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Graffiti show breaks MOCA attendance records

A work (upper left hand corner) by French street artist Space Invader is on display at the 'Art In The Streets' exhibtion inside the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles on April 21, 2011.
A work (upper left hand corner) by French street artist Space Invader is on display at the 'Art In The Streets' exhibtion inside the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles on April 21, 2011.
(
Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
)

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Graffiti show breaks MOCA attendance records
Graffiti show breaks MOCA attendance records

The Museum of Contemporary Art announced Wednesday that graffiti art helped it break attendance records.

The museum logged more than 200,000 visitors for "Art in the Streets" during its four-month run. The survey of the history of graffiti and street art closed on Monday. That day alone, 8,000 visitors passed through the museum’s Little Tokyo space to see work by old school artist Keith Haring and current hotshot Banksy.

The record-breaking attendance is a turnaround for a museum that just three years ago was on the verge of closing its doors because of finances.

"Art in the Streets" is the first major exhibition by Jeffrey Deitch, the museum's new director. Before taking over the museum Deitch ran a private art gallery in New York City that focused on edgy, street inspired art and gaudy opening parties.

Correction: The name "Keith Haring" was corrected from "Matt Haring" in the original story.

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