>> I AM PHILIPPE VERGNE, THE DIRECTOR OF MOCA, THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART HERE IN LOS ANGELES.

THE EXHIBITION HELTER SKELTER WAS SUCH A...A STORM WHEN IT COMES TO ART HISTORY.

MY COLLEAGUES, MOST OF MY PEERS, DISCOVER LOS ANGELES ART, LOS ANGELES ARTISTS, THROUGH THE GAZE OF THIS EXHIBITION.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HELTER SKELTER EXPLODED IN THE ART COMMUNITY FACE.

MIKE KELLEY, OF COURSE, MANY OTHER ARTISTS, MANY OTHER OF MIKE'S FRIENDS WERE THERE, BUT THAT'S WHERE, IN A WAY, THROUGH HELTER SKELTER, THE EQUILIBRIUM OF THE AMERICAN ART SCENE CHANGED.

NEW YORK WAS A PLACE WHERE WE THOUGHT, FROM EUROPE, EVERYTHING WAS HAPPENING.

THEN WE REALIZED, "OH, THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE."

IT WAS NOT ONLY AN ALTERNATIVE TO NEW YORK, IT WAS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF WORKING, AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO LOOK AT ART.

THE REASON WHY MOCA AT THE TIME COULD BE AN ECHO CHAMBER FOR THESE VOICES IS THAT SOMEONE LIKE PAUL SCHIMMEL HAD HIS NOSE ON THE GROUND, HE WAS LISTENING TO ARTISTS, AND THEREFORE HE WAS ABLE TO CREATE A PROGRAM THAT WAS ABOUT EXPERIMENTATION.

YOU LOOK BACK, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS LATER AND YOU REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS.

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO A MUSEUM SUCH AS MOCA RIGHT NOW IS TO CONTINUE HIS TRADITION.

WE NEED TO BE A COURAGEOUS INSTITUTION, IT WAS COURAGEOUS IN 92, WHEN HELTER SKELTER WAS INVENTED, WAS CURATED.

SITUATIONS, THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE ART WORLD ARE EXTREMELY DIFFERENT NOW.

WE CAN NOT SAY THAT LOS ANGELES IS A NEW CENTER, IT'S NOT THE WAY IT WORKS.

BUT THROUGH THE VOICES OF ARTISTS LIKE MIKE KELLEY AND OTHERS, YOU KNOW, ED RUSCHA, PAUL McCARTHY, EARLIER ON SOMEONE LIKE BARBARA SMITH.

THEY REPRESENT NOW A TOTALLY DIFFERENT, AGAIN, A TOTALLY DIFFERENT VIEW ON AMERICAN ARTS.

THE ART SCENE, THE ART COMMUNITY IN LOS ANGELES, IS ARTICULATED AROUND THE VOICES OF ARTISTS.

AND THAT'S, FOR ME, WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES, IS THE VOICE OF THE ARTIST.

THAT'S ALSO WHY, FOR ME, MOCA, AND THE FACT THAT MIKE KELLEY WAS AT MOCA, WAS SO IMPORTANT.

MIKE WAS IN THE VERY FIRST EXHIBITION THAT MOCA ORGANIZED, THE VERY FIRST ONE 35 YEARS AGO.

UNFORTUNATELY, MIKE KELLEY IS NO MORE WITH US, BUT TO SEE THAT NOW, THIS EXHIBITION, OR KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ARTIST FOR THE ART COMMUNITY REALLY MAKES MOCA THE ARTIST MUSEUM.

SO, THROUGH THE VOICE OF MIKE, AND THAT'S ALSO WHAT WAS EXTREMELY MOVING FOR ME, COMING TO MOCA AT THIS MOMENT, OPENING THIS EXHIBITION, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A WEEK OF MY NEW POSITION, WAS TO SEE THESE WAVES OF ARTISTS, ARTISTS FOR WHOM I HAVE TONS OF RESPECT, COMING AND PAYING TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST WHOM THEY LOVE.

THERE WON'T BE A NEW HELTER SKELTER.

THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER MIKE KELLEY.

THESE VOICES ARE TOO SINGULAR TO BE REPEATED, BUT I THINK THIS EXHIBITION, AS THE FIRST EXHIBITION UNDER MY DIRECTORSHIP, WAS A WAY FOR ME TO SET THE BAR ESTHETICALLY AT A PLACE WHERE I CAN--WE CAN REALLY START WORKING, MAKING THE MUSEUM A VERY EXPERIMENTAL MUSEUM BECAUSE THAT WAS-- MIKE KELLEY WAS ABOUT EXPERIMENTATION.

>> I AM PAUL SCHIMMEL, PARTNER AND VICE PRESIDENT OF HAUSER WIRTH AND SCHIMMEL HERE IN LOS ANGELES AND I'VE BEEN THE CHIEF CURATOR OF MOCA FOR 22 YEARS AND A FRIEND OF MIKE KELLEY'S, AND I BEGAN WORKING WITH HIM BACK IN 1982 AND WAS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE MIKE KELLEY FOUNDATION UNTIL RECENTLY.

THE FIRST TIME I SAW MIKE AT THIS PARTY, ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU REALIZE, JUST LOOKING AT HIM, THAT THIS WAS NOT YOUR OLD LOS ANGELES ARTIST.

