Self Portrait with Ray, 2017 by Linda Stark, part of Hammer Museum’s Made In L.A. 2018 Biennial in Los Angeles.
Dec 042021
Aug 312018
Lauren Halsey- The Crenshaw District Hieroglyph Project (Prototype Architecture) 2018
Lauren Halsey- The Crenshaw District Hieroglyph Project (Prototype Architecture) 2018
Currently at the Hammer Museum is Made in L.A. 2018, the museum’s fourth biennial exhibition of artists working in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. The diverse group of artists included range in age from 29 to 97. With so many excellent works in the exhibition, it was very hard to choose which of them to highlight. The following are just a few selections from the exhibition that stood out.
Lauren Halsey’s sculptures (pictured above), won the Mohn Award, a jury award which honors artistic excellence. You can also see another one of her sculptures at MOCA, until September 3.
Selection of works by Luchita Hurtado
The paintings above are from the oldest artist showing in the exhibition, Luchita Hurtado. At 97, she is just starting to get recognition for a lifetime of work.
The youngest artist in the show is Diedrick Brackens (shown below) who uses weaving and textile making to tell stories that reflect on cultural and personal narratives from his childhood in Mexla,Texas.
Diedrick Brackens
The most entertaining of the works in the exhibition is OURCHETYPES, created by Jade Gordon and Megan Whitmarsh. Taking up an entire room, it consists of videos, sculptures, and a publication- all dealing with issues of self discovery, adulthood, womanhood, happiness, and success from a tongue in cheek, retro New Age perspective.
Jade Gordon & Megan Whitmarsh, OURCHETYPES
Two additional video installations also worth taking time to watch-
Gelare Khoshgozaran’s Medina Wasi: Connecting Town, shot mainly in Mecca and Thermal in the Coachella Valley, includes footage from US military bases where sets were created to simulate Middle Eastern towns for troops to practice fighting in. She also includes interviews with US veterans who discuss their memories of the landscape when they were in the Middle East.
Neha Choksi’s multichannel video installation Everything sunbright, examines our relationship to the sun and includes images from nature, a dance performance, and children making drawings of the sun- all tying together themes of birth, life, and death.
This weekend Hammer Museum has programming to accompany the exhibition. On Saturday, taisha paggett will present a series of solo and duet dance performances and on Sunday, composer/performer Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs is assembling a group of mothers to explore the tropes and meanings of motherhood and Von Doog is offering empathic musical readings in the gallery prior to the performance.
This exhibition closes on Sunday 9/2.
Aug 312018
Bad Bad Hats- Nothing Gets Me High
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (8/30-9/2/18)-
Thursday
LACMA has a free screening of Kusama- Infinity, a film about artist Yayoi Kusama with a post screening conversation with director Heather Lenz
Alice Bag is playing a free show at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park with Generacion Suicida
Taken By Trees (Swedish songwriter Victoria Bergsman’s solo project) will be performing a free show at Amoeba Records
Friday
Bad Bad Hats are playing at The Roxy Theatre with Cumulus opening
DIIV are playing a free show (but RSVP) with Sextile at the Echoplex
Grand Park’s DJ Nights series continues with a night curated by Nosaj Thing
Get your holiday weekend started with Friday Fireworks at Dodger Stadium after they play the Arizona Diamondbacks
Juiceboxxx is playing with Charge It To The Game, No Win, and Margot Pauline at The Hi Hat
Here Lies Man and Jungle Fire are playing a free show at Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park
Metric are opening for The Smashing Pumpkins at The Forum (also Thursday)
Saturday
It’s the last weekend of Hammer Museum’s exhibition Made in L.A. 2018 and today you can see dance performances by artist taisha paggett along with her installation for the show
Brazilian artist Liniker e os Caramelows is performing at the Bootleg Theater
Beverly Hills Cop is the Cinespia Hollywood Forever Cemetery screening this evening
The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, The Tulips and Saint Cecilia are playing a free show at the Highland Park Bowl
Jurassic Shark are playing at the Lodge Room with Diners and Wild Wing opening
The Mad Walls are playing with The English Language, Rearranged Face and Mooncult at The Hi Hat
La Santa Cecilia is playing a free show at Burton Chace Park in Marina Del Rey- RSVP here
The Aero Theatre is showing Pink Floyd- The Wall
Saturday and Sunday
Golden Road Brewery is hosting Made in LA– a 2 day Music and Arts Festival with 50% of all ticket sales going to ArtShareLA. Performers include Dorothy, Saint Motel, Buyepongo and DUCKWRTH ($10 per day)
Sunday
At the Hammer Museum, composer/performer Carolyn Pennypacker will be assembling Mothers Choir, “a group of mothers, including her own—to investigate the complicated tropes and trip-outs of the meanings of mother” and there will be “empathic musical readings” in the gallery prior to the performance by Von Doog.
Cinespia’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery screenings continue with Now and Then
The Aero Theatre is showing Los Angeles Plays Itself along with a discussion with director Thom Anderson
Marbled Eye and Blues Lawyer are opening for Sheer Mag at the Troubadour
Geneva Jacuzzi is performing at The Echo with CMON and Toucan
May 312018
Mallrat- Uninvited
Things to do in Los Angeles this weekend (5/31-6/3/18)-
Thursday
TV Girl is playing at Lodge Room with Wished Bone opening
Hammer Museum has a free screening of Set it Off with a Q&A to follow with Tisa Bryant and Ernest Hardy
Okkervil River are playing at The Teragram Ballroom
Mating Ritual are playing at the Bootleg Theater with Sego and Tim Atlas
Enjoy the view and a drink while shopping at Yamashiro’s weekly Night Market
Curtis Harding is playing at the El Rey Theatre with Algiers opening
Friday
Figat7th Downtown Festival kicks off the first of four free Friday concerts with Mallrat opening for Poolside and !!! Dj’ing
This week’s First Friday event at the Natural History Museum includes a display of vintage cars and a discussion of LA’s car culture; performances by Madame Gandhi, Duckwrth, and Tuxedo; DJs, and more
Jimmy Whispers is playing at Zebulon with Dinner opening
Saturday
Hammer Museum is hosting a free opening night party for Made in L.A. 2018, the fourth edition of their biennial exhibition showcasing LA artists
LA Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats shows classic films in old theaters in Los Angeles- this time they are showing Mr. Smith Goes to Washington at the State Theatre with a Q&A about the theater’s history to follow
KCRW kicks off its free Summer Nights concert series at One Colorado in Pasadena with Pinky Pinky
LAST Projects is hosting an opening reception for the Queer Biennial (taking place at numerous venues across LA for the month of June)
Julia Jacklin is opening for Calexico at the El Rey Theatre
Filmmaker John Waters will be speaking at Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA
Sunday
Urban Air Market, a free marketplace for independent artists and designers, is happening in Los Feliz
Metro Art Los Angeles is hosting The Floor Improv Days- a free event in Union Station with live music from brass musicians The Red Line Horns, as well as dance lessons and a percussion workshop
Neko Case is opening for Ray Lamontagne at The Greek Theatre