Joel Wachs
Encyclopedia
Joel Wachs was a Los Angeles, California, City Council member for thirty years (1970–2001) and a three-time candidate for mayor of that city, who is now the president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City. As a councilman, he was known for his promotion of the arts, his support of gay causes, his advocacy of rent control and other liberal measures.
, the son of Archie and Hannah Wachs, a teacher. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Poland who ran a grocery and butcher shop. The younger of two sons, Joel "suffered from hay fever
so severe that at the height of the ragweed
season, his parents sat him in the shop's cold storage
storage room, in a fur coat, to help him breathe." They moved to Los Angeles when Wachs was ten years old, where he family became wealthy with a chain of inexpensive ladies' clothing stores. Joel grew up in Vermont Knolls, between 79th and 83rd streets and Vermont
and Normandie Avenue
.
He attended Horace Mann Junior High School and Washington High School
, followed by UCLA where the "gregarious" Wachs was president of his freshman
and junior
classes, president of the student body president and where he graduated in 1961. He earned a degree at Harvard Law School
and then a master's degree in taxation from New York University
. When in Los Angeles, he lived in Studio City.
The unmarried Wachs was a closeted gay until he was preparing to run for mayor in 1999 at the age of sixty. He was asked by Bill Rosendahl
, the openly gay moderator of a public affairs television show, "Are you a gay man?" Wachs responded: "I am and I'm very proud of what I've done for the community, and I'm also very proud of the fact that what I've done for the community is what I've done for all communities."
He had a boisterous personality. When he was newly elected to the Los Angeles City Council
, he distributed a mock ordinance that would supposedly have taxed all male residents on the size of their genitals. Occasionally he would exclaim "This is fun!" in the middle of a committee meeting. His colleagues described him as "a human guy, a lot of heart" and used adjectives that ranged from "very bright and intellectual" to "emotional" to "slightly hysterical."
from July 1, 1971, to September 28, 2001, when his resignation took effect. His thirty years on the council were surpassed only by John Ferraro
's thirty-five years, Ernani Bernardi
's thirty-two years and Marvin Braude
's thirty-one.
In May 1971, Wachs, "a young political newcomer," "overwhelmed" veteran James B. Potter, Jr.
in Los Angeles City Council District 2, which included portions of the Santa Monica Mountains
and the San Fernando Valley
. The vote was 24,704 for Wachs and 14,898 for Potter. His victory was attributed in part to his opposing a multimillion-dollar development in the mountains just north of Beverly Hills
.
When he was seated, he became the City Council's youngest member at age thirty-three.
In 1986, a redistricting move stripped him of more than 90% of his old district and put him into a new one that ran from his home in Studio City to Sunland-Tujunga
in the far northeast San Fernando Valley. He was nevertheless reelected in the realigned, more conservative despite the opposition of the Los Angeles Apartment Owners Association, who attacked him because of his opposition to rent control
. Wachs was reelected in every vote thereafter.
in July 1981 when outgoing President John Ferraro decided to drop out of the contest against Councilwoman Pat Russell
and, with Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson as a partner, put up Wachs as a candidate instead. Wachs was elected two a two-year term in an 8-7 vote, with Wachs breaking a pledge to Russell to vote for her and casting a vote for himself instead. He later described the turn of events as akin to a "Hollywood movie" and, inasmuch as Mayor Tom Bradley
was soon to become a candidate for governor, he had plenty of opportunity to act as mayor when Bradley was out of town. He served for two years.
Neighborhood councils. Wachs is sometimes cited as the originator of neighborhood councils
in Los Angeles. He organized the first ones—in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood-Toluca Lake and the hilll area south of Mulholland Drive
in November 1971, choosing the first members himself from a range of backgrounds. He launched numerous studies of councils in other cities and produced a booklet to help guide the new councils in Los Angeles.
Oil drilling. In 1971 he proposed a ban on oil drilling on the city's coastline one-half mile inland from the shore "for both esthetic and geographical safety reasons."
Income tax. He was a supporter of levying a city income tax in order to relieve property owners of a tax burden.
Rent control. He was a decided advocate for rent control
in an effort to keep housing affordable for the elderly and the poor.
Gay rights. Wachs and Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson sponsored what Wachs called "the strongest gay rights ordinance in the U.S.," prohibiting job and housing discrimination based on sexual preference. His measure outlawing employment discrimination against victims of AIDS
was passed unanimously by the City Council, despite the fact that his mail on the subject was running heavily against it.
Recycling. In 1981 he called for mandatory separation of recyclable materials
from regular trash before collection to cope with the city's "growing refuse-disposal crisis."
