SoCal Minds

Scribbles on a few notable matters for the weekend

From Loyola Marymount, the Japanese American National Museum, Zocalo & the Huntington

Because some domestic chores look as if they'll take more effort than expected, an abbreviated spin through the intellectual ferment around the Southland for today and into the weekend doings. But some stuff worth taking a look at:

• In Westchester, the disccussions of the university's 20-year master plan draws a crowd estimated at 350; how will the school burgeon at the same time it acts as a good neighbor, of course, is a key concern, as parties look to the future and worry about growth, traffic, pollution, digital signage, buffer zones and other important matters. 

• In Little Tokyo on Saturday afternoon, documentary film makers will show off their bio-pic that should prove greatly enlightening about a familar, comedic face from television and movies. The sardonic humor of veteran star Jack Soo, appreciated for his work in everything from 'Flower Drum Song' to 'Barney Miller' and 'Monk,' may have kept wider audiences from learning his fascinating life story, including his Japanese -- not Chinese -- ancestry. There's more, of course, on this path-breaking actor and his refusal to play to harmful ethnic stereotypes at the 'You Don't Know Jack' documentary site.   

• And if other diversions still are called for, there is, of course, a premiere of 'Countdown to Zero,' a powerful new film tracking the history and potential harm of nuclear weapons; the Zocalo-KCRW sponsored screening is free but reservations are required. And, of course, the folks in San Marino show off from their collections starting Sunday 'British Landscape Prints.'

For the weekend, 3 turns at matters Japanese, sort of

From the Japanese American National Museum, Pacific Asia Museum & CSULB

Let's take a Japanese turn for things to do to get out in a promised warming break from the persistent July gray. In Little Tokyo, there will be a Saturday afternoon screening of a Sansei son's discoveries about what exactly his daddy and some other unsung Japanese Americans did during the Great War, a film about how, while their own families were incarcerated and under suspicion by authorities, a group of skilled linguists and soon-to-be broadcasters beamed U.S. propaganda, 'Calling on Tokyo' to undermine the morale of the then-Japanese enemy. In Pasadena, this could be a perfect weekend to catch up on a just-opened photographic exhibit, 'One Hundred Not so Famous Views of LA,'  artist Barbara Thomason's take on Hiroshige's famed woodblock collection, 'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo' (now Tokyo, of course). And on Sunday, especially if the weather turns fine, how about a day in the Earl Miller Long Beach Japanese gardens, where 40 local experts will demonstrate the art of origami (paper folding) and there will be calligraphy lessons as part of the weekend celebration of Tanabata, the 'Star Festival.' 

Photo: 'Broadway Train Tracks' by Barbara Thomason, on exhibit in Pasadena

A slice of an LA weekend: from Hapas to Lemony Snicket

From the Japanese American National Museum, LACMA, Pepperdine, the Skirball & UCLA

Never a shortage of smart stuff to take in, in what promises to be a seasonably sunny Southern California weekend: In Little Tokyo, it will be a free Saturday, for example, as two hip and happening folks headline a day highlighting the experiences of Hapa or mixed race Americans; the session with scholar-artist Kip Fulbeck and educator Dr. Maya Soetero-Ng (President Obama's sis) is on a wait-list basis. For those concerned about families, religion and faith, there's a big conference going on in Malibu, though a call will be required to see if the now full sessions can accommodate. Meantime, get those feet and the mind moving with all the day-long events as museums on the Miracle Mile join in for their annual Artwalk, which this year will include World Cup soccer-related activities; there are some fees for the events at the county museum, where there will be displays of art (of course!), music, performance, workshops, activities, food, and more. The participating institutions include LACMA, Peterson Automotive, Page, Craft and Folk. If the feet still gotta move, there is, of course, a weekend festival of avant-garde dance films by Pina Bausch and others, in Westwood by Dance Camera West. And for parents and kids who are fans of Lemony Snicket, author Daniel Handler and his illustrator and wife, Lisa Brown, will be over on the Westside on Sunday for a chat and reading.  

Stinks in Bucharest, San Marino; a whiff of Little Tokyo fun

From CalArts, the Japanese American National Museum & the Huntington

It's supposed to be a balmy, sunny holiday weekend in Southern California and if the weather alone doesn't provide the pleasure of living in this spot on the planet, well, you could be in Bucharest...

That's where an artist-scholar who splits her time between LA and Vienna discovered that a few influential Bulgarians may be a tad behind modern thinking, as they banned her work at the Bucharest Bienale. Maybe that could become its own bizarre badge of honor?  And, no, as can be seen from the image at left, Kaucyila Brooke's art, though provocatively titled, wouldn't raise the fussiest of eyebrows in Los Angeles where saucier views assault the senses on any street at any moment. Hah! 

