Jan 202023
 

Artist Alex Katz created this mural, Bill 2, a portrait of modern dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones, in 2019 for Murals of La Jolla in San Diego. Murals of La Jolla is a project started in 2010 by The Athenaeum and the La Jolla Community Foundation. It commissions artists to create work to be displayed on buildings around La Jolla. A map of all the murals currently on view can be found here.

From the Murals of La Jolla website about the work-

Alex Katz’s mural, Bill 2, celebrates Bill T. Jones, one of the most noted and recognized modern-dance choreographers of our time. Executed in Katz’s bold and simplified signature style, Bill 2 depicts Jones’ visage, through a series of distinct expressions. The repetition of his face has a cinematic and lyrical quality, reinforcing his place in the world of dance, music and film. Portions of the face are dramatically cropped, giving the viewer only quick and gestural glimpses of Jones. Bill 2, is a striking homage to two artists, Katz and Jones, both renowned in their respective fields of visual and performing arts. The mural’s proximity to the new Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center gives a nod to the interconnected worlds of art, music, and dance.

The Guggenheim museum in NYC is currently showing Alex Katz: Gathering, a retrospective of the artist’s work from the late 1940’s until the present. The exhibition will be up until February 20, 2023.

From their website about the exhibition-

Emerging as an artist in the mid-20th century, Katz forged a mode of figurative painting that fused the energy of Abstract Expressionist canvases with the American vernaculars of the magazine, billboard, and movie screen. Throughout his practice, he has turned to his surroundings in downtown New York City and coastal Maine as his primary subject matter, documenting an evolving community of poets, artists, critics, dancers, and filmmakers who have animated the cultural avant-garde from the postwar period to the present.

Staged in the city where Katz has lived and worked his entire life, and prepared with the close collaboration of the artist, this retrospective will fill the museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright rotunda. Encompassing paintings, oil sketches, collages, drawings, prints, and freestanding “cutout” works, the exhibition will begin with the artist’s intimate sketches of riders on the New York City subway from the late 1940s and will culminate in the rapturous, immersive landscapes that have dominated his output in recent years.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company has numerous performances every year. Conceived and directed by Bill T. Jones, and choreographed by Jones with Janet Wong and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, the latest work, Curriculum II, will be performed at on March 10, 11, and 12, at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.

Jones also hosts the series Bill Chats at NYC’s The New School. On January 30th, he will be in conversation with Bessie Award-winning theater director and performance artist, Niegel Smith and curator, producer, and director, Kamilah Forbes. For more events check out the New York Live Arts calendar.

 

 

Dec 162022
 

Themes for a Left-Handed Pitcher”, 2021: “Still Life with Left-Handed Pitcher (04-06)”, 2021. serigraphy, pochoir, collage, acrylic ink, gouache on paper; “Left-Handed Pitcher Still Life (II)”, 2021. particle board, acrylic ink, concrete, polymer clay; “Perfect Games (Theme for a Left-Handed Pitcher)”, 2021. projected sound from single speaker. 9:00 min. (infinite loop)

While at Dunedin Fine Art Center to hear Ry McCullough’s talk, I was reminded of seeing this work at the USF Contemporary Art Museum last year as part of Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration. The discussion was great and touched on a lot of interesting topics, especially around his use of collage.

From the gallery’s wall plaque about Themes for a Left-Handed Pitcher

Inspired by the perfect game Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Sandy Koufax threw against the Chicago Cubs in 1965, Themes for a Left Handed Pitcher engages compositional fielding of the domestic pitcher and black and white balls in a callback and comparative dialogue between sculptural objects and works on paper. Inviting playful and participatory discovery, the project includes an amplified palindromic sound score and a zine, which are both available to download. Interspersed with abstracted baseball references, the project evokes a change-up between the fabricated and found forms, the known and the unknown.

On McCullough’s website you can find the downloadable zine and the audio file mentioned in the description above and its a chance to check out more of his impressive collage pieces. For his most recent work, also check out his Instagram.

In addition to his independent practice, he is part of the collaborative project, small_bars, with artist Nick Satinover.