HE HAD LONG, SORT OF STRINGY BLACK HAIR, KIND OF A-- SORT OF A GREASY SIDE, HE HAD A LEATHER JACKET AND BLACK PANTS AND YOU JUST SORT OF REALIZE, "OH, THIS IS A WHOLE NEW GENERATION," THERE WAS NOTHING FALSE OR MANIPULATED IN TERMS OF HOW HE PRESENTED HIMSELF, HOW HE HAD BEEN SINCE HE HAD BEEN GROWING UP IN DETROIT AND, IN FACT, HAD COME OUT OF KIND OF THE UNDERGROUND OR MAYBE THE LAST NOTION OF AN UNDERGROUND AND THE PUNK ROCK SORT OF SCENE.

WHEN I CAME TO MOCA IN 1989, AMONG THE VERY FIRST THINGS I WANTED TO DO WAS A VERY SPECULATIVE EXHIBITION ABOUT LOS ANGELES ART IN THE 1990s, I THOUGHT, "OH, NOW EVERYONE'S GOING TO GET SO PISSED OFF BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, HERE IT IS LIKE 1992 AND I'M GOING TO SAY, OKAY, HERE IT IS, THIS IS LOS ANGELES ART."

AND FROM THE GET-GO, THERE WERE A HANDFUL OF ARTISTS WHO WERE ABSOLUTELY SORT OF CENTRAL TO THE THINKING OF THAT EXHIBITION, AND MIKE WAS NOT ONLY AMONG THE VERY FIRST ASKED TO PARTICIPATE, BUT HE, LIKE SOME OTHER ARTISTS, REALLY HELPED ME TO THINK ABOUT INCLUSIONS OF OTHER ARTISTS.

FOR HELTER SKELTER, MIKE HAD SUGGESTED THAT WE BRING TOGETHER A GROUP OF DRAWINGS CALLED THE "GARBAGE DRAWINGS."

THESE WERE WORKS THAT BOTH REPRESENTED BAGS OF GARBAGE AND THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT LIKE GARBAGE IN THAT HE WOULD SEND THEM TO ALL OF HIS DEALERS TO SELL AT VARIOUS FAIRS AND PLACES AROUND THE WORLD.

AND IT WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, "WELL, WE CAN GET SOME FROM HERE AND SOME FROM THERE," BUT IT WASN'T REALLY WORKING FOR ME, AND HE SAID, "WELL, THERE'S THIS UNFINISHED PIECE THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN.

YOU KNOW, IT'S JAY CHIAT, AND HE'S, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH FRANK GEHRY, AND THEY'VE ASKED ME TO MAKE A COMMISSION AND, YOU KNOW, THEY WANTED, YOU KNOW, TO GIVE ME THIS BIG WALL, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT LIKE A BIG WALL SORT OF GUY, AND INSTEAD I REALLY GAVE THEM SOMETHING GREAT AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH, IN A WAY, FRANK AND HIS ARCHITECTURE.

IT HAD TO DO WITH THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE CHIAT DAY ADVERTISING AGENCY."

AND I SAID, "SO, LIKE, WHAT IS IT?"

AND IN FACT, HE HAD SPENT A LONG TIME WORKING ON PLANS TO DO A COMMISSION THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE IN A SUITE OF OFFICES THAT WERE, IN A SENSE, IN THE CORE OF THE BUILDING.

HE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLE GIFT THAT THESE ROOMS, WHICH HAD NO KIND OF DISTINCTIVE QUALITY, SORT OF THE BACK OF THE HOUSE INNER CORE, SHOULD THEN BECOME KIND OF THE CENTER PIECE FOR, IN A WAY, A WORK THAT'S ABOUT AS POLITICAL AND SORT OF AGITPROP, YOU KNOW, AS ANYTHING MIKE HAD DONE AND HE HAD FOUND SOME OF THESE-- THESE JOKES THAT WERE IN THE WORKROOMS.

IN FACT, HE HAD FIRST SEEN THESE JOKES BACK AT CALARTS, AND I THINK THAT MUST HAVE REALLY INTERESTED THEM AND ALL THIS SORT OF HIGHFALUTIN' THEORY-ORIENTED CALARTS INTELLECTUALS.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THESE, YOU KNOW, THESE, LIKE, SORT OF REALLY DUMB, OFFENSIVE, INAPPROPRIATE WORKER'S JOKES, SORT OF PINNED TO THE WALL OF WHERE THE GARBAGE IS TAKEN OUT.

AND HE STARTED COLLECTING THESE THINGS AND HE DECIDED, "OKAY, THESE SHOULD BECOME THE MURALS THAT DECORATE ALL OF THESE CORE WORKER'S OFFICES."

BUT THE REAL GIFT, THE THING THAT JUST KIND OF BLEW HIS MIND FROM A KIND OF LIKE, "OH, IF IT HADN'T BEEN THERE, HE NEVER WOULD'VE CONCEIVED OF IT."

BUT IT WAS, IN SOME WAYS, THE BEST THING ABOUT IT.

THE BOARD ROOM AND THE ROOM THAT WOULD BE USED FOR THE FAX MACHINES AND THE MAIL OFFICE, THE MAIL ROOM, WERE IN FACT, BUTTING EACH OTHER.

AND HE THOUGHT, "LET'S PUT GLASS BETWEEN THESE TWO ROOMS."

AND THAT WAY, WHOEVER IS IN THE BOARD ROOM CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MAIL ROOM, AND THE MAIL ROOM CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON THE BOARD-- COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY.

HE TOOK A KIND OF DAN GRAHAM ARCHITECTURAL IDEA AND HE MADE IT A KIND OF SOCIAL STATEMENT.

