Cutting-edge, breaking boundaries, ever changing—these are words that could apply as much to modern Latinos, as much as to the contemporary art featured at MOCAD.  For those of you that don’t know, MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit) is southeast Michigan’s only contemporary art museum.  Located at 4454 Woodward Ave, in the heart of Detroit’s Cultural Center, it provides the community with an easy opportunity to view some of the world’s most accessible, yet engagingly avant-garde art.  We recently had the opportunity to interview its director, Luis Croquer at his office.

The thing that first struck me most about MOCAD was its openness.  Its white interior displayed all sorts of pieces that drew my eyes.  I wasn’t sure what I was looking at, yet I couldn’t look away.  This isn’t the type of cliche stuff that you might think of—items that are viewed by people dressed all in black and speak in faux, pretentious French accents. These were pieces that I felt I could “get,” even though I’ve only had one art history class.  As it turned out, Croquer was just as accessible as the art that was featured.

“I, often, think that, when people step into a contemporary art museum or into a new expression of some discipline, they might be confounded because they’re encountering something that isn’t part of what they know.  I think that it is our obligation to create that bridge to see if they really like it or not, when presented with the information,” he said in his calm, quiet voice.

I think that the idea of it being okay not to completely get a piece will be something strange when people come to MOCAD.  In your traditional museum, as the Detroit Institute of Arts, there are a lot of pieces that are pretty easy to get.  If you’re some sort of art aficionado, you might even know what time period and style that it fits in, as well as the artist’s technique(s).  If you’re an average layman, you either like it or don’t.  At MOCAD, the interaction between artist and viewer is a more subjective one.

“I think that it’s part of the problem of how people have been introduced to art,” he explained.  “Modernism, in general, has always been very linear. If you looked at something, you had to understand it. It comes from the school system—people feel like they have to understand what people are saying to them.  Even contextual art is about feelings and emotions.  It’s experiential, personal and unique.”

He went on further, “In a traditional art museum, you have pieces that have already been contextualized over time and been studied by art historians and curators.  In a contemporary art museum, most of the artists that you’d deal with are working through their art to find a voice.”

What an interesting question: do I have to get this piece? As Croquer said, all too often, viewers feel obligated to get a piece.  With contemporary art, the viewer might not have the necessary references to get the piece, but the journey can be possible if the viewer is empowered, as was my situation with the pieces that I saw.  I know what the artist was trying to do and I’m still trying to figure them out, which is okay.

MOCAD, Detroit’s hidden artistic gem, started as an idea about ten years ago.  However, it was only until about three years ago that it opened.  The final, missing piece was finding a director, which is what brought Luis Croquer from his long journey to Detroit.

“I was working in New York,” he told me.  “The museum was conducting an international search for, I think, four months before I joined it.  A friend of mine knew about the search and told me about it.  They invited me and I joined it.  Then, it took about seven or eight months before I was told that I was appointed.  Before that, I had three or four chances to come and speak to the board to find out if it would have been a right fit.  It was very exciting to move here.”

As a Salvadorean diplomat’s son, Croquer was exposed to many different settings—both geographically and culturally.  During the interview, I asked him if his childhood prepared him for his career as a curator/director and about the similarities between running a museum and diplomacy.

“In different countries, there would be different ethnic groups,” he told me.  “I learned very quickly that people are pretty much the same.”

His moment of realization about the connection with diplomacy and his career came to him, during a moment a few years back at an opening that Croquer was working on.

“I didn’t like diplomacy much, when I was growing up.  At one point, my father said that I should consider being a diplomat.  He said that I had the training and that with school that I would be fine.  Like a lot of Latinos, my father didn’t think that art was a career.  About five years ago, I was at an opening working and suddenly I realized, ‘Oh, my God.  This is the same job,’” he said with a little chuckle.

Merriam-Webster online defines diplomacy as “skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility.”  This is precisely what Luis Croquer and MOCAD are doing with the public that comes out to view their exhibits that feature some of the world’s best contemporary art. Displaying art is a proposal that the artist makes with the public.  The question, though simple, asks a profound question: “Why should you view my piece of art?” It, then, falls on the artist to provide an answer.  At the very best, not only will the viewer like it but maybe even get it.  At the very worst, the viewer might not get it or like it, but, at least, appreciate it.

If you’re looking for a great experience that is affordable, then check out MOCAD.  It’s located at 4454 Woodward Ave within Detroit’s Cultural Center.  In addition to featuring compelling visual art, it also presents music, movies and other artistic media.  The graffiti, commissioned by a graffiti artist, covering its grey exterior, just like the pieces inside, questions the viewer and invites them to investigate further.  Do yourself a favor and investigate MOCAD.

Author: José A. Rodríguez
Photo: Renée Gonyeau