Artists. Wachs successfully pushed for an ordinance change that would allow artists to live and work in commercially zoned districts. He also worked to create a city Cultural Affairs Department.
Drug gear. Wachs cast the only vote against a city ordinance prohibiting minors from purchasing drug paraphernalia
, saying in 1983 he did not think police officers should spend their time raiding head shops.
Off leash. He proposed an eventually successful idea for the city to provide a number of dog parks, where Los Angeles' nearly 200,000 licensed dogs could run free.
Police chief. Wachs emerged as the sole City Council member who helped broker an agreement that enabled Police Chief Daryl Gates
to resign his post in June 1992 and retire "in an orderly fashion" after a police crisis occasioned by the March 1991 beating of Rodney King
and the resulting riots
—as well as the issuance of a final, critical report of the police department by the Christopher Commission
. The two forged a bond of trust, it was said, when Wachs leaped to Gates' defense when the city Police Commission briefly removed the chief in the wake of the riots.
Dan White. He went to Sacramento in January 1984 to unsuccessfully argue with state prison authorities that Dan White
, the San Francisco supervisor
who had killed gay leader Harvey Milk
and Mayor George Moscone
, should be moved out of Los Angeles County, where he had been paroled
after serving five years in prison for the killings.
Sports arena. Wachs was credited with forging a 1997 deal with the developers of a downtown sports arena
that lifted some of the onerous provisions that would have worked to the financial disadvantage of the city. In return for the concessions, he agreed to exempt the arena from a ballot measure he was preparing to require voter approval for any subsidized sports stadiums.
Foundation for the Visual Arts. His last day on the job was September 28 of that year.
eventually won his first Los Angeles mayoral election. In 1993, he finished third behind Richard Riordan
and Mike Woo. He ran again in 2001
and finished fourth with 11 percent, behind James K. Hahn, Antonio Villaraigosa
and Steve Soboroff
.
and the Walt Disney Concert Hall
.
to be a part of a seven-member panel that tried to determine what to do with a 12-foot-high, 112-foot-long outdoor steel sculpture by Richard Serra
titled "Tilted Arc
," which had drawn complaints and was eventually demolished.
He was the author of an ordinance that requires commercial developers
to set aside 1% of the value of all projects costing more than $500,000 for cultural and artistic projects—either to spend the money on their own or deposit with the city for use elsewhere.
Wachs was active in strengthening Los Angeles' ordinance on outdoor advertising signs
but was equally active when the city's Building and Safety Commission at first attempted to classify a proposed work by Barbara Kruger
as a sign that fell under its jurisdiction. It later reversed itself, and Wachs specifically compared the commission's initial decision to the prosecution of a Cincinnati museum over a show by the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
.
in order to serve as president of the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts. Wachs is nominally the chairman of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board
. Wachs's salary at the charity is over $350,000 per year, which does not include generous expenses and a pension plan of approximately 20%. This is nearly four times the average salary for such a position.
In 2010, Wachs in his Warhol foundation role protested the removal of a David Wojnarowicz
piece from the "Hide/Seek" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. The foundation had supported the exhibition with a $100,000 grant. Wachs wrote to the head of the Smithsonian Institution
(NPG's parent organization), G. Wayne Clough
, on behalf of the foundation’s unanimous board with the "demand that the Smithsonian restore the work ... to the exhibition or the foundation would reject any future grant requests." Wachs' letter said in part "For the arts to flourish the arts must be free, and the decision to censor this important work is in stark opposition to our mission to defend freedom of expression wherever and whenever it is under attack.” There were no signs of reinstatement of the Wojnarowicz piece by the NPG.
-----
Biography
Wachs was born on March 1, 1939, in Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, the son of Archie and Hannah Wachs, a teacher. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Poland who ran a grocery and butcher shop. The younger of two sons, Joel "suffered from hay fever
Hay Fever
Hay Fever is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Laura Hope Crews played the role in New York...
so severe that at the height of the ragweed
Ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus Ambrosia in the sunflower family Asteraceae. Common names include bitterweeds and bloodweeds....
season, his parents sat him in the shop's cold storage
Cold storage
Cold storage may refer to:* A form of refrigerated storage* Cold Storage, a musician also known as Tim Wright * Cold Storage , a supermarket found in Singapore and Malaysia* COLD...
storage room, in a fur coat, to help him breathe." They moved to Los Angeles when Wachs was ten years old, where he family became wealthy with a chain of inexpensive ladies' clothing stores. Joel grew up in Vermont Knolls, between 79th and 83rd streets and Vermont
Vermont Avenue
Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north/south streets in Los Angeles, California with a length of about . Located just west of the Harbor Freeway for the major portion south of Downtown Los Angeles, it starts in Griffith Park at the Greek Theatre in the Los Feliz neighborhood as a...
and Normandie Avenue
Normandie Avenue
Normandie Avenue is one of Los Angeles County's longest north-south streets. With a stretch of about 22.5 miles , it lies between Vermont Avenue and Western Avenue, starting off north of Franklin Avenue. At Wilshire Boulevard, the Metro Purple Line intersects at an underground subway station. ...
