Los Angeles, November 2006

Pierce Brosnan 'Steals the Show' as Narrator of LACMA'S Audio Tour for Magritte & Contemporary Art: The Treasury of Images

Antenna Audio tour helps visitors understand Magritte through the eyes of the artists he influenced

Antenna Audio (www.antennaaudio.com), the world leader in audio and multimedia interpretation and part of Discovery Travel Media, presents the audio tour for Magritte & Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images, a special exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) that explores the impact of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte’s (1898–1967) works on U.S. and European artists of the post-war generation.

Narrated by award-winning actor Pierce Brosnan, the 45-minute audio tour provides context and commentary on 28 works of art on display in the exhibition, ranging from Magritte to several contemporary artists who were inspired or affected by his work. The tour goes beyond simply explaining the works on view, but instead draws the visitor into a seamless dialogue with the artists themselves. Commentaries from Jim Shaw, Jeff Koons, Richard Artschwager, Ed Ruscha, and exhibition designer John Baldessari reveal how Magritte’s visual vocabulary and artistic strategies have seeped into their work, and our culture as a whole. The conversations with Baldessari are especially insightful as he explains his unique exhibition design, "All the things I've done, in terms of design, have been things that I think Magritte would have applauded. He might have done them himself."

As narrator of the tour, Brosnan provides a constant reminder of the different and sometimes unconscious ways that pop, conceptual, and post-modern sensibilities have referenced Magritte’s ideas and imagery. Brosnan was selected because of his memorable performance in the 1999 movie, The Thomas Crown Affair, in which several scenes are inspired by Magritte's work, including the closing sequence in which Brosnan's character employs a multitude of men in bowler hats to disguise an elaborate stunt.

"We are grateful to Mr. Brosnan for donating his time and ability to enhance the audio tour for this extraordinary exhibition", said Antenna Audio CEO, Andrew Nugée. "His passion for Magritte is clearly discernable throughout the tour, and we hope his celebrity will encourage more people to visit LACMA, experience Magritte and of course take the audio tour."

Magritte & Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images opens to the public on November 19th and will be available through March 4, 2007. The show will not travel to other venues.

Tickets for the Antenna Audio tour are available weekdays: public $6, public twilight $5, members $5, member’s twilight $4, and weekends: public $7, public twilight $6, members $5, member’s twilight $4. Participants use the award-winning X-plorer™ audio guide system, designed specifically to meet the needs of museum visitors worldwide.

About Antenna Audio

Antenna Audio (www.antennaaudio.com) is the world leader in audio and multimedia tours, and is an innovator in mobile and cultural interpretation, expanding into podcasting, cell-phone tours and downloadable walking tours. Each year, more than 20 million visitors, in 12 languages and across 20 countries, experience Antenna Audio's award-winning productions at 450 of the world's most famous, fascinating, and frequented destinations. Acquired in April 2006 by Discovery Communications, Inc., Antenna Audio is now part of the leading real-world media brand on all platforms. Joining Discovery Travel Media, the integrated travel media business of Discovery, Antenna Audio now offers its clients unprecedented access to Discovery's expansive archives, marketing channels, and distribution networks. For more information on Discovery Communications, please visit www.discovery.com.

For further details please contact:

Sarah Dines
Antenna Audio
P.O. Box 176
Sausalito, CA 94966
t: 415 332 4862
e:

About LACMA

In April 2006, Michael Govan became CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). He is the seventh person to hold the position of Director in the museum’s 41-year history. Established as an independent institution in 1965, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has assembled a permanent collection that includes approximately 100,000 works of art spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present, making it the premier encyclopedic visual arts museum in the western United States. Located in the heart of one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, the museum uses its collection and resources to provide a variety of educational and cultural experiences for the people who live in, work in, and visit Los Angeles. LACMA offers an outstanding schedule of special exhibitions, as well as lectures, classes, family activities, film programs, and world-class musical events. The museum offers free admission after 5 pm every day the museum is open and all day on the second Tuesday of each month. LACMA's “Free after Five” program is sponsored by Target.

General Information: LACMA is located at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles CA, 90036. For more information about LACMA and its programming, call (323) 857-6000 or log on to www.lacma.org.

Museum Hours and Admission: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, noon–8 pm; Friday, noon–9 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 11 am–8 pm; closed Wednesday. Adults $9; students 18+ with ID and senior citizens 62+ $5; children 17 and under are admitted free. Admission (except to specially ticketed exhibitions) is free the second Tuesday of every month, and every evening after 5 pm.

Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images is specially ticketed and runs from November 19, 2006-March 4, 2007. Tickets are now available and can be purchased online at lacma.org, via phone at 877 522-6225, or on-site at LACMA’s Box Office. Weekdays: adults $17.00; seniors (62+) and students with valid I.D. $14.00; and twilight (starting at 5 pm) $12.00. Weekends: adults $20.00; seniors (62+) and students with valid I.D. $17.00; and twilight (starting at 5 pm) $15.00. Children 17 and under are always free.

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and is presented by Lexus. It was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Frederick R. Weisman Philanthropic Foundation. In-kind media support for the exhibition was provided by CBS/Decaux and 89.9 KCRW. In-kind support for the exhibition was provided by The Beverly Hilton. This exhibition was supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.