From Autry National Center of the West, USC, UCLA, Japanese American National Museum, Art Center College of Design
It's a long, last holiday weekend of the summer so take advantage of the drop in heat and smoke from the wildfires to get around. Put a few things on the calendar:
In Griffith Park, there will be lots and lots of attention paid to the stoic and iconic Western movie hero Gary Cooper, who will be honored with a commemorative stamp that will be unveiled Thursday. His daughter will be present for the free, public ceremonies for the actor who appeared in more than 100 movies and who won two Oscars, one of which, for the box-office hit "High Noon," will be on display. That movie also will be screened.
Free, Public Ceremonies for Unveiling of Gary Cooper Commemorative Stamp
In Westwood, the first of three fall exhibits that will give insight into African and African-American life opens Sunday, focusing attention on the myriad ways that people across Africa employed basketry techniques to create other kinds of objects, including masks, combs, fish traps and beer straps. These all had the same complex social, religious and political aspects that wooden and other objects carried. The other exhibits, opening later, will display photos of the basket-making gullah people -- East Coast Americans of African descent who, because of geography, language and other circumstance, did not assimilate as many of their contemporaries did; there also will be a major display of coiled basketry, explaining how this African art spread through and influenced the Americas.
African and African-American Baskets, Basket-Making on Display
In downtown Los Angeles, musician and artist Mike Shinoda gets the spotlight on his latest creations -- paintings, digital works -- and, yes, a custom Honda Fury. This show, "Glorious Excess (Dies)," which already has opened, is a followup to a previous exhibit, "Glorious Excess (Born)." While better known probably as a member of the band Linkin Park, Shinoda studied at the Art Center College of Design and has been active in charitable and community endeavors, including in creating the custom, fund-raising cycle which has only a little more time at bid on E-Bay.
'Glorious Excess (Dies),' an Exhibit by Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda
Click Here for E-Bay Fund-Raising Sale of Shinoda-Custom Honda Fury
Shinoda on His Art Center Experience and Who Is Mike Shinoda?
In Exhibition Park, over on the Trojan campus, there will be the promised memorial concert for clarinet icon Mitchell Lurie. The deadline has passed to RSVP for the Sunday afternoon program, for which there is a suggested donation of $25, with money going for scholarships and to issue a heritage release of the clarinetist's notable recordings. Lurie, discovered as a teen-ager by conductor Fritz Reiner, was principal clarinetist for the Pittsburgh and Chicago orchestras before moving to LA, where he taught for decades at USC and became the top studio clarinetist, playing on soundtracks for countless movies.
Memorial Concert for Clarinetist Mitchell Lurie
Who Was Mitchell Lurie? The Times Obit