The 15th annual LACMA Art+Film Gala wrapped up Saturday night in Los Angeles, honoring painter Vija Celmins and director Denis Villeneuve, per Vogue. Photos from the carpet courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.
Read the museum's own announcement, because that is where the story is. LACMA writes that the gala is "once again made possible by Gucci's longstanding and generous support," followed by "additional support for the gala provided by Audi" in the small print. The announcement puts a handbag company on the letterhead of an art museum and a car company in the footnotes, and it does not apologize. It is a fact, like the weather.
This is the modern patron class, and the only thing they collect is rooms. Gucci is not buying the paintings. It is buying the room where the paintings get praised, and the trophy being handed to Denis Villeneuve, a man who spent his career making movies about corporations eating the world, is being handed to him by a corporation. He should take it. It is on theme.
Leonardo DiCaprio has co-chaired the whole thing for 15 consecutive years, which is longer than most marriages in this town and twice as unpaid. The boss of the presenting brand showed up in a tuxedo with Salma Hayek, which means the most important conversation at the museum was probably about who was photographing them for the morning's photos.
One outlet called the carpet "a snooze fest," which is the only honest sentence about a room full of tulle and brand names.
YOUR TURN: Is a museum that needs a handbag company a museum, or a fitting room?
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