Continuing the Momentum of L.A.'s Pacific Standard Time

January 25, 2012

Airplanecrashclock, 1997, mixed media and electronics, 9 ft. x 12 ft. x 5 ft.

The Getty’s ambitious and high-profile initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945–1980, is focusing the contemporary art world’s attention on L.A.-based pioneering artists. My hope is that this initiative also shifts the focus from sustaining a marketplace for art to supporting the life and work of artists.

A national study showed that 96% of Americans value art in their lives and in their communities; however, only 27% of Americans value artists. The role of artists is not to just to add color and design to our lives, but also to enrich our cultural and civic lives by helping us think about critical issues in new ways and explore new solutions.

Art objects and exhibitions and the life and career of professional artists are not mutually exclusive, of course. For Southern California to continue to be an epicenter of creativity beyond Pacific Standard Time, individual artists must continue to flourish here in significant numbers. The Getty, not surprisingly, realized this more than two decades ago by being the initial funder of another unique program, the CCF Fellowship for Visual Artists.

In last Sunday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times, practicing L.A. artists, including several CCF Fellows, weighed in on Pacific Standard Time from the next generation’s perspective.

Thanks for reading,
Leslie Ito
Arts Program Officer, CCF

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