AND THAT QUALITY OF-- KIND OF TAKING ART AND SORT OF TURNING IT AROUND FOR A POLITICAL PURPOSE, AND A REAL EMBRACE OF THE WORKING CLASS, THE BLUE COLLAR, I THINK HE USED TO CALL IT THE SHITTY END OF THE STICK, IS SOMETHING THAT WAS, I THINK, ALWAYS A PART OF MIKE.

IT BECAME A BIGGER DEAL, AND BY THE TIME THE SHOW OPENED, ALL OF US WERE AWARE THAT THIS THING WAS JUST SORT OF KIND OF MUSHROOMING IN INTEREST.

AND MIKE VERY MUCH WANTED IT TO HAVE AS CLOSE TO THE QUALITIES OF THE FIT AND FINISH OF THE FRANK GEHRY DESIGNED JAY CHIAT OFFICE, WHICH WE COULD NOT AFFORD.

[CHUCKLES] AND THAT DID BECOME AN AREA OF SOME STRESS RIGHT TO THE OPENING DAY, MEANING THERE ARE EXPENSIVE DOORKNOBS AND THERE ARE CHEAP DOORKNOBS, THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, CUSTOM LAMPS AND NOT CUSTOM LAMPS, AND HE WAS VERY, IN A WAY, FLEXIBLE, BUT IT HAD TO LOOK CONVINCING.

I REMEMBER KIND OF WANDERING IN AND PEOPLE HAD BEEN WORKING RIGHT UP TO THE LAST MINUTE WITH ED RUSCHA DOWN THE STAIRCASE AND MIKE COMES AT ME, HE HAS A DOORKNOB IN HIS HAND, AND HE IS, LIKE, HOLDING IT LIKE SOME TERRORIST, AND HE STARTS SCREAMING AT ME FROM ABOUT 50 FEET AWAY.

ED GOES, "WELL, I'LL SEE YOU LATER."

[CHUCKLES] AND HE COMES UP AND HE GOES, "GODDAMN IT, I THOUGHT WE HAD TO--" AND HE WAS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT AND FURIOUS BECAUSE THE ILLUSION WAS IMPORTANT, IT HAD TO HAVE THAT SORT OF SENSE OF IT BEING AN OFFICE SPACE DROPPED INTO THE MUSEUM.

IT CERTAINLY WAS AMONG THE MOST SIGNIFICANT WORKS IN THE SHOW NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF WHAT IT DID AND HOW IT DID IT, IT ALSO TOOK AN ARTIST WHO WAS STILL RELATIVELY YOUNG, PEOPLE HAD KIND OF ONE SENSE OF WHO HE WAS, AND THIS WAS AMONG THE MOST COMPLEX AND MONUMENTAL INSTALLATIONS HE HAD DONE TO DATE.

AND IT HAD A VERY, I THINK, STRONG REVERBERATION INTO BOTH MAKING MIKE KNOWN MUCH BROADER, BUT ALSO, EVEN WITHIN THE COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS, MIKE BECAME MORE, IN A WAY, COMPLEX AND NUANCED, AND, IN A SENSE, BROADER FOR THEM, TOO.

>> I'M EMMA REEVES, I'M THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF MOCA TV, WHICH IS A YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR THE MUSEUM IN LOS ANGELES, MOCA.

ONE OF THE BIG IMPORTANT THINGS IS THAT MOCA REFLECTS, YOU KNOW, ARTISTS, THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE HAVE THROUGH THE PERMANENT COLLECTIONS, THROUGH THE ONGOING CURATORIAL SORT OF PROGRAMMING AT THE MUSEUM, BUT WE ALSO LOOK BEYOND, WE MAKE WHAT WE COULD CALL "NEWS STORIES," YOU KNOW, LOCAL-BASED NEWS STORIES.

THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT IS WITH AN ARTIST CALLED FRITZ HAEG, IN ASSOCIATION WITH A FANTASTIC NON-PROFIT HERE IN LOS ANGELES CALLED, "LAND," LOS ANGELES NOMADIC DIVISION.

FRITZ WAS TELLING ME ABOUT THIS PROJECT CALLED, "WILDFLOWERING L.A.," WHICH IS THIS REALLY WONDERFUL CONCEPT WHERE THEY PARTNERED WITH THE THEODORE PAYNE FOUNDATION, WHICH IS HERE IN LOS ANGELES.

THEY'RE FOCUSED ON INDIGENOUS OR NATIVE PLANTS.

100 YEARS AGO, THEODORE PAYNE COLLECTED LOCAL SEEDS OF PLANTS THAT WERE INDIGENOUS, AND YOU CAN GO TO THIS WONDERFUL PLACE, A NURSERY, WHERE YOU BUY PLANTS WHICH ARE ESSENTIALLY NATIVES.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE FOUNDATION, FRITZ GOT PACKETS OF SEEDS, WHICH HE PLANTED IN, I THINK IN 50 SITES ACROSS LOS ANGELES.

WE STARTED FOLLOWING IT WAY BACK AND THEN, 6 MONTHS LATER, IT COMES TO FRUITION.

AND THEN THERE'S THE GATHERING OF THE SEEDS, SO THIS IS A WONDERFUL CYCLICAL THING.

>> MY NAME IS FRITZ HAEG, I'M AN ARTIST WHO LIVES IN LOS ANGELES, AND FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS I'VE BEEN DOING A SERIES OF VERY SMALL DOMESTIC EDIBLE GARDENS IN CITIES AROUND THE WORLD.

I'VE NOW CHOSEN TO SPEND MORE TIME IN LOS ANGELES AT HOME AND DO MORE PROJECTS CONNECTED TO MY LIFE AND ENVIRONMENT HERE, WHICH LEADS ME TO "WILDFLOWERING L.A."

