Los Angeles: The Cultural Capital of the 21st Century

[svs]

Originally Posted by klamedia

Car-free to the Huntington is always the best! Just take the Gold Line to Pasadena and bike to the museum. You won't regret this trip!

Everyone should check out the new Chinese garden, if they haven't already. It's really beautiful.

[Westsidelife]

Museums Team to Buy Mabry Work

May 20, 2008

The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and San Diego’s Museum of Contemporary Art have jointly acquired a 2008 bronze sculpture by L.A.-based artist Nathan Mabry titled "Process Art (Dead Men Don't Make Sculpture)."

It's a large-scale fake cast of Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker," overlaid with a bronze cast of an altered, rather maniacal latex mask.

In a Times review of Mabry's L.A. solo show in March, David Pagel described the 7-foot-tall sculpture as "an industrial-strength tchotchke with dopey dunce cap," comparing it to "a pumped-up version of Duchamp's mustache-on-a-Mona-Lisa-postcard."

The sculpture joins 10 other Mabry works in the Hammer's contemporary collection. Now on exhibit in front of MCASD's La Jolla location until May 2009, it will move to the Hammer in summer 2009.

[Westsidelife]

Getty Acquires 3rd Century Sarcophagus

The marble work depicts a wine-making festival and is the first major purchase since the controversy over illegal exports of ancient pieces.

By Suzanne Muchnic, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 5, 2008

In a move signaling its return to collecting Mediterranean antiquities -- with tight restrictions -- the J. Paul Getty Museum has acquired a late 3rd century Roman sarcophagus that depicts a wine-making festival.

One of only six similarly decorated ancient funerary monuments known to exist, the elaborately carved marble work will go on display at the Getty Villa on June 12.

The sarcophagus -- which portrays a panorama of curly-haired cupids harvesting and stomping grapes, bordered by a pair of lion heads -- is the first major piece to be added to the antiquities collection since the Getty and many other museums became embroiled in an international controversy about ancient artworks thought to have been illegally exported, said Karol Wight, the Getty's senior curator of antiquities.

The Getty has returned 39 pieces to Italy over the last year and will send back a particularly prized, monumental cult figure in 2010 to fulfill an agreement with Italian authorities. So far, pieces from the museum's collection have been pulled out of storage to fill gaps, Wight said. But the sarcophagus will be the centerpiece of a new installation about the production and consumption of wine in ancient times.

The recent purchase -- made at an undisclosed price from an unidentified private collection in London -- adheres to a Getty policy adopted in 2006 that requires each newly acquired antiquity to have a clear ownership history dating to 1970, when an international agreement prohibited traffic in looted art.

The sarcophagus can be tracked to 1808 at the Villa Rondinini in Rome. A French ambassador, François de Corcelle, bought the marble in 1852. It was kept in his family in France until 1994, when it was purchased at auction by the collector who recently sold it to the Getty through an American dealer.

"It's a wonderful addition to our collection," Wight said, "and a really fun piece that will be great for family groups and educational programs." Although the sarcophagus was used as a watering trough for horses at some point during its residence in France, it will help the museum to explain themes of life and death and the vital place of wine in Roman culture, she said.

[Westsidelife]

Grammy Museum at L.A. Live Sets Opening Date

By Todd Martens
June 5, 2008

Soon to be added to the nominees for best historical music institution: The Recording Academy has set Dec. 3 as the grand opening for its Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The museum, part of the L.A. Live complex across the street from the Staples Center, will first host a string of invite-only and fundraising events, and will officially open its doors to the public on Dec. 6.

The opening of the four-floor complex will come one day before the nominations are announced for the 2009 Grammy Awards, to be held on Feb. 8 at the Staples Center. The museum will house a 200-seat theater and a rooftop terrace for private/fundraising events and will be home to permanent and traveling exhibits.

The Grammy Museum Web site has a run-down of some of the permanent exhibits. The site lists one of the first rotating exhibits as "Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom," which will attempt to explore a 200-year history of music and politics in America.

The third floor of the museum is slated to provide a detailed history of the Grammy Awards and the process behind them, as well a step-by-step look at the evolution of a record, from the studio to the sessions musicians to the producers. The fourth floor houses one of the most promising-sounding exhibits, an interactive look at the development of music in various American cities, which visitors can explore with touch screens (a screen shot of the museums fourth floor is above, clipped direct from here).

