S.S. Lane Victory in port!

The S.S. Lane Victory, a WWII supply ship, cruised through the sparkling, blue waters off the Pacific Ocean near Catalina Island.

Suddenly, the captain announced over the loud speakers that a spy had gained access to the radio room and signaled the ship’s position to the enemy. An aerial attack was imminent.

Within minutes, a squadron of fighter planes came roaring overhead. The ship’s crew manned the 20mm, 40mm and 5-inch guns and staccato bursts pierced the air, as the enemy planes made repeated strafing passes on the ship. Soon after, American fighters arrived, determined to show the adversary their prowess. They triumphantly drove the attacking planes from the sky.

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Now normally I would write about an actual upcoming exhibit or maybe even a gallery I recently visited. This time, however, it’s about a party. The LACMA will be hosting a cocktail party on August 16th, from 8:15 PM until midnight.

The event celebrates Los Angeleno/Chicano culture with an after hours viewing of Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection. In addition to the viewing there will also be a musical performance by East L.A. Chicano music legends Quetzal, live muralists and graffiti artists by Unification Theory, and complimentary cocktails and appetizers.

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Now normally I would write about an actual upcoming exhibit or maybe even a gallery I recently visited. This time, however, it’s about a party. The LACMA will be hosting a cocktail party on August 16th, from 8:15 PM until midnight.

The event celebrates Los Angeleno/Chicano culture with an after hours viewing of Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection. In addition to the viewing there will also be a musical performance by East L.A. Chicano music legends Quetzal, live muralists and graffiti artists by Unification Theory, and complimentary cocktails and appetizers.

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Lisa Lapinski sculptures

The Fret And Its Variant

Lisa Lapinski’s installations utilize wood, wallpaper, and various found objects, in addition to other, more sturdy, materials. She approaches the traditional methods and boundaries of space and volume and shatters these practices while incorporating questions of language, association, and pattern. In essence, Lapinski’s imaginative sculptures incorporate staples of their genre such as wood and wire, cement and clay, as well as more conventional forms of photography, painting, and drawing. Her unique combination of contrasting materials helps her work resonate with with narrative meaning that often derives from psychological, historical, and philosophical meaning.

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The Getty Center’s “Sounds of L.A” concert series came to an end last weekend with a two-day showcasing of Build an Ark, a jazz/experimental music coalition. During the early parts of Saturday night’s show, art-patron audience members seemed unsure on how to receive the diverse troupe whose players held traditional percussion instruments alongside more classical tools. But towards the end of the event, many listeners were brought to smiles, nods, and, for a select few, tears. This was the result of Ark’s synchronization of classically trained jazz musicians and some of the old school’s greats professing messages of healing and uplift.
L.A.’s endemic jazz talents playing under the roof of wealthy museums that hold some of the world’s recognizable (and sometimes looted/stolen) art treasures is nothing new. The introduction to Horace Tapscott’s book, “Songs of the Unsung” recalls the irony he felt while playing in LACMA during the mid-90s. But on Saturday night, awkwardness was dissipated by music that presented L.A.’s potential for mixing disparate talents and scenes in order to create something capable and unique.

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Tradition as Innovation in African Art
Through November 2, 2008
Ahmanson Building, Plaza Level
LACMA

The “Tradition as Innovation in African Art” exhibit currently displayed at LACMA seems to be an exercise in re-appropriation. With “avant garde” being a reference to the numerous artists and works of the Modernist period influenced visually by African work, one would expect to have the show dedicated to snatching back its pieces in order to debase any Picasso figure with horizontally slit eyes. Instead, it reveals to the viewer how the objects featured—mostly West African works from the 19^th century and some from the 20^th, the most recent having been created by Kenyan artist, Magdalene Odano, in 1995—have practical as well as profound reasons for being created and used. As a result it pushes the boundaries of expectations we have in understanding how art can be utilized through its visual devices.

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Huntington Gardens is a very relaxing way to spend a day, here are a collection of photos I took during a recent trip.

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The J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles, California.

Delusions of Grandeur

I decided to check out the Getty Center not too long ago, and found it to be incredible. After parking, I took the little tram up the side of the mountain to the top. The tram gives one a nice view while slowly ascending the hillside.

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Since, with the exception of yesterday, the intellect level of my recent posts hasn’t reached much farther than shopping or farmer’s markets, I’m making up for it tonight. Here are a few things that you can do around L.A. to educate yourself. Like, seriously provide some intellectual stimulation, guys.
1. California Science Center: Relive your middle school field-trip days and visit the California Science Center. The possibilities of learning are ENDLESS. You can enter the World of Life, the Creative World, World of the Pacific or the Worlds Beyond. The fact that I can go to an exhibit called “Creative World” is truly amazing. Opening March 14th is the world renowned exhibition “Body Worlds” which displays the human body quite literally from the inside out.

Located at 700 State Drive Los Angeles, CA 90037 (Map).

Call 213-744-7400 to find out more about this scientific treasure chest or visit them online.

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London Calling | Tuesday, March 11 | Beady Minces Gallery - Map

• Ladies and gents, our friends across the pond have arrived. Apart productions in association with Beady Minces Gallery (which was founded by British-born photographer Steven Shaw, present London Calling, a distinctive art show featuring artists who reside in London. Although 7 artists are British, there will be works featured from artists who originate from Spain, Thailand, Canada and France.

Flashdance | Tuesday, March 11 | 7:30 p.m. | $12 | Arclight Sherman Oaks - Map

• She’s a maniac, maniac for love! Who wouldn’t want to see this classic film on the big screen? Catch the ultra sexy Jennifer Beal in this 80’s jem. Don’t forget your headband and legwarmers at home.

The Purse and The Person: A Century of Women’s Purses | Wednesday, March 12 | 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. | $5 ($4 students and seniors) | Pasadena Museum of History - Map

• Next to shoes, a purse is a woman’s best friend. It’s certainly an accessory that deserves its own museum exhibit, and that’s exactly what it has gotten, as the Pasadena Museum of History presents “The Purse and The Person: A Century of Women’s Purses.”

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One needs to gird oneself for a day at a museum. Or at least, I do. It takes a lot for me to stand and shuffle around for hours, flashing back to my one art history course, hoping terms like “˙High Renaissance” and “Dadaism” can be recalled with a sense of meaning. Since moving within walking distance of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I’ve seen a goodly amount of construction over the past six months. All in preparation for the institution’s new extension, ominously referred to as “Phase 1 of LACMA’s Transformation.”
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It was a cold, winter night in 1942. Late on February 24^th, beams of searchlights were crisscrossing the darkened sky seeking any inbound enemy aircraft. Suddenly, a barrage of ordinance was unleashed into the heavens from the numerous artillery guns protecting the city.

Was this London in the blitz? Could it have been Berlin being bombarded by the Allies? No, this happened in the skies over our own city of the angels, Los Angeles.

The Great Air Raid is something of a mystery. Since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a few months earlier, the people of Los Angeles were justifiably anxious and perhaps a little trigger-happy. The frantic shooting by various units of that night weren’t sure what they were firing at as no planes were ever confirmed seen or shot down.

Few people know about this event in history possibly because the government wanted it relegated to obscurity. However, the Fort MacArthur Museum in San Pedro would like for you to experience that night at their annual re-enactment of The Great Air Raid of 1942 on the evening of Saturday, February 23rd.

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