.
He attended Horace Mann Junior High School and Washington High School
Washington Preparatory High School
George Washington Preparatory High School is a secondary school in the Westmont section of unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States that is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, .It was founded in 1926...
, followed by UCLA where the "gregarious" Wachs was president of his freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
and junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
classes, president of the student body president and where he graduated in 1961. He earned a degree at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and then a master's degree in taxation from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. When in Los Angeles, he lived in Studio City.
The unmarried Wachs was a closeted gay until he was preparing to run for mayor in 1999 at the age of sixty. He was asked by Bill Rosendahl
Bill Rosendahl
William Joseph "Bill" Rosendahl is an American politician. He is serving on the Los Angeles City Council, representing Council District 11. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Biography:...
, the openly gay moderator of a public affairs television show, "Are you a gay man?" Wachs responded: "I am and I'm very proud of what I've done for the community, and I'm also very proud of the fact that what I've done for the community is what I've done for all communities."
He had a boisterous personality. When he was newly elected to the Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
, he distributed a mock ordinance that would supposedly have taxed all male residents on the size of their genitals. Occasionally he would exclaim "This is fun!" in the middle of a committee meeting. His colleagues described him as "a human guy, a lot of heart" and used adjectives that ranged from "very bright and intellectual" to "emotional" to "slightly hysterical."
Private practice
After completing his education, Wachs became an attorney with the Los Angeles firm of Gray, Binkley & Pfaelzer, which later became Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodard & Quinn, and practiced law for five years. He told a reporter in 1991: "I didn't love practicing tax law . . . . the result of my efforts was finding ways to save rich people money. And I didn't find that satsifying."City Council
Wachs served on the Los Angeles City CouncilLos Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
from July 1, 1971, to September 28, 2001, when his resignation took effect. His thirty years on the council were surpassed only by John Ferraro
John Ferraro
John Ferraro was the longest-serving Los Angeles City Council member in the history of the city—thirty-five years, from 1966 until his death in 2001—and the president of the council for fourteen of them...
's thirty-five years, Ernani Bernardi
Ernani Bernardi
Ernani Bernardi , known also as Noni Bernardi, was a big-band musician turned politician in Los Angeles, California. He represented District 7 on the City Council there from 1961 to 1993—at 32 years the second-longest-serving council member in the history of the city...
's thirty-two years and Marvin Braude
Marvin Braude
Marvin Braude was a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 32 years, between 1965 and 1997—the third-longest-serving council member in the history of the city...
's thirty-one.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1971 and afterIn May 1971, Wachs, "a young political newcomer," "overwhelmed" veteran James B. Potter, Jr.
James B. Potter, Jr.
James B. Potter, Jr. was a Los Angeles, California, City Council member between 1963 and 1971. A sales manager for a tool company, when elected to the City Council he became its youngest member at age 31...
in Los Angeles City Council District 2, which included portions of the Santa Monica Mountains
Santa Monica Mountains
The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
and the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
. The vote was 24,704 for Wachs and 14,898 for Potter. His victory was attributed in part to his opposing a multimillion-dollar development in the mountains just north of Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
When he was seated, he became the City Council's youngest member at age thirty-three.
In 1986, a redistricting move stripped him of more than 90% of his old district and put him into a new one that ran from his home in Studio City to Sunland-Tujunga
Sunland-Tujunga, Los Angeles
Sunland-Tujunga is a community served by two post offices in the northeasternmost corner of Los Angeles, California. Though Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements, they are today linked through a single police station, branch library, neighborhood council. chamber of commerce, City...
in the far northeast San Fernando Valley. He was nevertheless reelected in the realigned, more conservative despite the opposition of the Los Angeles Apartment Owners Association, who attacked him because of his opposition to rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
. Wachs was reelected in every vote thereafter.
