For more of Max Neutra’s work- check out his website and Instagram
Apr 192019
Apr 182019
Wand- Bee Karma
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (4/18-4/21/19)-
Thursday
Miami based artist Jamilah Sabur joins Los Angeles based artist Michael Queenland in conversation at the Hammer Museum in conjunction with her Hammer Projects exhibition.
UCLA Film & Television Archive and Vidiots are having a special screening of Heathers at The Theatre at Ace Hotel with a post screening conversation with director Michael Lehmann, screenwriter Daniel Waters, and co-star, Lisanne Falk aka Heather McNamara
Randy Randall of No Age will be at Zebulon to perform Sound Volume One, a series of soundscapes inspired by the westward path of the I-10 through Southern California, from downtown LA to Santa Monica. It will be accompanied by an immersive multi-room audio visual installation done in collaboration with visual artist Aaron Farley.
The Egyptian Theatre is showing The Juniper Tree, which stars Björk in her first screen performance
Friday
Wand are playing at the Echoplex with Sun Araw and Automatic opening
Omara Portuondo (Buena Vista Social Club) will be performing at The Regent Theater
Lebowski Fest’s Movie and Music Party is happening at The Wiltern with a screening of The Big Lebowski and performances by Jeff Bridges & The Abiders and Trainwreck featuring Kyle Gass of Tenacious D
Superorganism are playing at The Roxy Theatre with Simpson opening
Odd Nights returns to The Autry for its monthly event with evening access to the galleries, food trucks, a market, live music and more ($5)
Rosey Dust is having a record release party at the Monty Bar with Justus Proffit also performing
Antarctigo Vespucci and Pllush are opening for AJJ at the Troubadour
Saturday
Fanclub and Prism Tats are playing a free (but RSVP) show at Gold Diggers
There are a few free entrance days a year for the National Parks and today is one of them. It’s also National Park Week with events in several parks.
Zebulon is hosting Sensorium-Sonic Integration and Elevated Sensory Experience, which includes a modular sound bath, tarot readings, and a company giving out CBD samples
For the launch of the book The Los Angeles Tapes: Alan Solomon’s Interviews with Kauffman, Bell, Turrell, and Irwin, Hauser and Wirth will be hosting a conversation between artist Larry Bell and the book’s editor, Matthew Simms (free but RSVP)
Olvera Street’s annual Blessing of The Animals, an event that has taken place since its founding in 1930, starts at 2pm
Shred 420 is happening at The Echo and Echoplex with a variety of performers including Grateful Shred, Sammy Brue, Kirin J Callinan, Pinky Pinky, and more
Sunday
The Aero’s double feature for this Easter evening is Donnie Darko and The Evil Dead
Douse, Shit Giver and Band Aparte are playing a free show at The Hi Hat
420 Fest is happening at The Wiltern with a screening of Friday, vendors, a vinyl DJ set and more
There’s a free screening of Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train at Zebulon
Apr 122019
Annie Leibovitz. The Early Years, 1970 – 1983: Archive Project No. 1 at Hauser and Wirth Los Angeles, is an engrossing look into the beginnings of a photographer who is now one of the most famous in the world. The exhibition, curated by Leibovitz herself, features more than 4,000 photographs. Despite that large number, the layout keeps it from feeling overwhelming. Photographs are put together on the walls by theme and time period. As you wander from room to room looking at the often recognizable faces, Leibovitz’s distinct style emerges.
The early sections of the show give the viewer a chance to see Annie Leibovitz as a young artist just starting out and developing her way of looking at the world through a camera. On one wall is a collage of photos creating a panorama of the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris. She took it when she realized she was standing where Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of the photographers she most admired, had once stood to photograph that same bridge. The sense of excitement she felt at that moment informs the image she would later take of Cartier-Bresson himself. That portrait is included on another wall with images of other photographers and artists she admired.
Walking from room to room, the famous faces blend together with the history of the time period. Political protests, music festivals and tours, presidential campaigns, Nixon’s resignation, Warhol’s factory- she was there documenting what was happening, often in unique ways. Her ability to observe and capture moments without intruding in her subject’s personal space remains present whether it is a rock star, politician, or a member of her own family.
As the show moves through Leibovitz’s timeline, her increased focus on the portraiture that would make her famous emerges. Her staged photographs from the 1980s of celebrities including Keith Haring, Whoopi Goldberg, and Meryl Streep appear. The transition makes logistical sense as this progression of her career is made clear by all the work that came before. Her portraits are the works that stand out the most, even at the beginning.
The exhibition captures an incredible period of time in both the artist’s work and the history of America. Make sure to leave a lot of time to see it before it closes on 4/14/19.
Apr 122019
Coachella is this weekend (4/12-4/14) and next (4/19-4/21) and features a lot of great bands. Below are playlists with a selection of some of the bands playing on each day and a list of their set times and locations at the festival as a way to help narrow down some of the choices.
