Hammer Museum Announces Recipients of Mohn Awards Made in

ForImmediateRelease:August16,2016
Contact:GiaStorms,HammerMuseum,310-443-7056,[email protected]
HammerMuseumAnnouncesRecipientsofMohnAwards
MadeinL.A.2016:a,the,though,only
OnviewthroughAugust28,2016
(Los Angeles, CA) — The Hammer Museum today announced the recipients of the Mohn Awards
presentedinconjunctionwithMadeinL.A.2016:a,the,though,only,organizedbyHammercurator
AramMoshayediandHamzaWalker,directorofeducationandassociatecurator,RenaissanceSociety.
Dancer and choreographer Adam Linder will receive the $100,000 Mohn Award honoring artistic
excellence as well as a monograph produced by the Hammer. Wadada Leo Smith will receive the
$25,000CareerAchievementAwardhonoringbrillianceandresilience;andKenziShiokavawillreceive
the$25,000PublicRecognitionAwardasdeterminedbyapublicvote.
“It’sexcitingforustoseeadancerchosenfortheMohnAward,andAdam’sworkwasastandoutforits
nuancedchoreographyandevocativevisualandsounddesign.WadadaLeoSmith,anotherperformer,
was recognized for his achievements as a musician and a mentor as well as the decades-long
developmentofhissystemofmusicalnotation,”saidAnnPhilbin,DirectoroftheHammerMuseum.
AjuryofprofessionalcuratorsselectedtheMohnAwardandtheCareerAchievementAwardwhilethe
PublicRecognitionAwardwasdeterminedbyon-sitevotingfromJune11throughAugust14,2016.The
jury included Ingrid Schaffner, curator, 57th Carnegie International, 2018, Carnegie Museum of Art,
Pittsburgh,MikaYoshitake,associatecurator,HirshhornMuseumandSculptureGarden,andJoseLuis
Blondet, curator, Special Initiatives, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. All three awards were once
againfundedthroughthegenerosityofLosAngelesphilanthropistsandartcollectorsJarlandPamela
MohnandtheMohnFamilyFoundationaspartofMadeinL.A.,theHammer’sbiennialexhibitionseries
highlightingemergingandunder-recognizedartistsfromtheLosAngelesregion.
“CuratorsAramMoshayediandHamzaWalkerselectedatightgroupofartistsandofferedthemroom
to stretch. This exhibition is stunning in terms of the range of practices and performers, the depth of
(L-R):AdamLinder,KeinParadiso,2016.MadeinL.A.2016:a,the,though,only.PerformancedocumentationattheHammerMuseum,LosAngeles,June
12–August28,2016.Imagecourtesyoftheartist.Photo:ShahryarNashat; WadadaLeoSmith,PhotobyScottGroller;KenziShiokava.Installation
view,MadeinL.A.2016:a,the,though,only,June12–August28,2016,HammerMuseum,LosAngeles.Photo:BrianForrest.
2
exploration,andthearrayofprogramsitpresents.It’sasitifeveryonewonandgaveaprizethrough
theirparticipationinMadeinL.A.2016:a,the,though,only,”saidIngridSchaffner.
“Inthisyear'sMadeinL.A.,AdamLinder'sKeinParadisostoodoutasatourdeforce.Thejurorswere
struck by Linder's inventive consideration of the latent role of presence through layers of formalist
modernisthistoriesandinterplayofpropsandchoreography,”wroteMikaYoshitake.
“The jury wants to acknowledgeWadada Leo Smith’s outstanding achievements as a musician, his
influential work as a teacher and a mentor for younger artists in Los Angeles, and the decades-long
expansion of an inventive, complex and layered system of notation simultaneously interrogating the
pictorialandtheperformative,”statedJoseLuisBlondet.
VisitorstoMadeinL.A.choosetherecipientofthe$25,000PublicRecognitionAwardbyvotingforKenzi
Shiokavathroughon-sitekioskslocatedthroughoutthemuseum.