The Recording Academy will host a media day and VIP reception on Dec. 3, a fundraising concert on Dec. 4, visits from schools and education facilities on Dec. 5, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 6. Live music will be performed at the museum throughout the weekend of Dec. 6 and 7. Ticket information will be released this summer.

The Grammy Museum has currently teamed with the Skirball Center in Los Angeles to present "Bob Dylan's American Journey: 1956 - 1966." The exhibit will close in three days on June 8.

With the 2009 Grammy nominations set to be announced Dec. 4, the Grammy Museum would seem to be an ideal location for the event. A spokeswoman for the Recording Academy, however, says a venue is still to be determined. The past few years have seen the press conference held in Hollywood at the Henry Fonda Theater.

[milquetoast]

SUMO CULTCHA!!

photos by Gary Friedman/LATimes

Sumo Wrestlers take bite out of BIGGGGG Avocado!

Sumo have their days at the L. A. Sports Arena (..gee, couldn't we have found a shittier place..)

They did get to see some of the town..

..get their hair yanked in style..

Purify that mound before you pitch!

SWING, SUMO SUMO SUMO SWING!

I wanna chizzzzomp, yo! Look at skinny Joe- he got his shit! When we get Dodga Dogs?

Fuck this! No Dodga Dog, no Sumo. Ozeki Kotooshu- OUT!

LATimes

[Westsidelife]

Anyways...

I recently visited the Norton Simon Museum for the very first time (strange, since I live in Pasadena). The article on the first page is right in that it boasts a large collection of works by Degas. What I'm not sure of, however, is the quality of the collection. Is it truly one of the world's finest collections of art by Degas? Svs, what's your opinion of the collection? I'm not sure what to make of it.

[milquetoast]

..well...Svs is still asleep! My op? It's a rather nice collection, if a bit too inclusive of just about every statuette he ever cast! There are some sketches that show the promise of the future painting/pastel; Mary Cassatt at the Louvre is an almost exact replica of the final version, which I would rather have. The various roughs on the female form, bathing, after the bath, are again, not the final versions but revealing nevertheless! Not too much a fan of Ballet, though this is by far my favorite of his oeuvre. This is where he does no wrong. Norton Simon is undervalued.

Degas did some revolutionary lighting tricks and angles for someone of his time- singers and dancers uplit from below stage as seen from above or below. Colors in the extreme palette, loosely applied and grabbing the texture of the paper. Very daring process, daring subject matter.

[svs]

I am not asleep. Just doing other things. I think the set of Degas in the Simon are pretty good and one of the largest groups on display in the US though most of the works are either multiples(the sculptures), pastel sketches, or student works. Its probably the best collection of any single impressionist artist that we have in the city.

Still I think the very best Degas works are in Paris, New York, and Washington. And my favorite of the New Orleans cotton exchange is in New Orleans where it belongs.

Still given the relative dearth of really good French impressionist/post impressionist paintings in LA, we should be grateful. Nothing this side of Chicago comes close.

Also the Getty I believe has a good collection of Degas photographs. They are not usually on display but there was a retrospective show done with the Met about ten years ago where most of his photographic work was on display.

[Westsidelife]

^ Thanks, svs. I knew you were well traveled enough to answer my question. As someone who hasn't been to the Met, National Gallery, or Louvre; I appreciate your insight.

It's a shame Los Angeles doesn't have significant collections of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I know the Armand Hammer Museum has works by Monet, Pissaro, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and the like; but I'd imagine it's the same thing? Hopefully we'll acquire more shining examples of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism via the philanthropy of private collectors.

I think contemporary art is Los Angeles' niche. We should build on our status as a contemporary art capital by amassing greater and greater collections of contemporary art. Contemporary art will appreciate over time, so why not get a monopoly over it while it's relatively undiscovered. MOCA has great collections, or so I've heard. BCAM, based on the reviews, is also great.

[svs]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

^ Thanks, svs. I knew you were well traveled enough to answer my question. As someone who hasn't been to the Met, National Gallery, or Louvre; I appreciate your insight.

It's a shame Los Angeles doesn't have significant collections of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I know the Armand Hammer Museum has works by Monet, Pissaro, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and the like; but I'd imagine it's the same thing? Hopefully we'll acquire more shining examples of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism via the philanthropy of private collectors.