SO, WE'VE SELECTED 50 SITES STRETCHING ALL THE WAY FROM TOPANGA AND THE FAR WESTERN SIDE TO POMONA AND THE EASTERN SIDE, ALL THE WAY NORTH TO LANCASTER, WHICH IS REALLY WILDFLOWER COUNTRY, ALL THE WAY SOUTH TO PALOS VERDES.

THE SITES RANGE FROM PUBLIC BOTANIC GARDENS TO PUBLIC PARKS TO PEOPLE'S FRONT LAWNS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, PLACES OF BUSINESS, AND AT EACH SITE, WE'RE PLACING A VERY BIG CARVED WOOD SIGN THAT IDENTIFIES THE SITE.

IT LOOKS LIKE A STATE PARK SIGN, IT LOOKS VERY OFFICIAL, AND IT'S BEEN INSPIRED BY THAT.

THE IDEA BEING THAT, WE'RE INTRODUCING SOME OF THAT WAY OF LOOKING AT THE LANDSCAPE AND UNDERSTANDING THE LANDSCAPE FROM THE STATE PARK INTO THE CITY.

THE SEEDS GET PLANTED NOW IN NOVEMBER.

THEY'LL BE GROWING THROUGH THE WINTER VERY SLOWLY BECAUSE IT'S COOL AND THERE'S NOT MUCH LIGHT.

IN ABOUT APRIL OR MAY, WE'LL BE GETTING FLOWERS.

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO GET A MAP AND DRIVE AROUND THE COUNTY LOOKING AT ALL THESE SITES.

[BIRDS CHIRPING] >> WE'RE AT THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDENS, WHICH HOST THE BIGGEST WILDFLOWERING L.A.

SITE, IT'S ALMOST ONE ACRE.

AND IT'S ALSO THE SITE THAT IS THE MOST PUBLIC, SO THERE'S A CONSTANT STREAM OF PUBLIC VISITORS TO THE ARBORETUM THAT ARE ABLE TO SEE WHAT THE KIND OF NATIVE LANDSCAPE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND LOS ANGELES, IN PARTICULAR, LOOKED LIKE BEFORE IT WAS URBANIZED.

WHEN WE STARTED IN FALL 2013, THIS WAS A FLAT LAWN.

WHICH WAS REMOVED AND THEN WE MOVED THE DIRT AROUND, WE BROUGHT IN DEAD LOGS, WE CREATED THESE MOUNDS, THIS KIND OF TOPOGRAPHY ON THE SITE, AND THEN CREATED THESE WELLS SO THAT RAINWATER WOULD BE CAPTURED AND MOVED THROUGH THE SITE AND KEPT ON THE SITE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING ON ALL OF THESE SITES ACROSS THE COUNTY IS THE IMMEDIATE ARRIVAL OF WILDLIFE, ESPECIALLY POLLINATORS, SO WE'VE BEEN SEEING A LOT OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF NATIVE BEES, BIRDS THAT REALLY ARE ENJOYING THE SEEDS AND PART OF THE PLEASURE OF THE PROJECT HAS BEEN WATCHING THE SLOW PROGRESS HAPPEN ACROSS THE COUNTY, AS THE SEEDS GERMINATE AND AS THEY SLOWLY GROW THROUGH THE COOL TEMPERATURES IN THE WINTER, AND THEN AROUND NOW, IN MAY, WE HAVE THIS EXPLOSION OF COLOR ACROSS THE COUNTY FOR THOSE SITES THAT HAVE BEEN REALLY PERFORMING.

AT EACH SITE WE'VE BEEN HEARING STORIES ABOUT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST THE ANIMALS AND THEIR REACTIONS, BUT THE PEOPLE AND HOW THEY'VE RESPONDED, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, AT CERTAIN POINTS IN THE CYCLE, THIS CAN LOOK LIKE, KIND OF CHAOTIC TO PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE MORE USED TO VIEWING A HYPER-MANICURED LANDSCAPE THAT ALWAYS LOOKS THE SAME.

SO, THERE'S A STORY HERE THAT'S VERY SEASONAL, THAT'S VERY CONNECTED TO OUR ANNUAL STORY HERE IN LOS ANGELES, WHICH IS PART OF THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT, PAYING ATTENTION TO WHERE WE LIVE, PAYING ATTENTION TO THE STORY OF LOS ANGELES, WHICH IS VERY PARTICULAR AND EXTREME HERE.

>> MY NAME IS JOHN KNUTH AND I'M A L.A.

ARTIST.

THE VIDEO WE DID WITH MOCA TV WAS A VIDEO ABOUT MY FLY PAINTINGS, WHERE I RAISE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FLIES TO MAKE PAINTINGS FOR ME.

I'VE GOT A REAL INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP, LIKE, CATCHING SNAKES AND LOOKING AT ANDY WARHOL BOOKS.

I WAS ORIGINALLY INTERESTED IN HOW FLIES ATE IN THEIR BIOLOGY AND HOW THEY SPREAD DISEASE.

SO, WHEN FLIES EAT, THEY'RE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF REGURGITATION.

THEY VOMIT AN ENZYME ONTO A SOLID, LIKE A CHEESEBURGER, AND THAT ENZYME PARTIALLY DIGESTS THAT SOLID, AND THEN THEY'LL SUCK IT BACK UP.

THEY REGURGITATE, SUCK IT BACK IN, REGURGITATE, SUCK IT BACK IN.

AND EACH OF THE LITTLE SPOTS ON THE PAINTING IS ACTUALLY CALLED A FLYSPECK.

