SoCal Minds

SoCal has fashionable displays all stitched up

From UCI, the Getty & LACMA

The fascination with how fine we all look all the time -- uh, huh, we are good looking, aren't we -- can so dominate life in Southern California that it might seem like gilding the lily to devote any more attention to fashion, its appointments and details. Fugghedaboutit. This is, after all, Hollywood, where, as the folks in Irvine note in a new exhibit, style and dress rule. It's amply illustrated with costumes from the drama department collections (such as a lavishly ruffled gown worn by Joan Crawford in the 1932 fashion-shaping film 'Letty Lynton) as well as books, magazines, photos, videos, posters and other materials that show how Hollywood from the 1930s foward became nothing less than a giant cultural force. The show in the school 's Langson Library launches tonight and runs until April 2011. And for those who wish to grasp better how details like drapery can make and break not only the wearer but, indeed, a sweeping artistic scene, well the terrific blog from the folks at the monument up on that Westside hill offer a diverting post. Fashion and the fashionable of Europe, of course, are just part of what's on display in what the cognoscenti are calling a fabulous new art space in Mid-City; might be a good reason to go and catch up on the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Pavilion.

In Irvine, fall exhibit focuses on film, fashion

An artistic explanation of why drapery matters

Catch up on new art space, details of hundreds of years of European finery

 

As heat breaks, build a 'sweet home,' find a beat or corrido

From the Skirball, LACMA & MOCA

Sheesh, if the heat didn't fry up every synapse in Southern California the anticipated dip, finally, in temperatures may be a signal for all to get out of the A.C. and shelter and take in intriguing, creative stuff around town. On the Westside, Angelenos can participate in one of their most prized pastimes -- worrying about houses, buildings, um Real Estate -- as part of a novel, involving, performance and installation by the British theater company 'Subject to _ change.' It's called 'home sweet home' and asks folks, as they have in other spots (as shown in photo at right) to step up, take materials they're supplied or bring and to create little cardboard houses, then to imagineer a fullblown community. Yes, Angelenos don't always do so well on that last part, community being another 'c' word like 'commitment,' and all. But will this installation end up with our legendary sprawl? Manses loomin o'er crack shacks? By the way, the 8,000-square-foot gallery space will be dotted copies of with L.A. landmarks, as well as appearances by postal carrier, a DJ, a videographer and there will be shopkeeps, real estate agents and other thespians floating around during town halls and block parties.

How to make a performance, installation, fun out of L.A.'s passion for sur-real estate

And speaking of performances, check out the different way to get the beat of the grand new pavilion at the art institution in Mid-City -- which also is seeking submissions by mid-November, in English or Spanish, in art or language, of corridos or narratives about our beloved El Lay for performance soon by Ozomatli -- or maybe make it downtown Thursday night at 6:30 to ponder 'Ideas on Trial.'

Here's a different way to get a bang out of new Resnick art pavilion

Got a special narrative about El Lay buzzing in the noggin?

Click here for info on entering a 'corrido' for performance by Ozomatli

With summer fleeting, many weekend diversions for all

From Skirball, UCLA, Pacific Asia, LACMA & the Autry

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know (repeat 26 times, please) ... can't leave the fun things alone, there are too many diversions around town this weekend, including:

• In Westwood, Korean artistic and cultural creations get a spotlight with the opening Sunday of two free exhibitions, one devoted to contemporary ceramics from noteworthy artisans and the other to joyful figurines of clowns, tigers, acrobats and other characters, all of which are used to adorn coffins. Both displays are free and offer insights, curators say, into Korean life -- the ceramics illustrating a creative 'liveliness' even in the approach to every day objects and the dolls expressing both a desire for joy in the next world while appreciating the transience of this existence. And, by the way, in the Mid-Wilshire on Saturday afternoon, those who appreciate art from the peninsula may wish to take in a traditional Buddhist sutra painting lecture and demonstration.