Presidency
After ten years on the City Council, two of them as president pro tem, Wachs was suddenly and unexpectedly elected Los Angeles City Council presidentLos Angeles City Council president
This is an incomplete list of presidents of the Los Angeles City Council. Not only does the officer preside over meetings of the council, but he or she also makes assignments to City Council committees and handles parliamentary duties like ruling motions in or out of order...
in July 1981 when outgoing President John Ferraro decided to drop out of the contest against Councilwoman Pat Russell
Pat Russell
Pat Russell was the fourth woman to serve on the Los Angeles, California, City Council and the first woman to be City Council president .-Biography:...
and, with Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson as a partner, put up Wachs as a candidate instead. Wachs was elected two a two-year term in an 8-7 vote, with Wachs breaking a pledge to Russell to vote for her and casting a vote for himself instead. He later described the turn of events as akin to a "Hollywood movie" and, inasmuch as Mayor Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
was soon to become a candidate for governor, he had plenty of opportunity to act as mayor when Bradley was out of town. He served for two years.
Positions
"Wachs defied easy categorization on the council, emerging as a populist who railed against what he saw as insider dealing in City Hall and misuse of taxpayer funds. He also was a staunch advocate for the arts and for civil rights." He was known as a "moderate to liberal Republican" but reregistered as an independent before running for mayor in 1993. He backed efforts that resulted in public financing of city elections and creation of an ethics commission.Neighborhood councils. Wachs is sometimes cited as the originator of neighborhood councils
Neighborhood Councils
Neighborhood councils are governmental or non-governmental bodies composed of local people who handle neighborhood problems.-Introduction:...
in Los Angeles. He organized the first ones—in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood-Toluca Lake and the hilll area south of Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after Los Angeles pioneer civil engineer William Mulholland...
in November 1971, choosing the first members himself from a range of backgrounds. He launched numerous studies of councils in other cities and produced a booklet to help guide the new councils in Los Angeles.
Oil drilling. In 1971 he proposed a ban on oil drilling on the city's coastline one-half mile inland from the shore "for both esthetic and geographical safety reasons."
Income tax. He was a supporter of levying a city income tax in order to relieve property owners of a tax burden.
Rent control. He was a decided advocate for rent control
Rent control
Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
in an effort to keep housing affordable for the elderly and the poor.
Gay rights. Wachs and Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson sponsored what Wachs called "the strongest gay rights ordinance in the U.S.," prohibiting job and housing discrimination based on sexual preference. His measure outlawing employment discrimination against victims of AIDS
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS
Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS is when someone is discriminated against, oppressed or otherwise treated unfairly for their real or perceived diagnosis as HIV-positive....
was passed unanimously by the City Council, despite the fact that his mail on the subject was running heavily against it.
Recycling. In 1981 he called for mandatory separation of recyclable materials
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
from regular trash before collection to cope with the city's "growing refuse-disposal crisis."
Artists. Wachs successfully pushed for an ordinance change that would allow artists to live and work in commercially zoned districts. He also worked to create a city Cultural Affairs Department.
Drug gear. Wachs cast the only vote against a city ordinance prohibiting minors from purchasing drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia is a term used, often with a slightly negative connotation due to its use in criminal law field e.g. "possession of drug paraphernalia", to denote any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes...
, saying in 1983 he did not think police officers should spend their time raiding head shops.
Off leash. He proposed an eventually successful idea for the city to provide a number of dog parks, where Los Angeles' nearly 200,000 licensed dogs could run free.
Police chief. Wachs emerged as the sole City Council member who helped broker an agreement that enabled Police Chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
to resign his post in June 1992 and retire "in an orderly fashion" after a police crisis occasioned by the March 1991 beating of Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
and the resulting riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
—as well as the issuance of a final, critical report of the police department by the Christopher Commission
Christopher Commission
The Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, informally known as the Christopher Commission, was formed in July 1991, in the wake of the Rodney King beating, by then-mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley. It was chaired by attorney Warren Christopher...
. The two forged a bond of trust, it was said, when Wachs leaped to Gates' defense when the city Police Commission briefly removed the chief in the wake of the riots.
Dan White. He went to Sacramento in January 1984 to unsuccessfully argue with state prison authorities that Dan White
Dan White
Daniel James "Dan" White was a San Francisco supervisor who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall...
, the San Francisco supervisor
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
who had killed gay leader Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
and Mayor George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
, should be moved out of Los Angeles County, where he had been paroled
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
after serving five years in prison for the killings.
Sports arena. Wachs was credited with forging a 1997 deal with the developers of a downtown sports arena
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
that lifted some of the onerous provisions that would have worked to the financial disadvantage of the city. In return for the concessions, he agreed to exempt the arena from a ballot measure he was preparing to require voter approval for any subsidized sports stadiums.
Resignation
Wachs resigned in 2001 to accept the presidency of Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
Foundation for the Visual Arts. His last day on the job was September 28 of that year.