Friday
Let’s Eat Grandma- 2-2:40 on the Gobi Stage
Las Robertas- 2:55- 3:25 on the Sonora Stage
Hurray for the Riff Raff- 3:05-3:45 on the Gobi Stage
Beach Fossils- 4:10-4:55 on the Gobi Stage
JPEGMAFIA- 5:00-5:40 on the Outdoor Theatre Stage
Tierra Whack – 6:35-7:30 on the Mojave Stage and leave early to see Anderson .Paak from 7:05-7:55 on the Coachella Stage or see The Frights on the Sonora Stage from 7:30-8:10
BLACKPINK- 8-9:00 on the Sahara Stage
SOPHIE- 9:10-10:00 on the Mojave Stage then head to the Coachella Stage to see some of Janelle Monáe’s set from 9:50-10:40
Charlotte Gainsbourg- 10:45-11:30 on the Mojave Stage
End the night with Childish Gambino on the Coachella Stage at 11:25
Saturday
The Red Pears- 1-1:30 on the Sonora Stage
Wallows- 1:30-2:15 on the Mojave Stage
Ty Segall and White Fence- 2:45- 3:35 on the Outdoor Theatre Stage
Shame- 3:40-4:15 on the Sonora Stage
Hop Along- 4:35- 5:10 on the Sonora Stage
JAIN- 5-5:45 on the Gobi Stage
Fashion designer and Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh is DJ’ing on the Mojave Stage- 6:20-7:10
Superorganism- 7:40-8:25 on the Sonora Stage
Weezer- 8:35- 9:35 on the Coachella Stage or check out Idris Elba’s DJ skills on the Yuma Stage for a bit, he’s on from 9-11:00
Billie Eilish- 9:35-10:40 on the Outdoor Theatre stage or catch some of Aphex Twin’s 9:05-10:35 set on the Mojave Stage
Tame Impala starts at 10:35 on the Coachella Stage
Little Simz is on the Gobi Stage starting at 11:00
Kid Cudi starts his set on the Sahara Stage at 11:55
Sunday
Easy Life- 1:10-1:40 on the Sonora Stage
Mansionair- 2:30-3:10 on the Mojave Stage
Iceage- 3:45-4:20 on the Sonora Stage
Pusha T- 4:15-5:05 on the Coachella Stage
Lizzo- 5:45-6:30 on the Mojave Stage
YG- 7-7:50 on the Sahara Stage then stay for Gucci Gang (Gucci Mane, Lil Pump and Smokepurpp) from 8:15-9:05
Jon Hopkins 9:35-10:35 on the Gobi Stage
Kaytranada 10:55 on the Mojave Stage if you stay late
Apr 122019
Apr 112019
Prettiest Eyes- Don’t Call
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (4/11-4/14/19)-
Thursday
Skirball is hosting the panel discussion Black is Beautiful: Then and Now in conjunction with the opening of Black is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite. The panel includes the artist’s son and director of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive, Kwame S. Brathwaite, along with fashion designer Mimi Plange, photographer Tyler Mitchell, and costume designer Ruth Carter. ($20)
Goon are playing with Dead Soft at the Moroccan Lounge
MOCA Grand Avenue is hosting BlackStar Film Festival. The screening to be followed by a discussion with the founder Maori Karmael Holmes (free)
Damon & Naomi are playing at Zebulon with Exploding Flowers
Wicca Phase Springs Eternal is playing at the Echoplex with Horse Head and MIRSY
Friday
ICA LA is hosting Art Buzz, a happy hour tour of Patty Chang: The Wandering Lake with curator Jamillah James and Director of Learning and Engagement Asuka Hisa, with refreshments to follow
Prettiest Eyes are playing at El Cid with Meatbodies, Chud, and The Chonks
Drugdealer is performing at the Teragram Ballroom
Friday through Sunday
Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair 2019 is happening at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. The free event includes conversations, workshops, performances and other programs and is a great place to find and purchase art books.
Saturday
Bergamot Station is having a Spring Open House, a free event with opening receptions, artist talks, and more
Curator David J. Getsy will be giving a public lecture at West Hollywood City Council Chambers titled Rubbish and Dreams: The Genderqueer Performance Art of Stephen Varble in 1970s New York, from 2-4:30pm. The talk is in conjunction with the exhibit he curated for ONE Gallery– The Gutter Art of Stephen Varble: Genderqueer Performance in the 1970s, Photographs by Greg Day. A Q&A with Getsy will follow the lecture.
Independent music stores will celebrate Record Store Day with exclusive releases and events. Amoeba Records in Hollywood will have gift bags, live silk screening, and guest DJ sets
Emily Reo is having a record release party at Junior High with performances by Foxes in Fiction and Lush Agave
Old school hip hop legends Eric B. & Rakim are performing at The Novo
Saturday and Sunday
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books returns to the USC Campus with tons of free and ticketed events and readings, plus music, chef demos, booksellers, and more.
