Mirror House, 2016 by artist Paige Jiyoung Moon was one of the paintings in her 2019 exhibition, Days of Our Lives at Steve Turner in Los Angeles. Her works are all of scenes from her life, painted from memory.
She is currently part of Hammer Museum’s most recent biennial, Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living, its sixth iteration, on view until 12/31/23.
The house in the painting, Mirage, was created by Doug Aitken for Desert X in 2017. On the fictional television series, The Curse, created by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, the main characters are building houses with similar look.
Raised in Highland Park and East Los Angeles, Terrill was part of a small group of Chicano artists who in the 1970s and 80s created works that diverged from traditional Chicano-based imagery and subject matter to include visual representations reflecting his queer lived experiences. Utilizing the existing image culture that surrounded him, Terrill combines personal photographs, found pop cultural imagery, and reproductions of artworks by queer predecessors, including Diane Arbus, Robert Mapplethorpe and Wilhelm von Gloeden, to conjure utopic spaces. Spanning from his earliest explorations to substantial new works, Cut and Paste reveals collage as a foundational element to Terrill’s expanded artistic practice.
Beginning with abstract collages and silkscreens made while Terrill was an undergraduate at Immaculate Heart College—an art department still heavily influenced by the graphic artist and activist Sister Corita Kent—the exhibition draws out the interconnectivity of illustration, collage, and printmaking in Terrill’s work and their influence upon the characteristically flat style of his early paintings. Like many artists who came of age in the wake of Pop, he found refuge within the fantasies of American image culture–his earliest artworks covering his bedroom walls, which he transformed with a mix of drawings, photographs, and clippings of comic books, film starlets, and music icons. His silkscreens from the mid-1970s–a medium central to the larger Chicano art movement–find him applying a graphic sensibility to not only representations of brown bodies, but queer desire, an impulse he would continue to explore in his episodic Homeboy Beautiful proto-zines from the end of the decade.
The above photos are of Sanford Biggers’ sculpture The Oracle when it was located at Rockefeller Center in NYC in 2021, where it was part of a multimedia installation.
It now resides outside the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, on the new outdoor sculpture pedestal on Wilshire Boulevard and Glendon Avenue. It will be there until March of 2024.
From the Hammer website about the work-
Anchoring this corner is Oracle (2021), a cast bronze figure weighing 7.64 US tons (15,280 pounds) and standing at 25 feet tall. This monumental commission from Biggers continues his “Chimera” series that hybridizes the canonical figures and gestures of Greco-Roman sculpture with an assortment of iconic African objects from the 14th–20th centuries. Unlike Biggers’s other “Chimera” sculptures that are made in marble, Oracle is cast in bronze. The seated figure in Oracle is a depiction of the statue of Zeus at Olympia, while the head is a composite of several masks and busts from different African cultures, including the Luba Kingdom and the Maasai.
Biggers sculpturally patchworks historical depictions of the body and their subsequent myths, narratives, perceptions, and power. Biggers is intrigued by the recent scholarship about the academic and historical “white-washing” of classical Greco-Roman sculpture simultaneously intersecting with the early twentieth-century “black-washing” of various African sculptural objects. Oracle challenges the associated cultural and aesthetic assumptions about their source material while acknowledging the often dubious origins of the original objects themselves.
Stefan Kürten, “Running to Stand Still”, 2014 (detail)
Stefan Kürten, “Fine Wrinkles”, 2000
Rita McBride, “Mae West Mandala (Oaxaca), 2009 and “Color Test (Green Bar)”, 2009
Stefan Kürten’s paintings of houses and Rita McBride’s wall coverings (and other sculptures) work with each other to question the concept of home, as well as the objects you might find within one. The exhibition, titled I Continue To Live In My Glass House, is on view at Alexander and Bonin until 3/25/23.