Contemporary ceramics, coffin dolls of Korea will go on display

• In Griffith Park, those who set out Saturday can take in a two-fer, stopping by to see the 'How the West Was Worn .. by Michael Jackson Exhibit, while also absorbing multiple presentations that deal with 'Empowering Women: Art and Commerce.' This event will feature basket weavers, women artists from a collective, the signing of a book on how 1800s women got by on only a little, a panel discussion on women leaders and how they're transforming California and an appearance by 'Spirit Vessel' creator and teacher Nadiya Littlewarrior.

• With summer fleeting and the heat lessening some, here's two chances to don some different duds and to step out and into some different aesthetics. In Pasadena tonight, put on those cheongsams, qi pao, ao dai, sari, hanbok and sashay over to an 'Evening in 1930s China,' an event connected with the exhibition, 'China Modern: Designing Pouplar Culture,' for which there will be a special Saturday afternoon tour with curator Kalim Winata (shown in photo at right). On Saturday, get into a whole different thang and garb to dash to the Mid-Wilshire for an evening event that celebrates the manliness of the art of Thomas Eakins and Catherine Opie with some cutting dashing, Victorian Industrial-inspired Ultimate Steampunk Outfits, assisted by the folks at Clockwork Coture.

• On the Westside, those who can skirt around the messy 405 Freeway construction will find a Saturday afternoon free screening of a film that may answer a lot of questions for fans of soul legend Bill Withers. 'Still Bill' interviews an all-star array of cultural figures to give context and perspective to the top-selling musical figure who overcame a childhood stutter, caught the barest few lucky breaks when he left the Navy and moved to L.A. to seek a recording career and went on to hit the charts with unforgettable songs like 'Ain't No Sunshine,' 'Lean on Me,' and 'Just the Two of Us.' And, then, because he wanted a real family life, Withers walked away from it all. What was that all about?

What happened to stellar soul career of iconic musician Bill Withers? 

Click here for the official Withers site

Prime time for fans of Twain, football, Roy Rogers

From ALOUD, CalArts & the Autry

Let's do a quick dash through some literary, artistic and collectibles matters of note around the area: For those who can't get enough dish about one of America's greatest homespun writing master, Laura Skandera Trombley, president of Pitzer and one of the preeminent scholars on the topic, will take on the dark, troubled last years of Mark Twain in a free talk downtown at 7 tonight; space is limited and reservations are required. For those Lakers, Dodgers, Trojans or other sports nuts who want another artistic view of the athletic world, the folks in Valencia provide an excellent shout-out for prominent alum Catherine Opie and her now open LACMA exhibit on high school football (as exemplified by 'Josh, 2007,' shown at right, from the Eugene Sadovoy Collection). And lastly, while lots of attention got paid to the fate of the taxidermied specimen of horse-flesh known as Trigger, the folks over in Griffith Park ay they just couldn't pass up nabbing stuff at a recent auction of Roy Rogers memorabilia and they're posting about it and the legendary cowboy on their blog.  

2 different ways to answer, sort of, 'Quien es mas macho?'

From LACMA & Harvey Mudd

With the weather promising to be as fine as it can be, it should be the perfect time to man up, so to speak, in a smart Southern California fashion by taking in some oorah activities in the next few days. On Sunday, for example, jog don't stroll over to Wilshire Boulevard to catch the opening of the 'Sporting Images of Thomas Eakins.' The iconic American artist, back in the day, got himself in unending hot water for his sexy paintings, his bracing realism and his then outre teaching methods, including, gasp, nude models -- naked men posing for classes with women in them and naked women in classes with men in 'em. His life and works, including the recently Los Angeles acquired 'Wrestlers,' (shown at right) have prompted lots of speculation about his sexuality but there's little doubt about his mastery and place in U.S. artistic accomplishment.

