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# Artists & Veterans Protest Deitch at MOCA Geffen [UPDATED]
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/la-street-artists-protest-detich-moca-geffen/
- Published: 2011-01-04T16:31:50.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:37:45.000Z
- Description: Even if LA MOCA thinks the Blu Mural Censorship controversy is going to go away, it isn't. The institution has not responded to Hyperallergic's requests for comments on the issue or an unedited interview on the topic of the Blu mural censorship. And now, LA Times's Culture Monster reports on the lat
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: News, #image-position-hidden, Censorship, Jeffrey Deitch, Protest, Street Art, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-17 09:23 (2009-2011)

[Downtown LA BLU MOCA Whitewash Protest // 01.03.2011](http://vimeo.com/18419889?ref=hyperallergic.com) from [jesse trott](http://vimeo.com/user5643423?ref=hyperallergic.com) on [Vimeo](http://vimeo.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com).

Even if LA MOCA thinks the [Blu Mural Censorship controversy](https://hyperallergic.com/more-answers-moca-mural/) is going to go away, it isn’t. The institution has not responded to Hyperallergic’s requests for comments on the issue or an unedited interview on the topic of the Blu mural censorship. And now, *LA Times*‘s Culture Monster [reports on the latest action](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/01/street-artists-protest-moca-geffen-contemporary-blu.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) by some street artists, including Chicano artist/Vietnam War veteran Leo Limon and Joey Krebs (aka The Phantom Street Artist), equipped with projectors at the MOCA Geffen Contemporary wall:

> A crew of street and graffiti artists, together with a handful of war veterans, gathered Monday night in the dark, empty parking lot of MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo to stage a guerrilla protest performance against the museum’s director, Jeffrey Deitch.

I particularly like this quote by Carol Well, founder and executive director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics:

> She said she considers Deitch’s actions as censorship. “Outrageous is the first word that comes to mind,” she said. “I think he was absolutely wrong. He was trying to do an edgy exhibit, hires an artist known to be edgy. Pushing the boundaries is the very definition of a street artist — so what did he expect?”

Good question, but we know the answer as, according to a leak email by censored street artist Blu, Deitch “[would have preferred a piece that ‘invites people to come in the museum’](https://hyperallergic.com/more-answers-moca-mural/).” In other words, an ad billboard.

Some of the messages projected on the wall last night were “Dump Deitch,” “Give us back our walls!,” “War is over?,” “Peace Now!,” and “We ♥ Blu.”

Culture Monster also reports the group will soon be posting an online video from their night of protest.

The link to the video is [here](http://www.vimeo.com/18419889?ref=hyperallergic.com) (and also posted above).

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2011/01/mocageffenstreetprotest-med.jpg "mocageffenstreetprotest-MED")](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/01/street-artists-protest-moca-geffen-contemporary-blu.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)

*Photos by* [*Culture Monsters’s Deborah Vankin*](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/01/street-artists-protest-moca-geffen-contemporary-blu.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)