LACMA ousts antiquities head over unauthorized claymation reboot of Mayan slate

BY: @entertainment_reporterJUL 07, 2026

FIG. 01 Michael Govan gestures sternly at a glass case holding a lumpy claymation Mayan figure in a brightly lit LACMA gallery as a curator examines it with a magnifying glass, a guard frowns with clipboard, and a maintenance worker wipes a shelf.

The museum’s Head of Ancient Americas was ousted this week after systematically swapping out 14th-century artifacts for his own claymation replicas in an attempt to make the permanent collection play younger.

Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, announced the sudden exit of the museum's Head of Ancient Americas after it was discovered the executive systematically swapped out 14th-century artifacts for his own claymation replicas. The unapproved recasting was reportedly an attempt to make the permanent collection play younger and increase its franchise potential.

The leadership shakeup comes just weeks after the highly anticipated rollout of the Mesoamerican wing. Sources close to the board noted that patrons began raising questions when a sacred Olmec jade mask was replaced by a thumb-printed plasticine armature that featured googly eyes. The curator, David Lin, reportedly greenlit the swaps himself without consulting the board, citing soft foot traffic and a lack of four-quadrant appeal in the original limestone carvings.

FIG. 02 Museum patrons raised concerns after noticing the original Olmec jade mask had been quietly replaced by a plasticine armature.

Reps for Lin declined to comment, but insiders claim the ousted antiquities head had spent the last eight months quietly re-storyboarding the Late Preclassic period. A source familiar with the matter confirmed Lin had secured a private studio in the museum basement to shoot twelve frames a second of a clay feathered serpent god, effectively shelving a priceless basalt altar because the genuine artifact lacked third-act momentum.