From the press release-
Stefan Kürten is known for detailed depictions of homes. Although constructed from both found and invented imagery, his homes feel known or experienced. The slippage between archetypes, memories, and dreams are central to his compositions. Set in lush landscapes and mysteriously unpeopled, Kürten’s homes evoke modern art or design museums with iconic sculptures and furniture viewable inside and outside of their transparent walls.
Rita McBride’s work invites us to reconsider structures and design elements such as ductwork, awnings, wall coverings and other utilitarian objects. McBride represents a bentwood chair in Murano glass, fastened together by a material that evokes spun candy or plastic wrap. Chair (1999) comments on the life of a domestic object whose usage necessitates an inventive approach to repair or stabilization.
McBride is also showing Particulates, an art installation that combines lasers with ambient dust and water molecules, will be on view at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles starting 3/27/23.
This mural, Play Her Voice, is by one of Afghanistan’s first female street artists, Shamsia Hassani and is located in Eugene, Oregon.
She was also one of Hammer Museum’s resident artists in 2016. While in Los Angeles she met with local artists, painted the mural seen below (image via her website) and showed her work in an exhibition at Seyhoun Gallery in West Hollywood.
Make sure to check out her Instagram for updates on her current work.
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (3/5-3/8/20)-
Thursday
The Paranoyds are playing at the free premiere of the skateboarding/surfing/roadtrip film This Way- A Western Film at 2027 E. 7th Street
Patrick Jagoda, Professor of English and Cinema & Media Studies at the University of Chicago, and Weston Game Lab director Ashlyn Sparrow will discuss a series of the lab’s innovative digital and analog game projects- including games with implications for learning and social justice at Hammer Museum
Black Violin, led by classically trained string players Wil B. (viola) and Kev Marcus (violin), blend classical music with hip hop and will be performing at the Theatre at Ace Hotel
MOCA Senior Curator Bennett Simpson is leading a walkthrough of Seven Stations: Selections from MOCA’s Collection at the Grand Avenue location
The Sea and Cake are playing at Zebulon with L.A. Takedown
The Aero Theatre is showing Ingmar Bergman’s Persona
Friday
No Win are playing at Gold Diggers with On Drugs and Criminal Hygiene
First Fridays is back at the Natural History Museum with performances by Wajatta (featuring Reggie Watts and John Tejada), French Vanilla, and Café Molly; DJ Novena Carmel is joined by Guest DJ Josh Peace in the DJ Lounge; as well as a discussion on the Future of Medicine, and more.
Residency in Inglewood is having an Open House Party with a project by Devon Tsuno in the main gallery and work from Texas Isaiah, Devin Reynolds, Bradley Ward and Yasmine Diaz in the annex, as well as a burger pop up, a DJ, and more
Healing Gems are playing a free rush hour concert (4-6pm) at Union Station
Seratones are performing at the Bootleg Theater with Pet Dress opening
Gold Cage, No Swoon, LMI and Nico Turner are playing at The Smell
Saturday
Artist T. Kim-Trang Tran will be discussing her exhibition at LAMAG
As part of the Egyptian Theatre’s programming for Noir City: Hollywood – The 22nd Annual Los Angeles Festival of Film Noir, they are showing a triple feature tonight of M (1931), M (1951), and El Vampiro Negro
Gus Seyffert & Friends are performing at the Bootleg Theater
Boan and Dancing Tongues are opening for Bambara at The Echo
Sunday
The LA Marathon is taking place and the route runs from downtown to Santa Monica, adjust your travel plans accordingly or cheer the runners on
The Annual Festival of the Kite is happening in Redondo Beach
The Aero Theatre is having a free screening of Yung Chang’s documentary This Is Not A Movie about British journalist Robert Fisk’s dangerous career covering conflicts around the world over several decades. A discussion with the director will follow.
