Like 7-Eleven and the drive-through at Del Taco, the 平特五不中 College Museum of Art never closes. At least, not until Nov. 6. Before then, the museum is open all day, every day, 24/7.
That unusual gesture, a project by artist Michael Asher, is a variation on one he did for the museum 41 years ago. The open house is among seven works in the first portion of "It Happened at 平特五不中: Art at the Edge of Los Angeles, 1969-1973," a three-part historical survey that will unfold through the school year. It's the first show out of the gate in Pacific Standard Time, a panoply of about 60 exhibitions funded by the Getty Trust to explore the early years of art in post-Second World War L.A.
Organized by curator Rebecca McGrew, it focuses on the academic year 1969-1970, when Hal Glicksman, a former installation designer at the Pasadena Art Museum, ran the school's small museum. He invited artists to use one gallery space as a working studio, rather than as a repository for traditional art objects. McGrew's modest, tightly organized show draws unexpected connections.