As long as we're on the topics of making a stink, the folks in San Marino are stirring the pot yet again as the son of the son of ol' smelly, they say, soon will bloom. Say what? Though it's a little inexplicable the popularity of the supposedly rare phenomenon, yet another amorphophallus titanum, aka corpse flowers, is shooting up and ready to make its odiferous opening in the next bit. For those smitten by this botantical bounty, well, there's an online spot to follow the stinky plant and its flowering, blow by blow. Phew.

So we leave you with a more pleasant thought and smelling like a rose, the folks over in Little Tokyo will be celebrating their Asian Pacific Islander and Native American Heritage Festival starting at 11 on Saturday. There will be movies, lectures, exhibits and the museum says it will admit one and all on a 'pay what you can' basis. Donate lots, eh?

Getting even more hip to faces, lives of hapa kids

From the Japanese American National Museum

With Barack Obama in the White House and Tiger Woods commanding the headlines (sigh), it's tough to be unaware of the presence and impact of so-called 'mixed race' people. But, whoa, who really wants to focus on 'racial purity' and what the heck is it and why should it matter in the 21st Century any way? Well, for all the supposed contemporary advancements in the modern social clime, hapas -- as the Japanese call multiracial individuals or people of mixed ancestry -- still face challenges, particularly in matters of personal identity. And writer-artist Kip Fulbeck continues his exploration of these in a new book (in which pop star Cher contributes) and with his latest exhibition opening this weekend in Little Tokyo. For Americans of Japanese ancestry, of course, the 20th Century posed particular, peculiar issues and hardships regarding race and national origin. They not only endured a wrongful, national incarceration based on these aspects but also juggled a cultural tradition and history that emphasized the alleged uniqueness of the Japanese, even as they assimilated and 'out-married' at unprecedented rates, such that hapa kids are not just common but prevalent in the community. 

In Little Tokyo, a second glimpse of growing cultural phenomena of multiracial young people

Of pow wows, antiquities, Mesoamerica, Hawaii

From CSULB, CSULA, the Huntington & the Japanese American National Museum

With the promise of a dry, sunny and increasingly warm weekend, there's lots to get out to see and learn about, including:

• In Long Beach, Native Americans will gather Saturday and Sunday for the 40th annual Pow Wow, which also will help commemorate 41 years of American Indian studies at the school, which asserts it has the oldest such scholarly program west of the Mississippi. There will be feasting, art and craft sales, dancing and competitions at the free, public event.

40th annual Long Beach Pow Wow also marks 41 years of Native American studies

Click here for more Pow Wow information

• In San Marino, scholars from across the country will gather to examine 19th Century Americans' fascination with ruins -- from Native American cultures, Egypt and Cyprus, among other spots. Why and how did the fledgling nation need its real and imagined ties with long lost civilizations and how did those earlier experiences shape contemporary U.S. life? There is a fee and registration required for the program that begins this (fri) morning and runs through Saturday. Click on the link contained in the brief blurb describing the program for the registration form and speaker list.

Session scrutinizes 19th Century Americans' fascination with ruins, antiquities 

• In East LA, experts on Mesoamerica will gather Sunday for their free, public conference at which they will take up such topics as the Maya, caves and ancient warfare, new views on Aztec human sacrifice and the ancient peoples' religious practices and gender ideologies. Refreshments will be provided and reservations are recommended.

A springtime exploration of all things Mesoamerican

• In Little Tokyo, it's worth catching up with 'Textured Lives,' an exhibit of painstakingly collected textiles that illuminate the unique connections between Japanese immigrants and their new lives in their new world -- the plantations of Hawaii. Some of the newcomers made use of their knowledge of fabric, sewing and design to create clothes to protect them in the fields, garments that melded Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese styles; others carried to their new American lives treasures of their Japanese heritage in fine kimono and other stylish clothing or textiles.

'Textured Lives' tells tale in fabric of ties between Japanese immigrants, life in Hawaii  

At book event, history walks through the door

From the Japanese American National Museum

History walked in the door this weekend. During an enlightening and entertaining presentation to promote their new book, author Lane Ryo Hirabayashi and photographer Hikaru Carl Iwasaki got a pleasant surprise when an audience member raised her hand during the question-and-answer period. She just wanted to let them know that she was the woman from six decades earlier depicted on the cover of their glossy book, which describes the work of Iwasaki and other photographers involved in documenting the relocation of Japanese Americans after their unjust mass incarceration in World War II. Lots of good stuff offered by Iwasaki and Hirabayashi, of the UCLA Asian Studies Center, including links to thousands of government photographs of the internment and relocation, works that now are going online.