I SEE THEM EVERYWHERE NOW.

ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, YOU'LL SEE FLYSPECKS EVERYWHERE.

I SEE THEM OFTEN ON KITCHEN WINDOWS, AND SO WHAT I'M DOING IS I'M JUST CONDENSING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FLIES TO LAND ON THE SURFACE OF THE PAINTING AND I'M CHANGING THEIR DIET TO PAINT, TO PIGMENT, SO I CAN GET VARIOUS SPECIFIC COLORS, VERY SPECIFIC COMPOSITIONS WITH THESE THINGS.

THE SERIES OF PAINTINGS I PRODUCED FOR THE MOCA TV VIDEO WAS CALLED, "MADE IN LOS ANGELES," AND ALL THE COLOR PALLETS WERE BASED ON L.A.

SKY COLORS.

THE PAINTED BACKGROUNDS OF THE CANVAS'S WERE A LOT OF BLACKS, DUSTY BLUES, BRIGHT BLUES, KIND OF L.A.

SKY COLORS, SMOGGY BLUES.

AND THEN THE PAINT I WAS FEEDING THE FLIES WAS A LOT OF SUNSET COLORS, SO A LOT OF YELLOWS AND REDS AND BLACKS.

I LIKE THIS IDEA THAT THE PAINTINGS BECOME A METAPHOR FOR LOS ANGELES.

THE SPRAWL AND THE BUILD UP OF THE PAINTINGS, I LIKE THAT THE COMPOSITIONS TO ME ARE SORT OF FLYING OVER THE SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS AND SEEING THE L.A.

BASINS SPREAD BELOW YOU, YOU SEE THIS INFINITE SPRAWL, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THIS INFINITE SPRAWL OF LOS ANGELES.

THERE'S LIKE NOTHING WORSE THAN A FLY, A FLY IS THE WORST ANIMAL.

BUT WHAT I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THESE PAINTINGS IS YOU CAN TAKE SOMETHING THAT'S TOTALLY BASIC AND MAKE SOMETHING REALLY TRANSCENDENT WITH IT.

AND I LOVE THAT IT ALL STEMS FROM THIS NASTY THING.

[BUZZING] [BUZZING] >> HERE IN LOS ANGELES, THERE'S THIS HUGE INDUSTRY AROUND INDEPENDENT VIDEO GAMES, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I NOTICED AND STARTED THINKING, "WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS."

SO WE CREATED THIS SERIES CALLED THE "ART IN VIDEO GAMES".

WE JUST CELEBRATED DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE INDIE VIDEO GAME COMMUNITY FROM INDIECADE, WHICH IS AN ANNUAL GATHERING, THROUGH TO ACADEMICS, UCLA, USC, THESE VISIONARY PEOPLE WHO ARE KIND OF DOING THIS SORT OF BLUE SKY THINKING ABOUT WHAT VIDEO GAMES CAN REALLY BE.

IT'S A GREAT ENERGY AROUND IT, IT'S A GREAT COMMUNITY.

IT'S OBVIOUSLY VERY DIFFERENT TO THAT KIND OF FIRST PERSON SHOOTER OR THE BIG, YOU KNOW, WAR GAMES, IF YOU LIKE.

THESE ARE SO LYRICAL AND BEAUTIFUL, AND JUST SORT OF WANDER THROUGH LANDSCAPES.

THERE'S ONE CALLED "CLOUD" AND THERE'S ONE CALLED "JOURNEY."

THIS PARTICULAR EPISODE FOCUSES ON THATGAMECOMPANY, WHICH WAS BEHIND THE PRODUCTION OF THESE TWO GAMES AT THE TIME.

>> 9 YEARS AGO, I TAUGHT A CLASS IN GAME STUDIES AND JENOVA CHEN WAS IN IT, KELLEE SANTIAGO WAS IN IT, A BUNCH OF REALLY AMAZING PEOPLE, AND I BASICALLY SAID TO THEM AT THAT TIME, "IF WE DESIGN GAMES FROM OUR SOULS, FROM OUR HEARTS, THAT ARE UTTERLY DIFFERENT THAN THE GAMES THAT ARE OUT THERE TODAY, WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD."

>> WE, THATGAMECOMPANY, HAVE A VERY UNIQUE APPROACH OF MAKING GAMES.

WE ALWAYS START FROM AN EMOTION, WHICH IS VERY DIFFERENT.

MOST PEOPLE START WITH, SAY, A GENRE, "HEY, LET'S MAKE A RACING GAME."

AND WE JUST THOUGHT IT WAS VERY GOOD TO DO A COMPANY WHICH CAN HELP EXPLORE THE WIDTH OF THE MEDIUM, AND ALSO INCREASE THE DEPTHS OF THE MEDIUM.

>> I MET JENOVA CHEN AT THE USC INTERACTIVE MEDIA PROGRAM.

GOING INTO OUR LAST YEAR, HE HAD BEEN WORKING ON THIS STUDENT PROJECT CALLED "CLOUD" AND ASKED ME TO COME HELP FINISH PRODUCING THE PROJECT.

AND AT THAT TIME, I WAS JUST LOOKING TO DO AS MANY GAME PROJECTS AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I JUST KNEW THAT THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO BE DOING.

AND SO I IMMEDIATELY SAID YES.

>> THE CLOUD GAME, MY INSPIRATION COMING FROM JUST WALKING FROM THE DORM TO SCHOOL AND LOOKING UP IN THE SKY AND THINKING, "HOW BEAUTIFUL THE SKY IS, IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN TURN THAT INTO A GAME?"