Totaling$150,000,theMohnAwardsareamongthelargestartprizesdedicatedtorecognizingthework
ofemergingandunder-recognizedartistsfromthegreaterLosAngelesregion.In2014AliceKönitz,
creatorofTheLosAngelesMuseumofArt,receivedtheMohnAward;MagdalenaSuarezFrimkessand
MichaelFrimkessreceivedtheCareerAchievementAward;andJenniferMoonreceivedthePublic
RecognitionAward.In2012MelekoMokgosireceivedtheMohnAward,whichwasselectedbybotha
professionaljuryandthepublic.
AbouttheAwardRecipients
Adam Linder (b. 1983, Sydney, Australia) was trained as a dancer at the Royal Ballet School in London. He has
choreographedstageworks,includingAutoFictoReflexo(2015),Parade(2013),CulttotheBuiltonWhat(2013),
forbothdancecontextsandinspacestypicallydevotedtovisualart.KeinParadiso—anewworkcreatedforMade
in L.A. 2016—is a choreography for three performers who engage with formalist approaches to movement and
push against the notions of universality and singularity left over from the history of modern and postmodern
dance.Inthedaysbetweenperformances,thestagepiecesandpropsfortheworkremaininthespaceasaselfaware and deflated theatrical residue, marking the dormant space as a site of ongoing activity. Through a
soundtrackthatplayscontinuouslyinplaceofthethreeperformers,theinstallationtakesintoaccountitsexposed
stateintheinterimmomentswhenanaudienceawaitsagivenperformance.
WadadaLeoSmith(b.1941,Leland,Mississippi)trainedasamusicianthroughtheU.S.militarybandprogram,at
the Sherwood School of Music, and at Wesleyan University. In the 1960s and 1970s Smith worked with the
Chicago-basedAssociationfortheAdvancementofCreativeMusic.HewasonthefacultyatCaliforniaInstituteof
the Arts from 1993 until his retirement in 2013.His presentation in Made in L.A. 2016 featured a selection of
scorescreatedfrom1968to2014intheformofmusicalnotationcalledAnkhrasmation,createdbytheartistin
the1960s.Thesescoresdemonstratehisearlyuseofthenotation’ssignaturecuneiform-likeglyph,andhislater
expansionintheuseofcolor,repertoireofsigns,andcompositionalapproachestothepageasawhole.
KenziShiokava(b.1938,SantaCruzdoRioPardo,Brazil)haslivedinLosAngelessince1964.Shiokavareceiveda
BFAfromtheChouinardArtInstitutein1972andanMFAfromOtisArtInstitutein1974.Hisworkincludescarved
wood totems and mixed-media assemblages. Together, these very different sculptural practices bookend a
narrativespanningmorethan50years.ShiokavaisJapaneseBrazilianandhisworkembodiesaculturalhybridity.
Shiokava’s totems evoke a ritual form imbued with symbolic import while his assemblages are often marked by
juxtapositions of natural and industrially produced forms. Much of his work incorporates plant matter, thus
speakingtoabroaddefinitionofculture,oneinvolvinganadaptationofnaturalresourcestohumanends.
AboutJarlMohn
JarlandPamelaMohnareartcollectorscommittedtosupportingemergingL.A.artists.Professionally,JarlMohn
divideshistimebetweenbeingacorporatedirectorandadvisortoanumberofmediacompanies,makingdirect
3
earlystageangelandseedinvestmentsindigitalmedia/technologyventures,andmanagingTheMohnFamily
Foundation—thephilanthropicentitythatheandhiswifecreatedin2000.Inadditiontosupportingartsinitiatives,
theMohnFamilyFoundationfundedtheMohnBroadcastCenterforKPCC,asignificantcontributiontoPublic
RadioinSouthernCalifornia.MohnistheformerChairoftheACLUFoundationofSouthernCalifornia,andthe
formerChairofTheAnnenbergSchoolatUSC.