Sunday
Zebulon continues their month of free screenings of Jim Jarmusch films with Down By Law
Summer Cannibals are playing The Redwood Bar & Girl
Cruz de Navajas are playing with Pelada, All Your Sisters, Some Ember and Temple of Angeles at the Echoplex
Apr 052019
Currently at Hauser & Wirth’s Los Angeles location is Piero Manzoni. Materials of His Time.
From the press release–
Piero Manzoni. Materials of His Time is the first exhibition with the gallery and the first in Los Angeles in over 20 years devoted to the seminal figure of postwar Italian Art and progenitor of Conceptualism. Curated by Rosalia Pasqualino di Marineo, director of the Piero Manzoni Foundation in Milan, this exhibition focuses on Manzoni’s revolutionary approach to unconventional materials through the exploration of what he dubbed ‘Achromes’ – paintings without color. Over 70 ‘Achromes’ will be on view, comprised of such materials as sewn cloth, cotton balls, fiberglass, synthetic and natural fur, straw, cobalt chloride, polystyrene, stones, and more. The exhibition situates Manzoni as a peer of such artists as Lucio Fontana and Yves Klein, whose experiments continue to influence contemporary art-making today. ‘Materials of His Time’ will also present, for the first time, the items on a wish list Manzoni outlined in a 1961 letter to his friend Henk Peeters: a room all in white fur, and another coated in fluorescent paint, totally immersing the visitor in white light.
The “Achromes” are simple but pleasing in their graphic simplicity. Lacking in color, they stand out against the soothing muted colors of the walls.
Heading upstairs, there’s something so delightful about stepping into the white fur room that fulfills Manzoni’s dream. The room itself has a white felt floor and fake fur lines the walls, ceiling and door. It may not be as thrilling now that installation art is more common in museums and galleries, but after reading the artist’s quote, knowing he got his wish makes it much more special. The artist died in 1963 at the young age of 29, too soon to see how much would change in the art world. Also, after seeing an exhibition that focuses on objects with so many different textures, having a chance to touch the furry walls is oddly satisfying.
This exhibition closes 4/7/19.
Apr 052019
For his current exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum, Todd Gray:Plurality of Being, Gray combines images that could initially be seen as incongruous to add layers of meaning and complexity to issues of identity.
Using his own previous photographic explorations from different parts of the world, he then places the images together within frames he’s found or was given. Through this process the history of his own journey combines with that of those he’s photographed. In some works the roots of trees reach out between images pulling them together or imitate the stretching out of arms. The blue and white of a bandanna finds its place within the colors of the universe in another. The viewer can put together their own meanings from these juxtapositions or just enjoy the beauty of the sculptural collages.
From the press release-
Using pictures made when he was Michael Jackson’s personal photographer in the 1980s, along with those of verdant flora, local friends, and galactic imagery, Todd Gray’s wall collages portray the multiplicity of experience and memory across space and time.
Mixing archival images of Jackson on tour in the United States with lush landscapes from Italy to South Africa, Gray’s photographic sculptures reframe and reveal an intimate yet collective post-colonial, transatlantic memory. By layering images, bodies and faces become fragmented, drawing into question the role photography plays in the transmission of history and cultural identity.
This is the first U.S. presentation of work made during Gray’s 2017 residency at NIROX in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This exhibition closes 4/7/19.
Apr 052019
Faces Places– Official Trailer
Agnés Varda passed away last Friday (3/29) at the age of 90. The French film director, photographer, and artist was known for her work in the French New Wave film movement as well as her unique documentaries.
If you have a Los Angeles library card (or are a member of another library- many cities are included) you can stream several of her films using Kanopy including-
Cleo From 5 to 7, a fictional real-time portrait of a singer in Paris in the sixties who is waiting on the results of her cancer biopsy.
Jane B. Par Agnés V., an “imaginary bio-pic” of real life actress, fashion icon, and muse, Jane Birkin
Kung-Fu Master!, Jane Birkin plays a woman in her 40s who falls in love with a 14 year old boy (played by Varda’s son Mathieu Demy)
The Beaches of Agnés, a cinematic self portrait and a great introduction to the artist and her work
Cinevardaphoto, is composed of three short films exploring the photographic medium- one is a portrait of woman who collects teddy bear photos and the exhibition she creates from them; in the second Varda revisits a photograph she made on the beach of a man, a child and a dead goat- it includes a discussion of the work with the participants, including the boy from the photo who is now a man; the third is comprised of pictures and footage from a trip to Cuba made during the revolution’s early days
Daguerreotypes, a documentary about the shops and shopkeepers of Rue Daguerre, where Varda has resided for more than fifty years
Faces Places, which she co-directed with the artist JR, was her second to last film and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The charming film follows Varda and JR as they travel throughout France in his truck, photographing people and creating murals along the way. This film can also be seen on Netflix.
Varda gave a Tedx Talk last year on “how three ideas central to the life of an artist – inspiration, creation, and sharing – have shaped her career over seven decades of filmmaking.” It’s a great example of how inspiring she herself was, as an artist and as a person.
Apr 052019
