If asked to use the words “thought-provoking” for any museum in Southern California, we’d start the list with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) in La Jolla, just north of downtown San Diego. Larger and even more impressively curated than one might assume from its online presence, MCASD fills three floors of a substantial compound with late 20th and early 21st century art ranging from paintings, prints, and sculptures to mixed media and films. The collection opens with a trophy-class mirrored Yayoi Kusama pumpkin – just one of multiple pieces that are unquestionably the distinctive work of their famed artists, yet not the most common or basic versions easily found elsewhere – then continues with pieces that gently convince visitors to consider and refine their own ideas of what might constitute art, shifting even as they consider it from different angles. By the time you see Robert Irwin’s 1°2°3°4°, a series of apertures cut into windows framing nearby ocean scenes, you’ll likely be in awe of both the collection and its curatorial team.
Parking for MCASD is free but somewhat limited on nearby streets; adult tickets are $25 each, with free admission for visitors aged 25 and under. An indoor gift shop includes a superb collection of reasonably priced clothes, bags, books, and objets d’ art, curated almost as impressively as the museum itself. Expect to spend an hour or more touring the collection, and potentially additional time at its oceanfront restaurant or adjacent cafe.
