EDITOR'S LETTER

The market encourages and handsomely rewards boldness—"Move fast and break things," et cetera— but the culture tends to be more conservative. Take the case of Michael Govan and LACMA. The only thing more radical than the design, by Pritzker Prize-winning Peter Zumthor, is Michael's idea forwhat is happening inside: the reimagination of what an encyclopedic museum can be, organized by curators' points of view, untethered to geography or timeline. Govan and Zumthor, who until now has never built a building in the US, inspired years of pearl clutching in Los Angeles over the development—one art critic even earned a Pulitzer Prize for his opprobrium. Nonetheless, this month LACMA will open the doors of the David Geffen Galleries to Angelenos and the world. Michael's monumental conviction seems to have already won over them all.

Ail correspondent Nate Freeman toured the building with Michael for his story, "The Man, the Metropolis, and the $720 Million Museum," with mid-installation photographs by Max Farago (page 54). Congratulations to Michael, who, after two decades of diligence and diplomacy, has realized his vision. He gave everything to LACMA, even selling the home traditionally occupied by the museum's director to free up funds during COVID. We could use such diplomatic skill in other spheres. If Michael ever considers a career change, Governor Govan has a lot of alliterative appeal.

I have been getting to know LACMA much better over the past few months, as Vanity Fair is set to host our 31st annual Oscar Party at the brand-new building, even before it opens. It was our first choice of location and I'm so thrilled that Michael said yes. I look forward to partnering on much more than parties in the months and years to come.

I have, in fact, never attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party. But I have worked it. In 2012, as an editorial assistant, my job was to run notes from the red carpet into the Sunset Tower, serving as a human text message so that editors could stay off their phones. At the end of the night, I did take a flip phone picture of two gold statues waiting patiently while their new owners enjoyed some In-N-Out burgers. To my delighted surprise, the grainy image ended up running in the magazine's table of contents page a couple of months later. (It is and may remain my one and only photo credit in the archives of this magazine.) We are encouraging a renewed sense of privacy at this year's Oscar Party, going so far as to sticker guests' cameras, but there's always a chance that someone will break the rules. And that we will print their picture.

MARK GUIDUCCI