This week: buy handmade gifts by local artisans at CAFAM, catch six closing shows at A+D Museum, see pixilated mosaic tiles of space invaders that pop up all over the world, explore the Southland’s night-lit holiday displays; and bid farewell to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater’s longtime home.
1) CAFAM Holiday Marketplace
Brush rocks by Bob Dornberger; beaten metal jewels and spoons by Bless the Theory; handpainted clay earrings by cLAy90065 By Hannah; crocheted stuffed toys by tomboynanny, above; these are among the one-of-a-kind gifts on sale at this weekend’s Craft and Folk Art Museum’s annual Holiday Marketplace. It showcases the handmade work of local artisans, innovators and makers in a wide range of arts and crafts. Sales from the event benefit the museum’s exhibitions and programs.
When: Saturday and Sunday, Nov 24 and 25
Where: Craft and Folk Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. All-day parking is available for $5 with validation at 5750 Courtyard Place, 90036
Tickets: Free with museum admission (GA $9); click here for more information.
2) Last call for six exhibitions at A+D Museum
A+D Museum serves as an energetic hub for contemporary architecture, urbanism and design; and the evidence is in a basket of six exhibitions closing Sunday, that explore concepts such as architectural visualization, blurring lines, pushing boundaries, and guerrilla shop installations. Catch Functional Models by Medium Office; the liquid forms of Rachael McCall in Frayed; Wireframes: The Visualization of Architecture tracks “the art of architectural visualization since its inception,” from drawing through early computer renderings to VR. It is paired with The CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards. Then there is Architecture in Perspective, a show of this year’s winners of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators’ and On the Meridian-Beginnings, a collection of skeletal carved wood furniture at the edge of art by Vincent Pocsik (above).
When: Closing Sunday, Nov 25 (The museum is closed Thursday for Thanksgiving)
Where: A+D Museum, 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: Free; click here for more information.
3) Invader: Into the White Cube
The anonymous French artist known as Invader created an ongoing urban project he calls ‘invasion waves,’ inspired by the iconic 1978 arcade game Space Invaders as “the perfect icons of our time, a time where digital technologies are the heartbeat of our world.” Now a survey of the artist’s pixilated mosaic tiles, alongside new paintings on canvas, is on show in an exhibition called Into the White Cube, at Over the Influence gallery in the Arts District.
Invader’s MO is to invade a city with 20-50 of his designs on public spaces, working at night under risk of arrest. Beginning in Paris in 1998, the invasion quickly spread to over 30 cities around the world – one of his most famous ‘attacks’ being on the D from the HOLLYWOOD sign on New Year’s Eve 1999. Invader’s work has been found everywhere from the depths of the ocean to 22 miles above the earth floating in a balloon. Since 2004 the artist has also been creating works he calls ‘Rubikcubism,’ another nod to the late 20th century with the iconic Rubik’s cube. This is Invader’s first solo show in the U.S. since 2005.
When: Now through December 23
Where: Over the Influence, 833 East 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: Free; click here for more information, and read more about Invader here.
4) Night Lights
As the sun sets earlier and each day shortens, the right outdoor lighting can literally shape and color the way we see the world – and where we go. Night lighting can bring people together, to public spaces that would otherwise be dormant, and only open during the day. These four night exhibitions — LA Zoo Lights; Enchanted Forest Lights at Descanso Gardens; Moonlight Forest Lantern Festival at the County Arboretum & Botanical Garden in Arcadia; and Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn in Riverside — are dazzling destinations open during the holiday season – an exploration of light and color, a fantasy of what we see and what we don’t.
When: Now through January 6; Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn in Riverside opens Nov 23.
Where: Various Locations, see details below
Tickets: Check individual locations: LA Zoo Lights; Enchanted Forest Lights; Moonlight Forest Lantern Festival; Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn
5 ) Farewell Open House at Bob Baker Marionette Theater
For 55 years, Angelenos have visited the Bob Baker Marionette Theater to find delight in kitschy music, festive decor and the magic of puppets. After a drawn-out effort to remain in place following the building’s sale to a developer, the theater’s owners have announced that they’re moving to a new location and giving up their longtime home near downtown. You can find DnA’s full coverage of the theater’s closure here.
The theater has organized a community send-off with tours and pop-up puppet performances. Since all the remaining shows are sold out, this is your last chance to see the puppets in their original home. This sounds like a way better use of Black Friday than shopping. The event is free, but you can donate to the future of their theater on their GoFundMe page.
When: Friday, Nov. 23 from 10 am – 5 pm
Where: Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. 1st Street
Tickets: No tickets or RSVP required. More info here.