Young Guv is playing at Zebulon with Spiritual Cramp
Palehound is playing with Adult Mom after teaching a free workshop on writing a pop song at Junior High
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (2/20-2/23/20)-
Thursday
Hammer Museum is hosting Constitutional Happy Hour a chance to have a few cheap drinks while learning about the US Constitution. This week Loyola Law School professor David Glazier will be discussing the War Powers Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11)
Artist Gala Porras-Kim will be discussing her work and MOCA’s permanent collection with UCLA Professor of Art History and Conservation of Material Culture Glenn Wharton and MOCA Assistant Curator and Manager of Publications Bryan Barcena at the Grand Avenue location
Hip-hop supergroup Czarface (Inspectah Deck, 7L & Esoteric) are performing at Catch One
Little People, Frameworks, and Yppah are playing at The Paramount
Mutual Benefit are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Sonoda and Nicholas Krgovich
As part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s John Sayles series, they will be showing Sayles’ film Sunshine State at Hammer Museum with Sayles in attendance for a conversation and book signing ($9)
Here the Birds Burn: A Phantasmagoria Revival, a horror theater performance, is taking place throughout the Victorian era homes at Heritage Square. “Incorporating working authentic 18th & 19th century magic lanterns with hand painted glass slides, along with being joined by fellow period-era theater guests, this immersive performance, set in the 1830s, promises an evening of frightful delight”. (running Thursday-Sunday)
No Age are playing at The Smell with Würm and Milo Gonzalez
HUNNY are playing at the El Rey Theatre with Bay Faction and Michi
Holychild are playing at Moroccan Lounge with Hollander and Tiffany Stringer
Saturday
Metronomy are playing at The Fonda Theatre with Bodega and Faux Real opening
Not From England are playing at The Smell with Moon Fuzz, Poll Tax Riot and Buddha Trixie
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries is hosting a book launch with editors Allyson Mitchell and Cait McKinney for Inside Killjoy’s Kastle: Dykey Ghosts, Feminist Monsters, and Other Lesbian Hauntings. The contributors to this volume consider the role of lesbian feminist histories and direct-action aesthetics in contemporary queer and feminist communities, particularly the ways in which political artwork can produce new ways of knowing about the past. The book launch will include readings and performances by Deirdre Logue, Nao Bustamante, Kyla Tompkins, Karen Tongson, Jennifer Doyle, and David Evans Frantz, and a pop-up feminist gift shop by Otherwild.
FEELS are playing an early show at Zebulon with Gustaf, Gesserit and Cumgirl8
Sunday
Zebulon has a free screening of Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978) with a performance by Charade to follow
Mamalarky are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Girl Friday and Eyeshadow
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (2/13-2/16/20)-
Thursday
As The World Berns, a fundraiser for candidate Bernie Sanders, is taking place at the Bootleg Theater with musical performances by Gold Star, Olivia Kaplan, Alex Lilly, Austin McCutchen & The Western Stars, Cornelia Murr, Clinton Patterson, Gus Seyffert and more
Moaning are playing a free (with RSVP) show at Moon Room
Hammer Museum is hosting The How and Why of Political Advertising, with LMU professor Fernando Guerra and campaign strategist John Thomas joining moderator and Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson to break down the politics and law behind campaign spending and advertising.
