Foolish Fun

Laughing dummies, produced by Big Smile Mannequins

April Fool's Day is the most obnoxious day on the internet. All the silly "joke" stories, all the pranks and spoofs, these are rarely as clever as their writers intend. Normally, I consider it to be a day to take an on-line hiatus. ;-)

Maybe, it's because I have no sense of humor. Perhaps, it's because I'm too serious or self-important. Whatever the case, I find much for exasperation and little for amusement.

Well, you will not find me partaking of the folly of the "holiday" but, if you're inclined towards the silly, here are a few photos of mannequins. Creepy or funny? You decide.

Clearance sale, including mannequins for $50

I vote for creepy, especially those Big Smile laughing dummies. That's an image for a quick trip down into the Uncanny Valley.

View of the Village

The view from the Hammer Museum gallery floor, looking past the Skylight Gardens dome towards the Fox Theater. The cupola of the Janss Dome is barely visible to the left.

I was visiting the Hammer Museum today to see the current exhibition, "Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972". The show was excellent, a comprehensive and educational survey of this undeservedly obscure Polish artist.

It was a surrealistic display of biomorphic constructs, legs and breasts and lips emerging from black foam or sprouting like flowers from a plastic stem. Creepy but compelling.

Anyways, after viewing the show, I stood overlooking Westwood Village and was struck by the interesting shapes and patterns that are on view. So I took a picture to share with you. ;-)

Petit Dessert I (1970) by Alina Szapocznikow

Interesting stuff to be seen in Westwood, both in and out of the galleries.

Pacific Standard Time: Update #7

Pacific Standard Time Logo

It's been over a month since my last update, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been chasing down PST events. ;-)

We're halfway through the event's run, with many shows closing, but new exhibits opening. I went to give a farewell view to some of my favorite shows, such as the Hammer's Now Dig This! exhibition on LA's African-American art scene. As I was giving a final viewing to some of these artworks, melancholy came over me. So many of these works are hidden away in museum vaults or in private collections, I don't know if or when I'll be able to see them again.

For example, Ed Kienholz's Five Car Stud was created about 40 years ago, but has hardly ever been on view. What are the chances that I'll get to see it again? Likewise, all the lesser known minority artists rarely get shown. I know that one of the purposes behind the PST event is to alter the situation, to reveal the hidden treasures of the early LA art scene, but changing the established bias in the understanding of modern American art is a long-term project.

Although a strong counter-narrative is being proposed, such a fixed "history" is hard to shake, especially as many East Coast experts have so much invested in the current narrative.

Detail of Booster (1967) by Robert Rauschenberg

In any case, it's been fun and enlightening. I finally got to see the show at the Getty, which was awesome! I even got to attend a short talk on George Herms' assemblage piece, The Librarian. At another visit to the Norton Simon Museum, I attended a "spotlight" talk on John Baldessari's Fallen Easel. Likewise, the Hammer featured Maren Hassinger's River. I definitely appreciate these focus talks, brief though they may be, which enable me to benefit from the expertise of the curatorial staff in developing a deeper appreciation of the works under review.

Pacific Standard Time: Weekly Update #5

Pacific Standard Time logo

Although my health has improved significantly, the wreckage of two days lost to illness has created a backlog of tasks and social obligations, crowding out most of my art appreciation time. I still managed to fit in a rich set of activities, but not to my customary "aesthete grade" desires.

I didn't see any new exhibits, but I did attend a couple of lectures. The Norton Simon Museum had two Pacific Standard Time events. First, I attended a spotlight talk on Claes Oldenburg's Fire Plug Souvenir- "Chicago August 1968" and the fireplug motif as expressed in his lithographed Notes 1968. It was an interesting contrast between Oldenburg's more familiar light-hearted "pop" pieces and his deceptively critical political/social works.

Then, I attended a lecture on Dennis Hopper's photograph, "Double Standard" (1961), given by Prof. Damon M. Willick of Loyola Marymount University. Using the photo as a jumping point, the lecture was a reading of the various trends salient in the Los Angeles art scene during the era of the photograph and of the ensuing decade. It was a broad examination, encompassing everything from LA car culture to emergent minority voices to the fetishization of image and surface content. It was a good intro talk for those new to the topic of Los Angeles art.