From the small_bars information page about the project-

Within their collaborative practice they explore the structural authority of their band name moniker, small_bars. This ambiguous name serves as an all-encompassing banner which simultaneously referencing pixels on a screen, lines of type of a letter press, halftone processes, and the physical clubs and venues their former bands played. As small_bars, McCullough and Satinover are able to generate a collection of collateral materials such as audio recordings, videos, printed ephemera, performative events, and structural arrangements, all of which support and expand the notion of what the moniker suggests. This collaborative effort seeks to use the form of a band-like entity to create a space where the acts of publishing, printing and performance co-exist.

 

Jun 232016
 

Plants and Animals- Stay

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (6/23-6/27/16)-

Thursday

The Ace Hotel is hosting a screening of the John Waters narrated documentary, Wall Writers: Graffiti in its Innocence, presented by Juztapoz Magazine and International Documentary Association and followed by a Q&A led by Cheech Marin featuring director Roger Gastman, TAKI183 and KOOL KLEPTO KIDD.

Artist Lara Schnitger is speaking at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel and Moon Uterus are performing as part of the gallery’s After 5 programming (free with RSVP)

Nothing are playing with Wrong, Tennis System, Culture Abuse and Big Jesus at the Echoplex

Cub Sport are playing at the Bootleg Theater

Friday

Plants and Animals are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Royal Canoe

General Assembly in Santa Monica is hosting a day of free programming for creatives with a wrap party at the end as part of their Made in LA week long event

Cherry Glazerr is headlining a night at The Troubadour

Moby will be discussing his memoir Porcelain with KCRW’s Jason Bentley at Skirball ($5 for the ticket, $31 with the book)

Toro y Moi are DJ’ing a free art event at The Container Yard

Roses, Dunes, Mirror Travel and Jess Williamson are playing a $5 show at the Ham & Eggs Tavern

Saturday

Self Help Graphics & Art is having their Annual Print Fair & Exhibition

Dazed and Confused is the outdoor movie at The Autry with the band MASZER playing beforehand

Raising Arizona is the outdoor movie at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Summer and Music, Downtown Long Beach’s summer long concert series, begins with 720 Pine which has an emphasis on skateboarding, and musical guests including Devendra Banhart DJ’ing

The Roots & Special Guests are playing at The Novo

Cold Showers are headlining a night of bands at Complex in Glendale

Saturday and Sunday

CatCon LA is back at The Reef with two full days of cat related programming. On Saturday, as part of CatCon, there is CatVideoFest, 70 minutes of non-stop cat videos at The Ace Hotel hosted by comedian Andy Milonakis

Sunday

Painter and muralist Kim West will be speaking at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel gallery (free with RSVP)

Casket Girls are part of the lineup for Graveface Records Roadshow at the Bootleg Theater

Jan 152015
 

John Grant- GMF

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (1/15-1/18)-

Thursday

John Grant is having a free concert at the Hammer Museum and it’s the last weekend of the Jim Hodges show as well- http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2015/01/john-grant-in-concert/

Tennis System are performing at Amoeba Hollywood for free- http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/upcoming/detail-3182/index.html

Friday

LACMA is showing Network (ticket also includes admission to Klute)- http://www.lacma.org/event/network

Glaswegian musician Rustie is at El Rey- http://www.theelrey.com/events/detail/256009

Saturday

Part pot luck, part slide show Slideluck LA will present the work of over 20+ photographers set to music while you eat and drink (5$ open bar-beer and wine)- https://www.facebook.com/events/1438809453008224/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Artist Chelsea Knight drove around the country having local actors read monologues and break character- tonight at ltd los angeles,  actors from LA will try to do the same, drinks will be served as well- http://www.ltdlosangeles.com/upcoming_exhibition.html

LACMA’s film double bill today is East of Eden and The Godfather– see both for $5- http://www.lacma.org/event/east-eden

Also at LACMA, as part of The Director’s Series, Michael Govan (LACMA CEO) will be speaking with Tacita Dean following a screening of Manhattan Mouse Museum, Dean’s film about the artist Claus Oldenburg in his studio- http://www.lacma.org/event/director%E2%80%99s-series

The English Beat are at The Roxy- http://www.theroxy.com/event/728793-english-beat-west-hollywood/

Sunday

Photographer Mark Ruwedel will speak with author Tyler Green and sign his book at LACMA- http://www.lacma.org/event/ruwedel-and-green

Dead Kennedys are at the Roxy- http://www.theroxy.com/event/719459-dead-kennedys-west-hollywood/

All Weekend (Thursday-Sunday)

There are two big art fairs this weekend- Photo LA and the LA Art Show, both downtown.

