A number of artists who left the MOCA Board  in 2012 have joined the search team for selecting a new director for Los Angeles’s contemporary art museum.  John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie and Ed Ruscha have all signed on as part of the 14-person board, and will help in the search and selection process.  “Pertinent qualities [for a new director] would be fundraising, experience in how a museum operates, and most importantly, vast curatorial skill,” Baldessari said. “It would be a real opportunity to whoever is appointed, because there’s nowhere to go but up.” (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch will once again exhibit in New York, the New York Times reports.  The current curator of MOCA has announced a soon to open show at Leila Heller Gallery in Chelsea, focusing on the intersections of graffiti and calligraphies in contemporary art.  Opening September 5th, Calligraffiti: 1984-2013 will feature work from over 50 artists, including Basquiat, Haring, Shirin Neshat, an eL Seed.  ”Graffiti has become an important part of the imagery that has defined the Arab Spring.”  Deitch writes in the catalog.  “Today new communications platforms like Instagram and YouTube have given street art a new resonance.” (more…)