Kori Newkirk: 1997-2007
June 1-September 14, 2008
Opening Reception:
May 31, 2008, 7-9pm
$5 admission
Free For Members
Wine and Beer

Kori Newkirk’s artistic practice is startlingly diverse in media, subjects and themes, but all share his unique perspective on identity and African American cultural politics. The Pasadena Museum of California Art is proud to present Kori Newkirk: 1997-2007, the first major retrospective of the Los Angeles-based artist’s work. Using popular culture and personal experiences as a foundation, Newkirk’s oeuvre is both visually stunning and intellectually challenging. His early work focuses on themes of black masculinity, but later begins to encompass wider notions of gender, race and social geography. In particular, Newkirk has earned acclaim for a set of works—his pony-bead curtains—that anchor this exhibition, which is comprised of more than thirty works completed since Newkirk received his MFA from UC Irvine.

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The SCALO/GUYE fine art photography gallery held its opening show for native Los Angeles artist Daniele Albright last Saturday evening. With the show’s title, FICTIONAL SPACES, one might have expected pictures of Hollywood sets, actors in character or once filmed locations. Instead, the viewer came across laterally collaged photo sets of natural scenes at sea, the sky and where land meets the two. Upon an immediate look, there is nothing fictional about them. “They’re trying to trick you,” says Daniele. “What appears to be an island… is not an island,” “waves” are cleverly patterned shots and so on. The “trick” about the collages is that they are not a series of sweeping shots that were simply pieced together but instead different individual photos that were taken at separate times. Raising questions about how our minds make sense of space, visual patterns and reality is the challenge set forth by Daniele Albright and with this being her first fine art photography show, one hopes for more work to come.

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Balthasar Burkhard,
March 10- May 31, 2008

It’s not too late to see world-class photography at the Balthasar Burkhard exhibit in the SCALO/GUYE gallery. There, one can see massive silver gelatin prints of Los Angeles, Shanghai, Namibia and the clouds. Having Burkhard’s prints on display in the City of Angeles is no small feat. “It took me two years and seeing him three times in person…” says gallery co-owner and spokesperson, Christophe Guye. As such, Burkhard, who recently had 23 museum shows around the globe, is a welcome sight for L.A.’s photography collectors and lovers alike. Guye adds more urgency: “maybe they’ve seen one of his shows in Europe, but they haven’t seen him here… his iconic works are selling out”. Since this is “Burkhard’s first exhibition in the USA since 1980”, the time to see the photos is now.

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This post is the first in a series attempting to capture the lifestyle and feel of LA’s music venues. The small clubs and bars where stars are born, and destroyed. Places where you may be standing 3 feet from a Grammy winner, or simply witnessing an artist convey their passions and pain. I urge you to take one night a month and journey to one of the many internationally known stages in Hollywood, and experience a live show. You just might fall in love with music again.

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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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The first thing you will see at the Los Angeles County Arboretum are the peacocks. They’re everywhere. They’re fearless. And, as I observed, they don’t jaywalk. And while the novelty of the majestic birds never really wears off (mostly because one can never forget their existence, because no matter where you turn, there’s a damn peacock), the truly moving sights of the arboretum are, believe it or not, the flowers. [ Read The Full Story -> ]

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to stop by the San Pedro train yards during a busy evening. Trains were coming and going, loading and unloading. The moment was perfect to take these pictures, adding to my collection of transportation photographs. Much of what I love about the Los Angles area is the diversity in transportation; trains, busses, subways, and freeways.
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On Wednesday, February 6, the California Coastal Commission met in Del Mar to vote on the proposed extension of the 241 Toll Road. Environmentalists and surfers throughout the state waited for the decision with bated breath. The Transportation Corridor Agencies group (TCA) had already turned Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s head by offering the state $100 million, supposedly to mitigate the damage the toll road extension would cause to San Onofre State Beach. The governor proved that he could be bought; he announced his support for the toll road extension soon after revealing the state was in the throes of a budget crisis. (Question: Isn’t the TCA a special interest group? Question: Didn’t Arnold rail against special interest groups when he ran for office? “Special interests cannot buy me. I have enough money.”) [ Read The Full Story -> ]

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Shaolin: Temple of Zen
Photographs by Justin Guariglia
At the Ben Maltz Gallery
February 2 - March 29, 2008
Public Reception: Saturday, February 2, 5-7pm

Photographer Justin Guariglia has documented the exceptionally private warrior monks of the ancient Shaolin Temple in the Henan province of China. This body of work brings to light the secretive society of the Chinese Buddhist sect dedicated to preserving a form of kung fu known as a “vehicle of Zen.” Over the course of eight years, Guariglia earned the monks’ trust to create a compelling record of their traditions. Aperture, a not-for-profit organization devoted to photography and the visual arts, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publication. [ Read The Full Story -> ]

The Signs Pile Up: Paintings by Pedro Álvarez
Incognegro: New Work by Mark Steven Greenfield
January 26 – March 29, 2008
Opening Reception: January 26, 7-9 pm

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I wanted to see what I could shoot just walking through LA…this is what I got…

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