Mitzi Fujino and Shig Sakamoto at YMCA dance in Denver, June, 1945, Hikaru Iwasaki, National Archives; cover of 'Japanese American Resettlement Through the Lens,' Chas. Mace (l) and Carl Iwasaki pack WRA photos for a display to encourage resettlement / WRA-UC Berkeley Bancroft Library; six decades later, Iwasaki, l, Fujino, and Hirabayashi

 
 

Picture this: the Internment's aftermath, the civil rights era path to freedom, the`thrill of victory'

From the Japanese American National Museum, Skirball, Annenberg Space for Photography

Said it before. Worth saying again: Los Angeles is a great visual capital of the planet and there's plenty of proof around with photography of motion, grace and history on exhibit:

In Little Tokyo, there will be a Saturday afternoon reception and signing of a new book that chronicles the war-time work of a major but unsung figure in the chronicling Japanese-American life: photographer Hikaru Carl Iwasaki. He's the lone shooter still alive and was the only Nikkei photographer involved in the peculiar push by the U.S. government to persuade the country to re-accept Japanese-Americans after they were unjustly interned during World War II. He was sent nationwide to document ordinary, even plebian life but managed, as author-scholar Lane Ryo Hirabayshi (he of the Asian American Studies program at UCLA) argues, to elevate that effort and to capture a bittersweet and fleeting glimpse of an ugly part of American history. Iwasaki joined in this post-war public relations push after also documenting the internment, working alongside more acknowledged photographers like Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams. At a time when the posts made them princes of the photo world, he went on to be a bureau chief for the now defunct Life Magazine and then a colleague at Sports Illustrated of shooters like Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer (see below). The reception and book signing is free and open to the public with museum admission.

*He's also a Denverite, the dad of my best friend from childhood onward.  

A visual recollection of the World War II internment's aftermath

In West Los Angeles, two, side-by-side exhibitions recapture the painful and poignant path, the "Road to Freedom," pursued by African Americans to win civil rights in the U.S. from 1956 to 1968. More than 35 photographers contributed the 170 displayed works, some of which never have been shown before and all of which are supplemented with recordings of speeches and music, as well as archival documents and artifacts that aim to put in context what amounted to arguably one of the most important movements of the 20th Century. In a companion display, photographer Eric Etheridge captures 40 key figures from the civil rights movement, documenting how they looked then and in portraits of them as seniors.

'Road to Freedom,' exhibit of top photos of civil rights movement, opens

'Breach of Peace' portrays civil rights leaders then and now

Before there was 24/7 cable TV, HDTV, slow mo, instant replay and the array of modern technologies that dominate the displays of modern athletics, the thrill of sports and the exulation in victory or the grief of defeat all got caught -- or it didn't -- depending on the immaculate skills and talents of a determined cadre of shooters. In particular, the photographers of Sports llustrated raised the act of chronicling popular pasttimes into art, as is shown in the Century City display of the always arresting work of Walter Ioos and Neil Leifer. This display not only captures the breadth, depth and quality of their joyous labors, it also uses technology to transport sports nuts back to the mesmerizing moments that have made fun and competition a cornerstone of contemporary life. The exhibit is available for viewing online, but even the best monitor fails to do justice to these terrific photos.

Photo: Muhammad Ali / Neil Leifer

Sports as art: the work of Walter Iooss, Neil Leifer

For Long Holiday Weekend, Lots for the Calendar

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

How Art Transforms Kokeshi (Japanese Toy Dolls)

From the Japanese American National Museum & the Los Angeles Toy, Doll and Amusements Museum

Oh, my, how a simple temple totem can change from a child's wood toy into something truly else. Put it on the go-see list: There's a big exhibit downtown, a three-part collaboration, that shows off the changes that can happen with the ubiquitous, familiar kokeshi -- the Japanese folk art dolls popular with kids for their charm and squeaky heads. They've gone from "Folk Art to Art Toys," transformed in all manners of ways and media by cool contemporary cats. The show, with more than 300 dolls, opened last weekend and runs through October. There's an online preview of kokeshi in the show, as well as info on the exhibit and a history of the dolls, plus there's a kid's component so they can design their own.

Photo: PIN / Red Nose Studio 2009

Three-Part Exhibit Shows Many Faces of Japanese Wooden Folk Dolls  

A Gallery of Kokeshi in LA Exhibit

For Kids, a Way to Build Your Own Kokeshi Online