PreviouslyhewasthefoundingPresidentandCEOofLibertyDigital,apubliccompanythatinvestedintheinternet
anddigitalmedia.PriortoLibertyDigital,MohncreatedE!EntertainmentTelevisionservingasitsPresidentand
CEOfromJanuary1990toDecember1998.MohnwasformerlyExecutiveVicePresidentandGeneralManagerof
MTVandVH1from1986to1990whereheledthetransformationfrommusicvideostolongformprogramming.
Priortohiscareerintelevision,Mohnhada19-yearcareerinradio.Hebeganasadiscjockeyandrosethroughthe
ranksasaprogrammer,generalmanager,andthenownerofagroupofradiostations.
Originally from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Mohn attended Philadelphia’s Temple University where he studied
mathematicsandphilosophy.HecurrentlylivesinBrentwoodwithhiswife.JarlandPamelaMohn'scommitment
totheawardsextendsthroughthefirstfivecyclesofMadeinL.A.withtheoptiontocontinuebeyond.
AboutMadeinL.A.
The Hammer’s biennial exhibition series Made in L.A. focuses exclusively on artists from the L.A. region with an
emphasis on emerging and under-recognized artists. The Los Angeles biennial debuts new installations, videos,
films,sculptures,performances,andpaintingscommissionedspecificallyfortheexhibitionandoffersinsightinto
thecurrenttrendsandpracticescomingoutofLosAngeles,oneofthemostactiveandenergeticartcommunities
intheworld.MadeinL.A.beganin2012withaseconditerationin2014,andfollowedthetraditionoftheHammer
Invitationalexhibitions,whichoccurredeverytwoyearsandincludedSnapshot(2001),InternationalPaper(2003),
Thing(2005),Eden’sEdge(2007),NineLives(2009),andAllofthisandnothing(2011).
MadeinL.A.2012wasorganizedbyateamofcuratorsfromtheHammerMuseumandLA><ART:HammerSenior
Curator Anne Ellegood, Hammer Curator Ali Subotnick, LA><ART Director and Chief Curator Lauri Firstenberg,
LA><ARTAssociateDirectorandSeniorCuratorCesarGarcia,andLA><ARTCurator-at-largeMalikGaines.Madein
L.A. 2014 was co-curated by Hammer Chief Curator Connie Butler and Los Angeles based independent curator
MichaelNedHolte.
ExhibitionCredit
TheexhibitionispresentedbyWellsFargo.
Theexhibitionismadepossible,inpart,bytheMohnFamilyFoundationandmembersoftheHammerCircle.
MajorsupportisprovidedbyNickGroufandShanaEddy-Grouf.GenerousfundingisalsoprovidedbyViveca
Paulin-FerrellandWillFerrell,DoriandCharlesMostov,BethRudinDeWoodyandTheMayandSamuelRudin
FamilyFoundation,andTheFranandRayStarkFoundation.AdditionalunderwritingbyAndrewNikou,the
PasadenaArtAlliance,andMarkSandelson.
AbouttheHammerMuseum
TheHammerMuseumatUCLAoffersexhibitionsandcollectionsthatspanclassictocontemporaryart,aswellas
programs that spark meaningful encounters with art and ideas.Through a wide-ranging, international exhibition
programandthebiennial,MadeinL.A.,theHammerhighlightscontemporaryartsincethe1960s,especiallythe
work of emerging and under recognized artists. The exhibitions, permanent collections, and nearly 300 public
programs annually—including film screenings, lectures, symposia, readings, music performances, and workshops
forfamilies—areallfreetothepublic.
HammerMuseumInformation
AdmissiontoallexhibitionsandprogramsattheHammerMuseumisfree,madepossiblethroughthegenerosity
ofbenefactorsErikaJ.GlazerandBrendaR.Potter.Hours:Tuesday–Friday11a.m.–8p.m.,Saturday&Sunday11
a.m.–5p.m.ClosedMondaysandnationalholidays.HammerMuseum,10899WilshireBoulevardatWestwood,
LosAngeles.Onsiteparking$6(3hours)or$6flatrateafter6p.m.Visithammer.ucla.eduorcall310-443-7000.