This week, you can: wander into the natural wonder of spectacular landscape photography; continue your journey through PST: LA/LA; see what’s best of what’s next at SCI-Arc; go loco for art by Southern California pioneers; and hear Dar Williams on what makes a small town work.
1) Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA
In last week’s post, we summarized the broad-reaching project Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, featuring five months of shows spanning from Palm Springs to San Diego to Santa Barbara. This week the regionwide display of Latino and Latin-American art kicks off officially with a big public party. And several of the shows open their doors. Following are some of the openings and events taking place this week.
~ LA/LA Launch Party at Grand Park. Celebrate the launch of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA with a free day-long party in Grand Park featuring live music and dance performances, activities, giveaways, photo opportunities, food, drinks and a chance to plan your itinerary for Southern California’s largest arts experience! Where better than DTLA to feel the vibrant intersection of art, Los Angeles and Latin American influence. More info here. When: Thursday, Sept 14, noon – 10 pm, Grand Park, 200 North Grand Ave. FREE
~ From Mexico City to LA: A Visual History of Graphic Art. This exhibit at Mixografia Gallery studies the history of printmaking in Mexico throughout the twentieth century, and explores the ongoing conversation between Mexican printmaking and contemporary graphic art in Latin America and Southern California. The exhibit spans from early works that express the populist and revolutionary roots of graphic arts in Mexico to more recent collaborations and dialog between the traditions of Mexican graphic art and the practices of Los Angeles-based artists John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha and more. The exhibition will commence with a conversation by Lynn Boland, who formerly curated Paper in Profile: Mixografia and Taller de Grafica Mexicana, which sets the stage for the exhibit. More info here. When: Opening reception Saturday, Sept 16, 4 – 7 pm, Mixografia, 1419 E Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, 90011. FREE.
~ Hábito/Habitante. Performers interact with massive cloth forms, creating a movement-based dialogue between their bodies, the public, and the museum space. Conceived by Brazilian artist Martha Araújo and first performed in 1985, these works will be re-created during the exhibition opening. More info here. When: Saturday, Sept 16, 8:30 pm, Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90024. FREE.
~ Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico 1915-1985. This groundbreaking exhibition and accompanying book explores design dialogues between California and Mexico with four main themes—Spanish Colonial Inspiration, Pre-Hispanic Revivals, Folk Art and Craft Traditions, and Modernism. The show studies how modern and anti-modern design movements defined both locales throughout the twentieth century. Featuring works by prominent figures like Richard Neutra, Luis Barragán, Charles and Ray Eames, and Clara Porset, this exhibition is the first to examine how interconnections between California and Mexico shaped the material culture of each place. More info here. When: Opens Sunday, Sept 17 (member preview Sept 15, 16), LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, 90036. Free with museum admission.
2) G2 Gallery Artist Talk: Cheyne Walls
The color and the lighting in Cheyne Walls’ photography is so spectacular, it might have you reaching for your hiking boots. Growing up in Southern California, Walls found no shortage of inspiration and hopes his work will similarly compel fellow Angelenos to explore the great outdoors and discover the beauty of nature. Walls discovered his passion for photography in high school when an athletic injury temporary sidelined him from his activities and his peers. After studying at the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Walls set out to discover and share the beauty of the natural world.
Walls will discuss the important role of photography in the creation and preservation of our national parks. The exhibit at the G2 Gallery in Venice, entitled Miles from Los Angeles, is a collection of photographs from the western United States. “Yosemite Valley,” a black-and-white Ansel Adams-esque photograph that will be on view, earned him first place in the mountain landscape category for the International Memorial Maria Luisa Photography Award.
When: Thursday, Sept 14, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Where: G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
Tickets: Free. Please RSVP here.
3) SCI-Arc: Selected Thesis Exhibition 2017
But can you build it? The mission of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), says director Hernan Diaz Alonso, is to “re-imagine the very edges of architecture, educating architects to engage, speculate, and innovate… it’s where architects become mad scientists… where art, science, and industry converge and new futures unfold.” A juried exhibition of the standout thesis projects by the DTLA-based school’s 2017 graduates will be on view in the SCI-Arc Gallery.
When: Opening Friday, Sept 15, 7 pm (on display through Oct 1)
Where: SCI-Arc Gallery, 960 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: Free. More information here.
4) California Locos: SoCal Originals – Master of Style
Leave it to California to break the mold, and break it again and again. From the beginning, ‘heading out west’ meant breaking with tradition and pioneering new visions and techniques, each explorer finding his or her path. In California Locos: SoCal Original – Master of Style, The Eastern Projects Gallery presents a group exhibition of contemporary and legendary SoCal artists rooted in diverse subcultures, including Surf, Skate, Graffiti, Low-Brow, Tattoo, Hot Rod, Lowrider and Music. The exhibition was curated by one of LA’s “legendary” artists, Chaz Bojórquez, who told DnA that it is now dedicated to “dear MR. GREG ESCALANTE. . my personal friend and one of the most influential collectors, gallerists, (as well as) co-publisher and curator of JUXTAPOZ magazine.” The widely admired Escalante died unexpectedly last week.
In addition to Bojórquez, the California Locos on show include Dave Tourjé, John Van Hamersveld, Norton Wisdom and Gary Wong and has recently expanded to include Mister Cartoon, Shepard Fairey, Estevan Oriol, RETNA, SLICK and Robert Williams. The opening night will feature a Lowrider by Mister Cartoon, Hot Rod by Dave Tourjé and a new Dusters California X CALIFORNIA LOCOS skateboard release.
When: Opening Reception Saturday, Sept 16, 6 – 10 pm (exhibit runs through Oct 28)
Where: Eastern Projects Gallery, 900 North Broadway #1090, Los Angeles, 90012
Tickets: Free. More information here.
5) What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician’s Guide to Rebuilding America’s Communities
Folk singer Dar Williams has made her career not in stadiums, but in touring America’s small towns. She has turned her years of experience playing their venues, composing in their coffee shops, and drinking in their bars into a meditation on why some towns flourish while others fail. What I Found in a Thousand Towns “reads as if Pete Seeger and Jane Jacobs teamed up,” as it explores ideas about “positive proximity” and how to go about rebuilding declining communities in an age of economic and environmental struggles.
When: Thursday, September 14, 2017 – 7:00pm
Where: Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tickets: Free. Click here for more information.