LACMA invited me to create a special print to commemorate the opening of the David Geffen Galleries as a nod to the lithograph created for the opening of the museum in 1965 by Alexander Calder. When Michael Govan first described the new building to me, he emphasized its lack of hierarchy. It felt meaningful that he would ask an artist like myself, someone who has always worked outside traditional systems, to respond to a space defined by openness and fluidity.
That idea of nonlinear movement became the foundation for The Procession. I thought of the dreamlike parade in Paprika by Satoshi Kon, a continuous torrent of images and ideas flowing through the streets. The composition developed as a stream of consciousness: characters, symbols, and fragments of history flowing together, revealing new relationships as the eye wanders. Within it are flowers and insects tied to Tongva culture, coiling strata-like forms that suggest compressed timelines, geological layers that can be played like an instrument, suggesting history as something resonant and continually reinterpreted. The form also echoes the contours of the building itself. In the corner, I've drawn a small reference to a Greek bell krater in LACMA's collection, depicting Chiron marshaling the parade. The characters are also a nod to Calder's Circus: playful, kinetic, and alive.
Print: 18" x 24"
Image: 15-3/4" x 21"
Intricate foil detailing and embossing
Sculptural glass-like details and enhancements
Signed by James Jean and numbered
Price: $525
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