Click to skip to site content
Last Call: Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom Closing Reception with Jan Tumlir

Installation view of Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom, November 12, 2023–June 16, 2024 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by Zak Kelley.

Last Call: Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom Closing Reception with Jan Tumlir

Join MOCA for the closing reception of Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom, including a walkthrough with art writer Jan Tumlir, followed by a listening session on the plaza of Pfeiffer Coda, a live mix by Tumlir. Stick around for a DJ set by Godspeed Radio.

Jan Tumlir is an art-writer and teacher based in Los Angeles. He is a founding editor of the local art journal X-TRA, and a long-time regular contributor to Artforum and Frieze. More recently, he has joined the editorial team at Effects, a London-based journal devoted to “aesthetics in the shadows of the contemporary." Tumlir has written extensively on such artists as Bas Jan Ader, Uta Barth, John Divola, Cyprien Gaillard, Allen Ruppersberg and James Welling. His books include: LA Artland, a survey of contemporary art in Los Angeles co-written with Chris Kraus and Jane McFadden, published by Black Dog Press in 2005; Hyenas Are…, a monograph on the work of Matthew Brannon, published by Mousse in 2011; The Magic Circle: On The Beatles, Pop Art, Art-Rock and Records, published by Onomatopee in 2015; and Conversations, produced in discussion with Jorge Pardo, published by Inventory Books, 2021. A book-length study of the role of gesture in painting is forthcoming. Tumlir has served as a faculty member of the Fine Art and Humanities and Sciences departments at Art Center College of Design since 1999. In 2022, he joined the faculty of SCI-Arc as resident art historian.

Godspeed Radio consists of Jan Tumlir, Eric Wesley and Erica Redling.

This program is organized by Justen Leroy, Director of Public Programs and Community Outreach, and Alitzah Oros, Public Programming Associate, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Paul Pfeiffer: Prologue to the Story of the Birth of Freedom is organized by Clara Kim, Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Paula Kroll, Curatorial Assistant, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Lead support is provided by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and The Aileen Getty Foundation.

Major support is provided by MOCA Projects Council in honor of Mandy Einstein, and Jamie and Robert Soros.

Generous support is provided by  and 

Additional support is provided by Jam Acuzar and Christopher Ax, carlier | gebauer (Berlin/Madrid), Marcel Crespo, Thomas Dane Gallery, Eder-Zobel de Ayala Family, Jill and Peter Kraus, Elaine Forsgate Marden, Amy and John Phelan, Anton Ramos, Maria Taniguchi, and Fernando Zobel de Ayala.

Supporters of the exhibition catalogue include The Katherine S. Marmor Award and the Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley.

Exhibitions at MOCA are supported by the MOCA Fund for Exhibitions with generous funding provided by Jordan S. Goodman + The Goodman Family Foundation, The Earl and Shirley Greif Foundation, and Pamela West.

This exhibition is carbon calculated. The museum reduced greenhouse gas emissions through planning efforts and balanced the remaining emissions through Strategic Climate Fund donations. Support provided by the MOCA Environmental Council.