IN ORDER TO MAKE IT DIFFERENT, WE WANTED TO AVOID THE TRADITIONAL TROPE OF WHAT VIDEO GAMES ARE.

SO, THERE ISN'T ANY VIOLENCE IN THE GAME, THERE ISN'T ANY POINTS OR SCORES OR LEVEL UPS THAT YOU PLAY A TYPICAL GAME FOR.

>> AS WE WERE WORKING TOGETHER ON THIS PROJECT, IT BECAME MORE, MORE APPARENT THAT JENOVA AND I REALLY SHARED SIMILAR IDEAS AROUND MAKING GAMES THAT OPEN UP--THAT ACT AS INVITATIONS TO ANYONE, RIGHT, THAT SAY, YES, ANYONE CAN ENGAGE WITH A VIDEO GAME.

VIDEO GAMES CAN BE ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT THAT ALSO MEANS THAT THEY CAN APPEAL TO ANYONE.

>> WE STARTED GETTING HUNDREDS OF EMAILS TELLING US HOW THE GAME MADE THEM VERY EMOTIONAL, HOW WE SHOULD REALLY CONSIDER MAKING MORE OF THESE GAMES TO SHOW THE PUBLIC THAT GAMES AREN'T ABOUT JUST FIGHTING AND COMPETING.

AND WHAT REALLY STRIKES ME WAS ONE EMAIL WAS SAYING THAT, "YOU SHOULD TELL THE TEAM WHO'S INVOLVED IN THIS THAT YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE."

AND I GREW UP MY ENTIRE LIFE AND NOBODY TOLD ME THAT I'M A BEAUTIFUL PERSON, SO THAT'S REALLY SPECIAL FOR ME, THAT-- I THOUGHT, "WELL, GEEZ, I MADE LIKE 12 GAMES BEFORE THIS ONE, WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS ONE THAT PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING CRAZY?"

AND THEN I HAD AN ENLIGHTENMENT, WHICH IS, THE GAME CREATES A NEW TYPE OF EMOTION THAT TYPICALLY YOU DON'T FEEL FROM GAMES, AND WE THOUGHT WE CAN PUSH THE BOUNDARY OF WHAT A VIDEO GAME CAN COMMUNICATE AND CREATING EMOTIONS THAT EVEN ADULTS, YOU KNOW, WOULD FIND IT RELEVANT AND SATISFYING.

I LEARNED FROM "CLOUD" THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU CREATE AN INNOVATION OF EMOTION, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DOESN'T PLAY A GAME WILL, ALL OF A SUDDEN, WANT TO TRY A GAME.

ALL MY GAMES ARE EXPERIMENTS, FROM "CLOUD" TO "FLOW" TO "FLOWER" AND NOW "JOURNEY."

AND I THINK THAT THE CONCEPT, YOU KNOW, IS WHAT I WAS PUTTING INTO IT AND THAT CONCEPT IS SPREADING AROUND THE WORLD.

>> THOSE FOLKS WENT ON AND THEY DID IT, RIGHT?

THEY DID GO ON AND THEY CREATED THOSE MODELS, YOU KNOW, GAMES THAT ARE ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION.

GAMES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW-- PROVIDE UTTERLY NEW MODELS OF PLAY.

>> I FEEL VERY BLESSED THAT, YOU KNOW, I WORKED ON SOMETHING THAT IT'S RECOGNIZED AND I FELT UNDERSTOOD.

I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST REWARD AN ARTIST CAN GET, YOU KNOW, IS SOMEONE--THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE WORLD AND THEY HEARD YOUR VOICE AND THEY SAY, "YES, I APPRECIATE THAT."

YOU KNOW, AND I DON'T NEED ANYTHING ELSE, REALLY.

>> I'M CATHERINE ARIAS, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AND VISITOR EXPERIENCE AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN LOS ANGELES.

WE HAVE A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS THAT REALLY FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON YOUTH.

THE FIRST IS A REALLY LONG STANDING SCHOOL AND TEACHER PROGRAM CALLED "CONTEMPORARY ART START" AND THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE AS LONG AS MOCA HAS, AND LIKE MOCA, IT'S VERY EXPERIMENTAL IN TERMS OF CONSTANTLY EVOLVING.

IT'S MEETING THE NEW CHALLENGES OF CONTEMPORARY ART, IT'S MEETING THE CHALLENGES OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

NOT ONLY DO WE TOUR THE STUDENTS WHOSE CLASSES ARE PARTICIPATING IN THAT, BUT WE WORK WITH THE TEACHERS IN REALLY INSPIRING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SETTINGS.

SO WE WORK WITH TEACHERS TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO LOOK AT IMAGES, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN I TALK ABOUT AN IMAGE AS A WORK OF ART IN MY CLASSROOM?

AND HOW DO I GET MY STUDENTS TO TALK ABOUT IT?

BECAUSE THE MORE THEY TALK ABOUT IT, THE MORE THEY HEAR EACH OTHER, THE MORE THEY COME UP WITH IDEAS THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY THINK ABOUT, AND IT CAN BE A REALLY, REALLY RICH WAY OF TEACHING.

THE PROGRAM THAT'S IN THIS VIDEO IS THE MOCA AND LOUIS VUITTON YOUNG ARTS PROGRAM.

IT'S A LIFE-CHANGING PROGRAM, WHERE THE STUDENTS ACTUALLY APPLY, THEY ARE SELECTED FROM A FAIRLY LARGE GROUP, AND THEY BECOME MUSEUM STAFF MEMBERS FOR AN ACADEMIC YEAR.

