The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles - MONUMENTS Exhibit
Installation view of MONUMENTS, October 23, 2025 - May 3, 2026 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo vy SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
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ARCHITECTURAL TEAM | John Sparano, Anne Mooney, Ludwing Juarez, Jorge Beltran, Jack Somers, Morgan Bennett, Kenji Moss
PHOTOGRAPHY | Sparano + Mooney Architecture
STRUCTURAL | NAST Enterprises Corp.
MONUMENTS offers a critical look at public monuments and their place in contemporary conversations about history and identity. Co-organized with The Brick, the exhibition brings together decommissioned Confederate statues alongside new works by artists including Kara Walker, Bethany Collins and Kahlil Robert Irving.
Presented in varying conditions, from intact to vandalized, these monuments are removed from their original sites to invite reflection on memory, power and public space.
Installation view of MONUMENTS, October 23, 2025 - May 3, 2026 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
Installation view of MONUMENTS, October 23, 2025 - May 3, 2026 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
Sparano + Mooney Architecture provided design support for the MONUMENTS exhibit, collaborating with the museum’s Exhibition Production group and designing gallery areas per the museum’s direction. In addition, Sparano + Mooney Architecture worked with the structural engineer to design seismic support for all specialized statues exhibited. Gallery areas were designed to comply with present building code requirements for construction and accessibility.
Sparano + Mooney Architecture generated permitting drawings for tenant improvement renovations to accommodate the exhibits within the architectural space; coordinated with the structural engineer; attended design meetings with the museum’s Exhibition Production group; prepared a building permit application and submitted permitting documents to the Building Department and Fire Department for approval; and attended plan check review meetings to obtain the necessary building permit issuance while also providing support during exhibit construction.
Installation view of MONUMENTS, October 23, 2025 - May 3, 2026 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
