LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of Art hosted its second annual Art+Film Gala on Saturday, October 27, honoring artist Ed Ruscha and filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Co-chaired by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and LACMA Trustee Eva Chow, the evening brought together 550 international guests from the worlds of art and design, entertainment, fashion, and music, among others. The evening raised over $3.5 million, with proceeds going to support LACMA’s initiative to make film more central to the museum’s curatorial programming, while also funding LACMA’s broader mission. This includes its film program as well as exhibitions, acquisitions, and educational programming, in addition to screenings that explore the intersection of art and film. The 2012 Art+Film Gala was made possible with the generous support of Gucci.
In addition to being honored at the gala, both Ruscha and Kubrick also have exhibitions on view at the museum. Ed Ruscha: Standard is on view through January 21, while Stanley Kubrick opens to the public on November 1 and will be on view through June 30.
Eva Chow, co-chair of the Art+Film Gala, said “It was an honor to pay tribute to Ed Ruscha and Stanley Kubrick—true icons of art and film. Steven Spielberg’s tribute to Stanley Kubrick was truly inspiring, and it was a joy to watch Florence + The Machine’s fantastic performance at the close of the evening.” She continued, “This gala would not have been possible without Gucci’s support for the second year in a row. They are a company with a longstanding commitment to art and film, for which we are all grateful.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, who could not attend this year’s event due to shooting The Wolf of Wall Street with Martin Scorsese in New York, added “I am sorry to have missed the chance to honor Stanley Kubrick and Ed Ruscha, but I am thrilled with the success of the evening and am glad that the art and film communities once again came out to support LACMA.”
"I thank Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio for chairing this important event, and board co-chair Terry Semel for helping to bring these two creative communities together," said Michael Govan, LACMA's CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director. “It is an especially great pleasure that we can not only honor an extraordinary artist and an extraordinary filmmaker at this gala, but that their work is presented at the museum for everyone to come and see and enjoy.”
Terry Semel, co-chair of LACMA’s board of trustees, added, “From the success of the Art+Film Gala, to the recent announcement of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to realize their dream of creating a Museum of Motion Pictures next door to LACMA, to LACMA’s collaboration with Film Independent, one thing is clear: film has an important place at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.”
"LACMA's unprecedented commitment to honoring film alongside fine art at such a dynamic institution in Los Angeles is an inspiration to Gucci, as we further our longstanding commitment to the preservation and celebration of the arts," said Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini. "We are proud to support LACMA's vision, and to join Eva Chow, Michael Govan, and Leonardo DiCaprio for the second year in a row to honor Stanley Kubrick and Ed Ruscha, two truly inspiring and influential artists."
The Art+Film Gala, hosted by Gala Co-Chairs Leonardo DiCaprio and Eva Chow and presented by GUCCI, began at Chris Burden’s Urban Light sculpture on Wilshire Boulevard with red carpet arrivals of film and art-world luminaries, fashion icons, and renowned artists. Guests then moved to a cocktail reception in the BP Grand Entrance accompanied by an orchestra, and an impromptu singing performance by Evan Rachel Wood. After cocktails, guests proceeded to the Art+Film pavilion, overlooking Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass, where they were seated for a special dinner prepared by world-renowned chef Joachim Splichal. Champagne for the evening was generously provided by Laurent-Perrier.
Michael Govan and Terry Semel welcomed the crowd, and introduced Gala co- chair Eva Chow. Further into the evening Michael Govan presented the tribute to Ed Ruscha accompanied by a short film directed by Lance Acord, with Tom Hanks introducing Steven Spielberg who presented the tribute to Stanley Kubrick accompanied by a special segment from a Kubrick documentary produced by Warner Bros. Entertainment, with Christiane Kubrick offering her thanks on behalf of her late husband. Following this was a special performance by Florence + The Machine introduced by Drew Barrymore featuring the songs Cosmic Love, Shake It Out, Leave My Body, and Dog Days Are Over. The evening culminated in a viewing of the exhibition Stanley Kubrick, opening to the public at LACMA this week.
Artists in attendance included Doug Aitken, John Baldessari, Mark Grotjahn, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie, Retna, Marnie Weber and Jim Shaw, Hedi Slimane, Diana Thater, and Bill Viola, among others. LACMA Trustees in attendance included Willow Bay, Colleen Bell, Rebecka Belldegrun, David C. Bohnett, Eva Chow, Ann Colgin, Kelvin Davis, Andrew Gordon, Brian Grazer, Victoria Jackson, Bryan Lourd, Jamie McCourt, Wendy Stark Morrissey, Jane Nathanson, Viveca Paulin-Ferrell, Lynda Resnick, Steven F. Roth, Carole Bayer Sager, Terry Semel, Florence Sloan, Steve Tisch, Casey Wasserman, and Elaine Wynn. Also in attendance were Michael Chow, Bob Daly, Dawn Hudson, Hawk Koch, Patrizio di Marco, Susan and Leonard Nimoy, François-Henri Pinault, Patti Podesta, Gelila and Wolfgang Puck, Katherine Ross, Benedikt Taschen, Zev Yaroslavsky, and fashion luminaries Jenni Kayne, Monique Lhuillier, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Wendy Murdoch, Stefano Tonchi, and Anna Wintour.
The entertainment world was represented by Jennifer Aniston, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Barkin, Drew Barrymore, Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, Jerry Bruckheimer, Ty Burrell, Les Moonves and Julie Chen, Si Won Choi, China Chow, Josh Dallas, Dana Delany, Cameron Diaz, Will Ferrell, William Friedkin, Diane Keaton, John Krasinski, Malcolm McDowell, Matthew Modine, Jennifer Morrison, Jack Nicholson, Ryan O’Neal, PSY, Sean Penn, Jeremy Renner, Molly Shannon, Darren Star, Justin Theroux, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, and more.
Wearing GUCCI to the event were Eva Chow, Michael Govan, Elvis Mitchell, Ed and Danna Ruscha, and Florence Welch, as well as Amy Adams, Jamie Bell, Elizabeth Chambers, Asia Chow, Josh Dallas, Cameron Diaz, Andrew Dominik, Chris Evans, Jane Fonda, Ginnifer Goodwin, Armie Hammer, Salma Hayek- Pinault, Amber Heard, Bella Heathcote, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Minka Kelly, Karlie Kloss, Robert Pattinson, Ko Soo, Ko So-Young, Sebastian Stan, Amber Valetta, Kerry Washington, and Evan Rachel Wood.