THEY LEARN ABOUT THE MUSEUM NOT FROM, KIND OF, READING ABOUT IT IN A TEXT BOOK OR, KIND OF, OBSERVING.

THEY LEARN ABOUT THE MUSEUM BY ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK OF THE MUSEUM.

ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THAT PROGRAM IS THE PROJECT THAT THEY DO WITH A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST.

THIS PAST YEAR, THEY WORKED ALONGSIDE MARNIE WEBER.

MARNIE'S AN L.A.-BASED ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS PRETTY WELL REPRESENTED IN MOCA'S COLLECTION, AND SHE WORKS IN A VARIETY OF MEDIA.

SHE STARTED OFF IN PERFORMANCE, BUT THEN SHE DOES THESE, KIND OF, SCULPTURAL COSTUMES, WHICH EVOLVE INTO FILMS, AND THEN SHE'LL DO COLLAGE AND PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY.

SHE'S GOT A VERY MULTI-MEDIA PRACTICE.

IN FACT, IN THE VIDEO, THE WHOLE ATMOSPHERIC SOUNDTRACK IS ACTUALLY BY MARNIE.

SHE DEVISED A PROJECT FOR THE TEENS THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY AMAZING, BECAUSE WHAT SHE DID WAS SHE HAD THEM FOCUS ON WHO THEY ARE.

SHE CREATED THIS PROJECT CALLED SPIRIT VESSELS, WHERE YOU CREATE A SCULPTURE THAT EXPRESSES EITHER A LIGHT OR A DARK SIDE OF YOUR OWN IDENTITY.

BUT WHAT YOU SEE IN THE VIDEO IS THE MAKING OF THE SPIRIT VESSELS, AND YOU GRADUALLY SEE THEM WORK AT THESE REALLY AMAZING SCULPTURES.

>> THAT GOES WAY BETTER.

>> YEAH.

>> AND IT'S REALLY PRETTY, I MEAN, IN A WEIRD WAY, BUT-- >> YEAH, LET'S DO IT.

>> OKAY, COOL.

>> WOW, I NEED TO OWN THAT.

DO YOU OWN THAT?

>> I OWN THIS, YEAH.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER].

>> WIFE IS A LOS ANGELES-BASED COLLECTIVE WHICH SPECIALIZES IN SORT OF CHOREOGRAPHED PERFORMANCES USING VIDEO PROJECTIONS.

MOCA TV COLLABORATED WITH THEM ON A RECENT FILM, WHICH IS CALLED "PASSENGERS," AND IT'S DIRECTED BY BENJY RUSSELL.

THIS VIDEO REFLECTS--REALLY FEELS VERY LOS ANGELES TO ME, YOU KNOW, THERE'S LOCATIONS-- YOU CAN SEE THERE'S MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATIONS.

THERE'S A KIND OF SPIRITUALITY TO IT.

YOU SEE THEM IN THE DESERT, YOU SEE THEM IN--I THINK IT WAS MALIBU THEY SHOT IN.

AND IT'S A VERY SIMPLE THING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF IT IS VERY SCULPTURAL.

THEY'RE HOLDING UP REFLECTIVE SURFACES AND BOUNCING LIGHT OFF THEM, AND ITS JUST THIS SORT OF MESMERIZING, WONDERFUL FILM.

>> WE ARE THE BEGINNING OF THOUGHT.

A THEORY OF IMMORTALITY AND CONSTANT FLUX.

OUR BIRTH WAS THE DEATH OF ANOTHER.

THE TRANSFERENCE OF LIGHT AND CONSCIOUSNESS.

LIQUID SPILLING FROM ONE CONTAINER INTO THE NEXT.

MICROSCOPIC EVAPORATION AS WE LEAVE A TRAIL OF STARS IN OUR WAKE.

IN THIS BEGINNING, THERE WAS NO SPACE, ONLY YOU AND WE, MATTER AND ANTI-MATTER, FALLING ENDLESSLY IN LOVE.

WE WERE NEON WHEN THERE WASN'T.

WE ARE THE ANCESTORS OF RELIGION... EXISTING WHERE THERE IS NO LANGUAGE.

WE ARE INHABITED BY ENTIRE UNIVERSES, JUST AS WE INHABIT THIS SPACE.

SPACE.

SPACE.

WE BIRTH LIGHT, ENERGY, AND MATTER.

THE FIRST SENSUAL CREATION WE GAVE TO YOU.

THE REST, WE GAVE TO EVERYTHING ELSE.

WE HAVE NEVER NEEDED NOR WANTED UNTIL WE WERE GIVEN YOU.

YOU WERE EVERYTHING, AND WE WERE NO LONGER ALONE.

NOW THE CORD HAS BEEN SEVERED AND WE FLOAT IN THE SPACE, DRIFTING IN A STATE OF EMPTINESS, POURED FROM ONE CONTAINER INTO THE NEXT.

LIKE A MOTH LEAVING ITS CHRYSALIS, WE CAN NEVER GO BACK.

THAT IS THE ONLY CONSTANT.

WE ARE THE PASSENGERS, NOT THE VESSEL.

WE ARE FOREVER.

>> MY NAME IS ELENA PRECIADO AND I'M A CURATORIAL ASSISTANT/ RESEARCH ASSISTANT AT MOCA, AND I WORK WITH ALMA RUIZ, SHE WAS THE CURATOR OF GAS GIANTS, THE JACOB HASHIMOTO SHOW AT THE PDC.

JACOB HASHIMOTO'S PRACTICE HAS A LOT TO DO WITH LANDSCAPE.

HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF A PAINTER, EVEN THOUGH HE DOESN'T WORK, NECESSARILY, WITH WHAT WE WOULD CONSIDER TRADITIONAL PAINTING.

EVEN THOUGH HE USES 3D OBJECTS, THE WAY THAT HE COMPOSES THE SPACE IS VERY PAINTERLY-LIKE.

THE STORY GOES THAT HE ACTUALLY HAD A SORT OF WRITER'S BLOCK OR ARTIST'S BLOCK WHEN HE WAS IN SCHOOL, AND HE ASKED HIS FATHER FOR ADVICE, AND HIS FATHER TOLD HIM TO START MAKING KITES, JUST TO RELAX.

SO HE STARTED MAKING KITES TO RELAX.

DOING THAT, HE REALIZED THAT HE COULD ACTUALLY USE THE STRUCTURES ON A DIFFERENT TAKE ON PAINTING.

IT'S A VERY INTRICATE TECHNIQUE.

HE ACTUALLY DID A VERY PROFOUND RESEARCH WORK, GOING TO CHINA, TO THAILAND, TO JAPAN.

HE TRIES TO FIND THE PERFECT KIND OF PAPER THAT WOULD DO WHAT HE WANTS, THAT WOULD NOT BEND.

HE USES A LOT OF BAMBOO, BUT ALSO DIFFERENT TYPES OF WOOD AND PLASTIC.

SO IT'S VERY EXPERIMENTAL BUT ALSO VERY RESEARCH-BASED.

A LOT OF IT, HE MAKES HIMSELF.

AND ALSO, HE HAS A STUDIO WITH A LOT OF ASSISTANTS THAT HELP HIM BUILT ALL THESE ELEMENTS.

WHEN HE HAS TO MASS PRODUCE, HE ALSO COMMISSIONS A SHOP IN CHINA THAT SPECIALIZES IN HAND-CRAFTED KITES TO BUILD, LIKE, THE FIRST STAGE OF THE KITE, THEN HE RECEIVES THEM, AND THEN THEY START DOING THE COLLAGES AND ALL OF THE NEXT STEPS.

IT HAS A FEEL OF A RITUAL, ALMOST.

IT'S A RITUAL THAT IS VERY PROCESS-BASED AND TIME-BASED TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR, YOU KNOW, SPIRITUALITY OR WHATNOT, BUT ALSO HAVE AN ELEMENT OF NOSTALGIA AND OPTIMISM.

THEY REMIND YOU OF SOMETHING FAMILIAR, LIKE A KITE.

THEY REMIND YOU OF CHILDHOOD.

IT'S A RITUAL THAT HAS TO DO WITH THAT.

AND IT'S VERY MUCH TIED TO THE IDEA OF LANDSCAPE AND PROCESS AND EVERYTHING THAT IS CONNECTED TO HIS PRACTICE.

>> AN ONGOING STRAND OF PROGRAMMING ON MOCA TV IS MUSIC VIDEOS, THE MORE INDEPENDENT, THE MORE ARTISTIC ENDEAVORS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.

WE AIM TO WORK WITH MAINLY LOS ANGELES-BASED MUSICIANS, AND THEY PRODUCE THESE INCREDIBLE VIDEOS.

A RECENT ONE WAS THE ARTISTS WHO WERE DJS CALLED NGUZUNGUZU, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY BASED HERE IN LOS ANGELES, AND THEY'RE ASMA AND DANIEL.

THE VIDEO IS CALLED MECHA, M-E-C-H-A, AND IT FEATURES A SORT OF CRAZY ASSEMBLAGE OF VIDEO FOOTAGE, NEWS FOOTAGE, ANIME, A SORT OF VIDEO GAME KIND OF AESTHETIC.

WE WERE DELIGHTED WHEN THEY-- WE AGREE TO BE--YOU KNOW, TO SHOWCASE, AND WE PARTNERED WITH THEM ON THIS MUSIC VIDEO.

>> [SPEAKS SPANISH] >> IN AN UNPRECEDENTED METEOR SHOWER FALLING OFF THE COAST OF TOKYO, THE ENTIRE CITY IS MESMERIZED BY THIS INCREDIBLE SIGHT.

TWO HOURS AFTER LAST CONTACT, AN UNIDENTIFIED ENEMY HAS BREACHED OUR COASTLINES IN A SWIFT AND MILITARISTIC ATTACK.

>> [SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE] >> RIGHT NOW, ONE THING IS CLEAR: THE WORLD IS AT WAR.

>> I'M CASEY JANE ELLISON AND I'M AN ARTIST AND COMEDIAN.

ABOVEGROUND ANIMATION IS AN ANIMATION SERIES.

ANIMATION, YOU'RE SO USED TO SEEING IN DIFF--IN PARTICULAR FORUMS, AND I REALIZED THAT INDEPENDENT ANIMATORS HAVE ACCESS TO USE THESE PROGRAMS IN COMPLETELY NEW WAYS AND NEW VISUAL IDEAS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T USED TO SEEING IN THE MAINSTREAM OR IN THE ART WORLD.

I REALLY WANTED TO BE A PART OF THAT COMMUNITY AND ALSO BUILD THAT COMMUNITY AND PRESENT IT.

ONE ANIMATION FEATURED IN ABOVEGROUND ANIMATION WAS ONE BY ARTIST LAUREN GREGORY, WHO IS AN EAST COAST-BASED ARTIST.

SHE'S A PAINTER, AND SHE USES THE PAINT AND THE MATERIALS TO BREATHE LIFE INTO HER ANIMATIONS.

THEY'RE BASICALLY MOVING PORTRAITS AND PAINTINGS.