancellor Kyoko gave me (when I moved in as her new PIO, but sadly I am now her old and outgoing PIO, however I remain grateful for the opportunity to have been in her tutelage there) ...
/me pauses to catch her breath...because here comes my honest thought..well that yellow thing on top was a travesty to see. Think how far we have come in several years?
Maybe the objects rendered fine in those days. In optimized graphics, it's concept art, and it's a glaring, full bright headache with no context.

As our "vision" improves, we need to update the art displayed on top of the MoCA to reflect what is relevant and thought provoking. MoCA may be a deeply rooted tradition, but it dominates the view in the central area, and it's time to ask if the long shadow is organic or a digital relic?

I had no idea it was based on a Frank Lloyd Wright design. I wish it looked more FLW from that upper window. I'm going to go look again and hug Kyoko.

[Sudane Erato]

I had no idea it was based on a Frank Lloyd Wright design. I wish it looked more FLW from that upper window. I'm going to go look again and hug Kyoko.

No no! This build is not an FLW-inspired design... the *original* one was. It's long gone.

Sudane.................

[Emilia Avindar]

Thanks for clarification, Sudane!

I did go back to take a look from the ground. One thing I noticed is draw distance is close in there, and I didn't get to stay long. I think an increasing number of SL users are trying to use light clients and find it awkward to cam out and about to see a building that is crowded in with other epic structures.

By the way, If the exhibit that Tan mentioned is found, I would love to install it at Tribute To Women (Colonia Nova C.02).

[Callipygian]

I believe Delia has always maintained an inventory alt for MOCA. I know that all pieces I have donated over the years went to the alt, so that piece may well be in storage, just like at other galleries, waiting for its turn to come again

Calli

[Kyoko]

Thanks Calli. That is helpful to know.