The Wilshire Boulevard façade of the museum is covered in fabric screens, the work of artist John Baldessari. Although Piano has described the screens as "pieces of art," they resemble large banners, the sort of things that all museums today regularly display to advertise blockbuster shows. The presence of banners only draws attention to the banality of the two blank travertine walls facing the street. If you want to see an effectively designed windowless wall, take a look at John Russell Pope's masterful National Gallery of Art on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The play of light on the moldings and panels is so lively that you don't notice the almost complete absence of openings in the 785-foot-long façade.