Poet and educator Shonda Buchanan is speaking at The Broad as part of its lecture series The Logic of Poetry and Dreams
Brazilian artist Sessa is playing at Zebulon with SK Kakraba
Pink Mountaintops, Corridor, KEEN, and Clear are playing a free show at Highland Park Bowl
Friday
Spend Valentine’s Day in Grand Park with a celebration of Lovers Rock with DJ Linafornia (free)
Hammer Museum is having a free screening of the film Moonlight
Tan Cologne are playing at The Hi Hat with Grant Earl Lavalley and Glances opening
Saturday
Winter are opening for Part Time and Garry Wilson at the Regent Theater with Bryson Cone
The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA is hosting Brutally Early (it starts at 7:30am)- a free morning of conversations with artists including- Simone Forti, Kandis Williams, Shirin Neshat, Miles Brenninkmeijer, Patrick Staff, Rodney McMillian, and choreographers Gerard & Kelly- hosted by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Klaus Biesenbach (in addition, it begins with coffee and donuts and ends with champagne and ice cream)
As part of The Broad’sUn-Private Collection conversation series, artists Christopher Wool and Kim Gordon will be speaking with critic and curator John Corbett
Artist Joe Sola will be in conversation with author Jarett Kobek (I hate the internet) at Honor Fraser at noon
17 DJs (including Grimes) are performing in 5 rooms for Rhondavous A Lovers Ball at Catch One
If you are a fan of ambient music, Malcolm Cecil will be performing at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church with Cool Maritime and Yialmelic Frequencies opening
Sunday
For the last day of Phillip K. Smith III’s exhibition at Bridge Projects there will be a day of activities including a soundscape by William Basinski, a relaxation workshop, and a tea tasting as part of their Oasis programming (also on Saturday)
Hammer Museum is hosting the climate justice themed Panic Party, with DJs, cocktails, after hours gallery access, short films, artist activations, voter registration, vegan food and more
Lucy Arnell, Nico Yaryan and more are performing as part of a Benefit for Australia at Permanent Records Roadhouse
All Weekend
StARTup LA Art Fair returns to The Kinney Venice Beach on Friday evening. It is one of the better art fairs as it offers a chance to meet the artists (who take over rooms in the hotel) and buy from them directly
Art Los Angeles Contemporary opens Thursday running until Sunday and has moved to The Hollywood Athletic Club from the Barker Hangar
Spring/Break Art Show is taking place all weekend starting Friday at Skylight ROW DTLA
Felix Art Fair returns to the Roosevelt Hotel (opening night Thursday). Although last year it was free, this year tickets are $25
Frieze Art Fair runs all weekend but only has program tickets (no gallery tent) available for Saturday and Sunday
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (2/6-2/9/20)-
Thursday
Office Relief: Benefit for Australia is happening at The Roxy Theatre with stars from The Office performing including Jenna Fischer, Creed Bratton, Rainn Wilson and more
Hammer Museum is screening two collections of early video works by Paul McCarthy, Black and White III and Color Compilation, with an in-person introduction by artist Barbara T. Smith (free)
Artist and writer dana washington will be speaking at The Broad as part of their series The Logic of Poetry and Dreams (free but reserve ticket)
Radical Face is playing at the Troubadour with Axel Flóvent
Friday
MOCA Grand Avenue has a free screening of Community of Parting by Jane Jin Kaisen. The film derives from Kaisen’s extensive research on Korean shamanism and her engagement with communities affected by war and division using imagery from North and South Korea, Jeju Island, the DMZ, Kazakhstan, Japan, the US, and Germany. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the artist and Crystal Mun-hye Baik, author of Reencounters: On the Korean War & Diasporic Memory Critique.
Silversun Pickups are playing at The Wiltern with Eliza & The Delusionals opening
Bombón, Gustaf, and Gesserit are performing at Recess Ops in San Pedro
Saturday
The Egyptian Theatre is hosting two free conversations for Oscar Season- first with this year’s nominated film editors at 10:30am and later with nominated production designers and set decorators at 3pm (both are free but RSVP and remember with the preparations for the Oscar ceremony right down the block, it’s probably best not to drive there)
LACMA and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art are screening Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing followed by a conversation with Turner Classic Movies host Jacqueline Stewart at Cinemark Baldwin Hills
Hollywood will be a bit tricky to get to with the prep for the Oscars but if you are local or take the metro you could go see a matinee of All About Eve at the Egyptian Theatre at 1pm
Ley Line are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Malena Cadiz opening
Lodge Room continues its Black History Month music series with Black Jazz Records 50th Anniversary- with performances by Doug Carn, Henry Franklin, Calvin Keys, Michael Carvine, and Jeane Carne
All Weekend
The LA Art Show returns to the LA Convention Center with local and international galleries showing modern and contemporary art
Superfine! Art Fair returns to Magic Box at The Reef (last day for discounted tickets- 2/6)