Mayoral candidacies
Wachs ran thrice for mayor of Los Angeles. In 1973, as a relatively unknown new city council member, he finished a distant seventh in a crowded primary election in which Tom BradleyTom Bradley (politician)
Thomas J. "Tom" Bradley was the 38th Mayor of Los Angeles, California, serving in that office from 1973 to 1993. He was the first and to date only African American mayor of Los Angeles...
eventually won his first Los Angeles mayoral election. In 1993, he finished third behind Richard Riordan
Richard Riordan
Richard J. Riordan is a Republican politician from California, U.S.A. who served as the California Secretary for Education from 2003–2005 and as the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1993–2001...
and Mike Woo. He ran again in 2001
Los Angeles mayoral election, 2001
In 2001, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan was prevented from running for a third term because of term limits. In the election to replace him, Riordan endorsed his Senior Advisor and Parks Commissioner, the Republican businessman Steve Soboroff.-Primary Election:...
and finished fourth with 11 percent, behind James K. Hahn, Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
and Steve Soboroff
Steve Soboroff
Steve Soboroff is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Foundation and past Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Playa Vista...
.
Legacy
In recognition of Wachs' involvement in promoting the arts, the City Council in 2002 named the intersection of Grand Avenue and Second Street as "Joel Wachs Square." It lies between the Museum of Contemporary ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
and the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
.
In Los Angeles
Wachs was appointed vice chairman of a new National Task Force on the Arts, whose goal, he said, was "to put the arts and culture on the agenda of every city government as a mainstream economic and social concern." Wachs said he spends one-third of his annual $43,923 salary (in 1981) on works of art for himself. In an interview, he told a reporter in 1981 that when the time came to leave the council, he could be happy practicing law, "being a maitre d' in a nice restaurant," or "heading an arts foundation." In 1987 he flew to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to be a part of a seven-member panel that tried to determine what to do with a 12-foot-high, 112-foot-long outdoor steel sculpture by Richard Serra
Richard Serra
Richard Serra is an American minimalist sculptor and video artist known for working with large-scale assemblies of sheet metal. Serra was involved in the Process Art Movement.-Early life and education:...
titled "Tilted Arc
Tilted Arc
Tilted Arc was a sculpture commissioned by the United States General Services Administration's Arts-in-Architecture program for the Federal Plaza in New York, NY, USA...
," which had drawn complaints and was eventually demolished.
He was the author of an ordinance that requires commercial developers
Commercial district
A commercial district or commercial zone is any part of a city or town in which the primary land use is commercial activities , as opposed to a residential neighbourhood, an industrial zone, or other types of neighbourhoods...
to set aside 1% of the value of all projects costing more than $500,000 for cultural and artistic projects—either to spend the money on their own or deposit with the city for use elsewhere.
Wachs was active in strengthening Los Angeles' ordinance on outdoor advertising signs
Billboard
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
but was equally active when the city's Building and Safety Commission at first attempted to classify a proposed work by Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. Much of her work consists of black-and-white photographs overlaid with declarative captions—in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed...
as a sign that fell under its jurisdiction. It later reversed itself, and Wachs specifically compared the commission's initial decision to the prosecution of a Cincinnati museum over a show by the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
.
Andy Warhol Foundation
Shortly thereafter, Wachs resigned and moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in order to serve as president of the Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
Foundation for the Visual Arts. Wachs is nominally the chairman of the Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board
Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board
The Andy Warhol Art Authentication Board, Inc. is a private corporation which certifies the authenticity of works by artist Andy Warhol. The organization was created in association with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts....
. Wachs's salary at the charity is over $350,000 per year, which does not include generous expenses and a pension plan of approximately 20%. This is nearly four times the average salary for such a position.
In 2010, Wachs in his Warhol foundation role protested the removal of a David Wojnarowicz
David Wojnarowicz
David Wojnarowicz was a painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and activist who was prominent in the New York City art world of the 1980s.-Biography:...
piece from the "Hide/Seek" exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. The foundation had supported the exhibition with a $100,000 grant. Wachs wrote to the head of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
(NPG's parent organization), G. Wayne Clough
G. Wayne Clough
Gerald Wayne Clough is President Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he has held since July 2008...
, on behalf of the foundation’s unanimous board with the "demand that the Smithsonian restore the work ... to the exhibition or the foundation would reject any future grant requests." Wachs' letter said in part "For the arts to flourish the arts must be free, and the decision to censor this important work is in stark opposition to our mission to defend freedom of expression wherever and whenever it is under attack.” There were no signs of reinstatement of the Wojnarowicz piece by the NPG.
External links
-----