If on-screen manliness calls more, though, better hurry to sign up for the Monday bash in Claremont for the release of the Starcraft II. The top-selling, much praised video game -- which has proved to be a huge-grossing global seller -- has beaucoups ties to Southern California, especially to Westwood, Irvine and Claremont. It's not exactly on every adult's screen. But the scheduled debut, which will include top competitors, food, beverages, T-shirts and prospects for scoring early-bird copies of Starcraft, is touted as one of the gaming events of the year. There's a fee to attend but the event will be streamed online; all the necessary links at the Mudders' page.

A weekend of Baldessari, late-night videos

From LACMA

The titles sound like simple kid stuff but Squirm, Trouble, Pop Cop and Dual/Duel are four programs consisting of some 20 international videos from the last 20 years. Why the 20? Freewaves, an experimental media arts group, is celebrating, guess what, its 20th anniversary outdoors Saturday night with 'Video on the Loose,' four looping programs that will animate the museum's courtyards from 8  p.m. to 11 p.m., as part of late night program that offers a preview of the John Baldessari (shown at left) retrospective, 'Pure Beauty.' The internationally known Santa Monican, whose exhibit will showcase his work from the Sixties to his latest 'Brain/Cloud,'  will take part in a free public conversation Sunday afternoon at 2; tickets for the limited space event will be available one hour before.

Freewaves video group marks its 20th year, while renowned modernist opens big show 

Click here for more on 'Brain/Cloud,' Baldessari talking

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.  

Hungry for LA stories? Sign up for cell-phone novels

From LACMA

It's more than a tweet or a haiku, for better or verse. Those technology loving Japanese are the true pioneers of the form. But starting this weekend, artist Steve Fagin hopes to bring to Los Angeles keitai shosetsu, aka Cell Phone Stories, nifty narratives and essays spread from mobile to mobile in cell phone text and featuring the work of such diverse folk as actor Rainn Wilson, artist Kianga Ford, writer Barry Yourgrau, and fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodart. The audience for this writing experiment, of course, must pay their own phone company's text message charges, as appropriate, and the museum is promising to keep private their shared contactables. They can text “LACMA” to 67553 to receive weekly text-message links to each new installation of the project.

An artistic experiment in mobile narratives, essays spreads to Southland

A 'Salon' explanation of the 'keitai shosetsu' or 'thumb novel'

Yet more for weekend: a tomato give-away, hootenanny

From LACMA

Well, the mind got a little ahead of the calendar yesterday but the previous posting about all the things to do on the third weekend of May, 2010, still holds, but here's one more quick add: The creative folks on Wilshire Boulevard, of course, have put on a running program that combines art, food, culture and politics and that is supposed to unfold seasonally. So the latest item on the menu for the 'Fallen Fruit Presents EATLACMA will be Saturday, when, pending availability and by presenting a down-loadable form, members of the public can square dance, learn more about Radiator Charlie, Triple Chicken Foot, Mortgage Lifters -- and, of course,  'adopt' free tomato plant seedlings in special artistic  pots (as shown at right) at a 'Tomato Hootenanny.' . 

What do online art aficionados want? More images

From LACMA & the Getty

A constant concern for anyone who proffers online content always goes to just this: Who's out there and what do they really want? For the creative bloggers over on Wilshire Boulevard, a recent survey provided some interesting answers -- and a nifty, continuing response. Those who turn to the county museum's web site and blog weren't looking most for concrete, nitty-gritty stuff like hours, location and admission fees. They really wanted to see more art. Well, OK, then. So the online curators responded to the clamor and they've put up 800 more images of items in the institution's collections organized in interesting thematic ways and they've created a new landing page to access this broader sampling. Cultural institutions across Southern California, of course, all have raced to soup up their online presentations, in part as part of a big recent push with funding from the Getty. (Check out any of the places, for example, that this blog tries to pay some attention to.) And speaking of the folks up on the hill, they have put up one, small and pretty cool multimedia look at a piece that curators say sought, in historic terms, to create its own little gallery-like experience.

County cyber curators respond to clamor by posting hundreds of new views of collection

A contemporary consideration of how tiny cabinet seeks to create museum experience

Click here, scroll down to take multimedia spin of 'Cabinet of Wonders'