A TikTok Creator’s Review of LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries

LAST MONTH, THE DAVID GEFFEN GALLERIES AT LACMA finally opened following years of controversy. The $724 million curved concrete structure that swoops over Wilshire Boulevard has been described by critics as “monotonous,” “meandering,” and “disorienting” but also as “radically alive,” with one reviewer likening its design to something out of The Jetsons.

But forget what architecture critics have to say: What do the people who visit the galleries with the grid top of mind think? The ones who have dedicated years to posing in flattering contortions between the lampposts of LACMA’s “Urban Light” installation; the ones who know exactly where to get the cutest angle for Instagram and the most engaging shots for TikTok?

Which spot within the new David Geffen Galleries’ winding halls will become the backdrop to photos you see posted all over social media? 

To find out, I sought out an expert. I spent a lovely afternoon roaming the new LACMA galleries with Challan, a lifestyle content creator who goes by only one name and who has amassed 5.4 million followers on TikTok. The 28-year-old, who was born in Barbados and now lives in L.A., has racked up nearly 300 million likes posting TikToks of herself renewing her driver’s license, glamping, and getting ready for anything from grabbing ice cream to hitting a movie premiere.

We entered the museum and had walked only about 30 feet before Tony Smith’s “Smoke,” a 24-foot. geometric aluminum sculpture reflecting the artist’s fascination with organic patterns, stopped Challan in her petite tracks. I got a quick lesson in taking the ideal post photo. “A lot of people have a hard time figuring out how to pose,” Challan told me. “I’ll be like: ‘Play with your surroundings. Fix your bag, fix your shoes, fix your hair. You don’t have to do too much. You can get real editorial with it. I love a prop in a photo.’” 

To capture a large-scale structure like Smith’s installation, while also looking cute, Challan explained that it’s important to get low so as to take in as much of the piece as possible and avoid background distractions. Eager to learn the intricacies of posting, I hiked up my jeans, bent down on all fours —my knees cracking in resistance— and snapped a pic of her as she demonstrated. Upon seeing the results, Challan gushed. Interacting with art genuinely – or as genuinely as you can while also knowing what to do with your hands – is what makes the best content. Challan calls it “the whole essence of in the moment.”

“Those are the type of photos people want to take and don’t really know how, myself included,” she said generously. “Even the TikTok girls. You know some people will rest their phone on something and try to take a TikTok? That [piece of art] in the background —that would be the cutest video on the planet. Literally this in the back of your TikTok, everyone would be like, what is that, and how do I go stand in front of it.”

As we made our way into the gallery, an attendant handed us a map of the space. Challan enthusiastically approved. It was the perfect prop.

Walking through the exhibition rooms, halls, and bright, naturally lit open spaces displaying ancient figures, Challan moved with what I would call an air of aesthetic inspection. She closely admired pieces, widening her eyes expressively and leaning in just inches away from the art. She contorted her body in modelesque ways as she pointed out details she found interesting. “Oh, these two are from India!” “1575 is crazy.” “I do the most ridiculous-looking poses because they make the best pictures,” she explained while considering getting on the floor in front of an antique tiled Art Deco fireplace. “Whatever feels crazy to do, you should do it.” Looking at the photos I snapped as she weaved through different exhibits, she wasn’t wrong.

Challan said watching other people’s curiosity helped guide how she moved through the space and which pieces she thought would really bang on a feed. 

Seeing people looking curious in a TikTok piques her interest as a viewer, Challan explained.

Seeing a middle-aged tourist take off her rubber sandals and rub her bare feet in the middle of the Classical Revivals in Europe and America exhibit made me think critically about how people behave in public spaces. 

Still, watching the woman massaging her throbbing dogs reminded me of why we were there in the first place. If her shoes had stayed on and she had simply been fiddling with a shoelace surrounded by beautiful art, she wouldn’t be far off from the ideal Challan had described as the ultimate photo moment for social media. 

But Challan was not ready to render a verdict yet: There was still more ground to cover. 

Challan started making content in high school, her affable personality and silliness especially gaining traction on TikTok. These days, the platform taps her for hosting and other projects. The work, Challan explained, has been paramount in helping her manage anxiety. She calls it exposure therapy.

It also emerged that merely being able to walk through the Geffen Galleries was a huge triumph for Challan. The creator confided that she suffers from megalophobia, a fear of large objects. “Normally I’m really scared of big statues,” she told me while standing just a few feet from a neo–Egyptian sphinx sculpture by Lauren Halsey. “I’ve come a long way thanks to my psychiatrist and my therapist.”

She discovered her phobia while visiting a wax museum with her family. “I didn’t realize until I got older that it was because they were way bigger than me. Wax statues are bigger than you, typically,” she explained. “It’s a little scary. I couldn’t go to museums for a long time, so this is big for me.”

As we studied the gallery's notorious cement walls, I told Challan some critics weren’t fans of all the gray. But Challan wasn’t among them. “I say a lot that the world is losing its color, but I like that in all this gray, there’s not much else to steal your attention. I think the gray did exactly what it was supposed to,” she said. 

What she did lament was the lack of detail provided on the labels accompanying each piece of artwork. The placards note the name of the work, the artist, country of origin, materials and how it was obtained, but not the inspiration, contextual information, or bits of history. “I want to know the vibe, the story,” she bemoaned.

After two and a half hours canvassing the galleries and outdoor areas, demonstrating her posing techniques and offering tips on how to get cool photos (taking a few steps back and then shooting in 2x is her preferred style over the 5x you see all over Instagram), Challan was finally ready to reveal her findings. 

But first, she needed some nourishment. She stood in line at the uber-fancy, extremely L.A. Erewhon outpost, purveyors of the infamous $21 Hailey Bieber smoothie, located beneath the gallery and deliberated. 

Overall, she thinks the galleries are "gorgeous," and there are plenty of areas that “look like one of those Tumblr photos” that everyone loves to post on their socials. And while she truly believes that any spot that makes someone genuinely interact with the piece is the way to go, she predicted that two specific areas of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA that will dominate the feeds.

The first is the entire Classical Revivals section, which features an ancient stone archway for cute framed photos solo or for couples; floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of the museum grounds, and an open area peppered with several busts and sculptures. “I feel like it could almost be that Where’s Waldo type moment, like being living in the art,” she said. (This is also the area, we learned, where some might be tempted to remove their shoes and rub their sore feet, but maybe wait on that until you’re outside.)

But the piece Challan thinks will most rival “Urban Light” for space on the grid is Pedro Reyes’ “Tlali,” a massive Olmec-inspired bust of a female face made of volcanic stone – a piece currently mired in controversy because the artist had previously proposed a similar piece for public commission in Mexico City that was ultimately scrapped by the Mexican government after drawing protests from feminist and indigenous rights groups. 

We took our $21 smoothies and walked to see “Tlali” again. The bust, installed on the outer wall of the gallery so anyone can walk up to it without having to purchase a ticket, towers high at 18 feet, allowing for fun face-on-face selfies, TikToks walking in front of it as it looms above, and pics taken by a photographer who is willing to get low on the ground and capture the size differential. My knees couldn’t handle much more, but a strong squat managed to show proof of concept.

Challan struck her expertly candid poses, her high cheekbones mirroring those shaped out of stone above her as she looked down at her Malibu Mango smoothie. She sipped and stared off into the distance. “That is gorgeous,” she said. “If it grabs your attention, it’ll grab anyone else’s too.” Thankfully, she kept her shoes on.

Alex Zaragoza is a journalist and TV writer based in Los Angeles.