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  Honoree John Baldessari  Betty Saar  Ari Emaneul, Maria Seferian and Philippe Vergne  Dita Von Teese, James Kaliardos, and actress Marisa Tomei  Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson  Alex Van Halen and Stine Schyberg  Joy Venturini Bianchi and Dita Von Teese  Frank Gehry and wife Berta Isabel Aguilera  Eric White and Patricia Arquette  Ed Ruscha and Danna Knego  Albert Brooks and Kimberly Shlain  Curator Ann Goldstein, Barbara Kruger, and Sarah Watson  Co-Founders of Athletic Propulsion Labs Adam Goldston and Ryan Goldston  Gia Coppola  Nathalie Love  Tessa Thompson  Britt Robertson  Artists Piero Golia and Nicole Miller  Wolfgang Puck and Gelila Assefa  West Coast Director of Vogue and Teen Vogue Lisa Love  Shepard Fairey  Sante D’Orazio and RETNA  Catherine Opie and Julie Burleigh  Petra Cortright  William Pope.L: Trinket [](#)[](#) Abundantly Simple and Maddeningly Complex 2015 MOCA Gala presented by Louis Vuitton at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA “I kinda like to stay in the background, you know. But I’ll get through it.” Said Honoree John Baldessari from his seat in the back of the house. A glittering crowd had studded both the foreground and the background of the Geffen Contemporary for MOCA's 36th annual gala. Dita Von Teese, Marisa Tomei, and philanthropist Joy Venturini Bianchi (and her legendary spectacles) shared a dinner of loup de mer and white asparagus crafted by Wolfgang Puck, who arrived with his wife, designer Gelila Assefa. Frank Gehry, still dashing at 86, designed the canopy that sheltered us from the industrial fans blowing William Pope.L's "Trinket"—the 55-by-16-foot fraying American flag on view next door. Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson were also in attendance, with Sam, the _50 Shades_ director and former White Cube-represented artist overheard remarking “It doesn’t always need to be about the entertainment industry,” thus capturing the decidedly art-centric zeitgeist where names like Barbara Kruger, Betty Saar, and Piero Golia outnumbered the likes of Britt Robertson, Gia Coppola—resplendant in Louis Vuitton, who presented the gala—and Nathalie Love. MOCA Director Philippe Vergne was in high spirits, having just come off a hugely successful fundraising drive, and the unrelentingly upbeat performance by Janelle Monae contributed an air of genuine celebration as she crowed, "I Feel Good," moving the house to their feet.