Double Standard (1961) by Dennis Hopper


Finally, I was able to attend a panel discussion, "High Voltage: The Watts Legacy", at the Hammer Museum. The panel was moderated by Dr. Darnell Hunt. The panelists were artists, John Outterbridge and Andrew Zermeno, and collector, Stan Sanders. It was an engaging conversation, bringing up topics of art as political speech, the art establishment's fluctuating level of acceptance for African-American artists, and the transformational role that the Watts Riots played in spurring artistic creativity.

So, focusing more on activities than viewings was a good change of pace. No doubt, I'll be back to my solitary gallery pacing next week, but I had a good time at these events. I'm very grateful to live in a civilization where experts are readily available to impart insight and information.

Operation Teacup (Tower Easter Week Clean-Up) (1965) by Milton Martinez

Here are the Pacific Standard Time exhibits that I attended:

Hammer Museum

"Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980"

Norton Simon Museum

"Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California"










Enjoy!!!

Festive Lanterns Up Above

Lanterns hang over the Hammer Museum courtyard.


When pumpkins begin to peer out of windows and festive lanterns hang over your head, then you know the holiday season has arrived.

In previous posts, I have expressed mixed feelings about holidays. Whatever troubles that I have with Easter, Father's Day, or July 4th goes double for the upcoming celebrations. My glee is not something that can be scheduled in for a particular date. My cheer is not something that can be summoned up for company.

Although I wish a happy Halloween for all, dressing up in costume has never been my thing. And parties can be fun, but sometimes I just wish to be left alone. It really depends upon my mood.

View of the Hammer Museum courtyard from above.

However, I love how the holiday season allows for many fine opportunities to photograph interesting sights. The lanterns at the Hammer made for an interesting setting feature. I hope to drop by some evening to see them all aglow. That'll be pretty cool. ;-)

The Fire that You Light

Tany Ling displaying Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union

I got to attend the second performance of the Hammer Museum's "Sing Your Favorite Book" series. This time the performer was Tany Ling, singing Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union. I am so glad that I made it to the performance, back pain or no. Tany Ling has an angelic voice, absolutely breath-taking in its purity of tone and beauty.

I'm not familiar with the novel. It's an alternate history detective story set in a Jewish "reservation" in Alaska. That's sounds like it's made of fail to me, but I'm now fairly certain that I'm wrong in this shallow assessment. I had no narrative context by which to judge the passages chosen for the performance, but they were rich and evocative statements. This novel has popped up onto my "must read" list.

Because I was unfamiliar with the book, I focused more upon the singing and articulation of the words. When I heard Jessica Basta perform Lolita, my concentration was given to how she interpreted and arranged the narrative into a coherent performance piece. This made for a radically different listening experience. With Tany Ling, I was listening to the singer singing. With Jessica Basta, I listened to the song being sung. Both were excellent performances, but I was compelled to personally gush with enthusiasm to Tany Ling and take a photo so as to remember to write a blog post.



Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union


I'm certainly looking forward to attending another performance.

Tip of the Tongue Taking a Trip

Promotional image for the film, Lolita (1997)


The Hammer Museum is doing a series of performances called "Sing Your Favorite Book" which is being held in conjunction with the current "Ed Ruscha: On the Road" exhibit. A few weeks back, I was able to attend Jessica Basta's reading of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. I really didn't know what to expect. The concept seemed primed for failure; librettists work hard to shape literary pieces into musical works. How likely is a performer to improvise a quality result?

On the other hand, Jessica Basta has a beautiful voice and a solid improvisational sensibility. Moreover, Lolita has many passages that lend themselves to quotation and dramatic presentation. The goal wasn't to recite the entire novel, but to sing select passages from it. That's got potential.



Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita


The performance was held in the Ruscha galleries. It was a bit surreal, listening to the singing while looking at quotes from Kerouac' On the Road, contextualized over Ruscha's images. As expected Basta's voice and improvisation skills delivered on the rich potential of the text. It was a satisfying performance.

Heard, Not Seen

Calm and serene

The sound of a cicada

Penetrates the rock

(By Matsuo Basho)

The Hammer Museum had a series of performance over the month entitled "Insect Ensemble", a performance curated by Jessica Catron. Using hand percussion and simple mouth sounds, the concept was to create an ambient aural environment of insect-like sounds. Five performers were scattered across the Hammer Courtyard to create this effect.

The performers were Jessica Catron, Jessica Basta, Julia Holter, Tanya Rubbak, and Chris Votek.