Artist Diana Thater is creating a new permanent large-scale video installation titled "Oo Fifi, Five Days In Claude Monet’s Garden, Part 3" for the bridge over Wilshire Boulevard at LACMA's David Geffen Galleries. The piece, expected to debut in September, will run nightly from sundown to sunrise and features 6K footage Thater shot in 2025 of Claude Monet's garden in Giverny, France, projected onto a 59-foot-wide wall and part of the bridge ceiling. It will be the largest work of Thater's career and the first permanent outdoor video installation by an artist in a public space.
This installation matters because it represents a significant expansion of public art in Los Angeles, integrating video art into the urban landscape on a permanent basis. The project also highlights the long-standing collaboration between Thater and LACMA director Michael Govan, who first worked together in 2001, and underscores LACMA's commitment to commissioning ambitious, site-specific works that engage with the city's architecture and daily life.