Street Lore: Q+A With Jeffrey Deitch

Jeffrey Deitch's involvement with graffiti and street art has spanned 30 years-from a review of the "Times Square Show" that appeared in the pages of Art in America in 1980 to the 2010 closing of his gallery, Deitch Projects, with an exhibition of work by Shepard Fairey. So it's entirely fitting that the first group exhibition he has organized as director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is "Art in the Streets," a raucous, illuminating survey of international scope that begins with commissioned pieces on the outside plaza and extends through the space of the Geffen Contemporary. Inside, further commissioned paintings and murals intermingle with re-creations of historically significant installations, paintings, a skateboard park, photographs, films and more. The exhibition was curated in collaboration with Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose, both longtime promoters of graffiti art. Seeking to extend definitions of art, the exhibition sought to expand the museum's audience while raising questions about artistic training and intention, esthetic criteria and the relation of street art to the museum.
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