Miwa Matreyek’s incredible dance/animation projection performances have been mentioned on this site before– and this weekend along with the performance group Cloud Eye Control (Anna Oxygen, and Chi-wang Yang) she will be performing Half Life at the Redcat which was inspired by blog entries by women who experienced the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis-  http://www.redcat.org/event/cloud-eye-control-half-life

Aug 212014
 

Tijuana Panthers- Nobo

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (8/21-8/24)-

Thursday

Fucked Up, Tijuana Panthers and Rat Fist are playing at the El Rey Theatre- http://www.theelrey.com/events/detail/250713

The Zombies are at Santa Monica Pier (free)- http://tcs.dola.com/event/2014/08/21/the-zombies

White Lung are playing a free show at Space 15Twenty (behind Urban Outfitters on Cahuenga) – http://www.space15twenty.com/whitelung.bandcamp.com

Thursday- Sunday

The Tall Ships Festival at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro is here along with the ships will be the world’s largest rubber duck making its west coast debut- http://www.tallshipsfestivalla.com/

Friday- Sunday (and Wednesday)

Cinefamily presents Los Angeles Plays Itself– a three hour supercut of famous and non famous films that all take place in Los Angeles- http://www.cinefamily.org/films/los-angeles-plays-itself/

Friday

Downtown Dark Nights at LA Live includes $5 food and drink menus all night long (and $5 parking), DJs, live music, performances and several street artists will be live painting as well- http://www.lalive.com/events/la-live/detail/dark-nights-at-la-live

Author Vanessa Veselka will be speaking about women’s travel in cinema and literature as well as her own traveling experiences before a screening of Agnés Varda’s film Vagabond– the last of Clockshop’s My Atlas series- http://clockshop.org/myatlas.html

Joanna Gruesome and Dunes are playing at The Smell- http://www.thesmell.org/

The Belle Brigade is playing Figat7th’s Downtown Festival (free)- http://artsbrookfield.com/event/the-belle-brigade/

Saturday

John Adams’ I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky– a Los Angeles earthquake romance opera-musical produced by Long Beach Opera at the Ford Theatre- http://fordtheatres.com/en/events/details/id/778

Saturday and Sunday

FYF Fest has a huge lineup including Future Islands, Interpol, Slowdive, Ty Segall, The Strokes, Real Estate, and more. It’s sold out but it may be worth hunting down tickets- http://fyffest.com/

Sunday

Like scavenger hunts? And street art? Well, Streetsmarts L.A. has put together a huge hunt with some great prizes donated by local artists- more details here- https://www.facebook.com/streetsmartsla

California assemblage artist George Herms will be signing his new book and presenting a work in progress at LACMA – http://www.lacma.org/event/george-herms

Feb 272014
 

FIDLAR- No Waves

Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (2/27-3/2)-

Thursday-

FIDLAR at the Echo- http://www.theecho.com/event/497375-fidlar-los-angeles/

LA Artist Betye Saar is speaking at the Hammer- http://hammer.ucla.edu/calendar/detail/type/program/id/2098

Artist Ron Athey is speaking at MOCA Grand Ave- http://sites.moca.org/thecurve/5795-2/

Friday-

Lord Huron with Superhumanoids at The Fonda (also Saturday)- http://www.fondatheatre.com/events/detail/245801

Scotch tasting and reception with Manfred Müller ($40 through Eventbrite) or just attend his public conversation (free) afterwards, discussing his current show at LAMAGhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/private-reception-with-artist-manfred-muller-tickets-9173228373

Je T’Aime,Je T’Aime at Cinefamily (running until 3/6)- http://www.cinefamily.org/films/je-taime-je-taime-brand-new-35mm-print/#je-taime-je-taime-brand-new-35mm-print-228-730

Saturday-

The Egyptian Theatre is hosting a free seminar- The Art of Production Design- with this year’s Oscar nominated art directors and set directors- http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/oscar-nominated-art-directors-seminar-1

Capital Cities at the Roxy (also Friday)- http://www.theroxy.com/event/489337-capital-cities-west-hollywod/

Sunday-

Watch the Oscars live on the big screen at Grauman’s Million Dollar Theater downtown- http://www.lahtf.org/

How the Brain Sees Light- A talk to complement- See the Light- Photography, Perception, Cognition exhibition at LACMA (free)- http://www.lacma.org/event/how-brain-sees-light