I think contemporary art is Los Angeles' niche. We should build on our status as a contemporary art capital by amassing greater and greater collections of contemporary art. Contemporary art will appreciate over time, so why not get a monopoly over it while it's relatively undiscovered. MOCA has great collections, or so I've heard. BCAM, based on the reviews, is also great.

The overall collections aren't all that bad. Overall LA has a better Impressionist collection than any American city west of the Mississippi. Its just scattered all over the place. To see most of it, you have to go to LACMA, the Getty, the Simon, and the Hammer.

The Eastern cities just got a jump start on building their collections and actually LA has done a great job catching up in the past thirty years. Remember the Art Museum had to share space with the Natural History Museum up until the late 60's and the city fathers stupidly refused several major collections that are now the HIrshhorn Museum in DC and the cream of the Modern Art collection in Philadelphia.

It would be hard to beat the Chicago Art Institute for overall quality of their Impressionist art collection. The Met has quantity, but I think the works in Chicago, Philly,(check out the Barnes collection just outside of Philly; they have more than 180 Renoirs alone) and Washington are better overall, just an opinion.

LA does have more than just modern art. We have wonderful Asian art, a very lively gallery scene, the biggest collection of Daumiers outside of France, one of the best collections of German expressionist prints in North America,and a surprisingly good collection of British Art (at the Huntington). There are about 20 Rembrandts in LA as opposed to two in Chicago and really there is a lot of great art in many of the cities. I would say the major museums in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and Washington DC are all definitely worth visiting.

[tpe]

Originally Posted by Westsidelife

^ Thanks, svs. I knew you were well traveled enough to answer my question. As someone who hasn't been to the Met, National Gallery, or Louvre; I appreciate your insight.

It's a shame Los Angeles doesn't have significant collections of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. I know the Armand Hammer Museum has works by Monet, Pissaro, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and the like; but I'd imagine it's the same thing? Hopefully we'll acquire more shining examples of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism via the philanthropy of private collectors.

I think contemporary art is Los Angeles' niche. We should build on our status as a contemporary art capital by amassing greater and greater collections of contemporary art. Contemporary art will appreciate over time, so why not get a monopoly over it while it's relatively undiscovered. MOCA has great collections, or so I've heard. BCAM, based on the reviews, is also great.

LA certainly has wonderful collections, even if it came fairly late in the game as far as Impressionism and Early Modern Art are concerned.

And you are right, Contemporary Art is very strong in LA -- i.e., strong as a living entity. I would consider ithe Contemporary Art scene in LA second to that in NYC -- Chicago's declined in the 60s and 70s (in spite of the continued presence of the School of the Art Institute), although it is showing signs of revitalization. Miami and Chicago probably come next in the current scheme of things.

We should not forget that LA is very rich in other collections. The Getty's acquisitions fund remains, of course, the envy of the curatorial world, and the recent scandals involving Classical Antiquities is not a permanent setback by any means. LACMA has a superb Japanese collection of which I am very fond of, and the catalogs of some of the more recent exhibitions in this area are some of the best that have been written.

My favorite collection in LA area is, nonetheless, the library of the Huntington. I am a bibliophile at heart, and for any serious scholar
to be given access to this magnificent collection is a sign that he or she has "arrived".

[Westsidelife]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I truly appreciate it.

Since Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings are my favorites, I'm a little disappointed that my city doesn't have better collections of such art. But, there are lots of private collectors out there...

[milquetoast]

Just like there are multimillionaires and Billionaires out there with Impressionist and P. I. work on their walls. Yet on the walls of Museums and art institutions as well as other projects needing of a philanthropic touch, those names are missing, save for a scant few. These guys need to step up in L. A.

[svs]

Kirk Douglas and Elizabeth Taylor have a few Van Goghs I would love to see hanging in LACMA or the Getty.

[Westsidelife]

NEA Finds California Tops in Artists

In sheer numbers, L.A. has the most working artists in the labor force, the endowment reports. Percentage-wise, San Francisco is tops in U.S.

By Diane Haithman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 12, 2008

Among United States cities, greater Los Angeles ranks as the urban center with the most working artists and California is the top state by the same measure, according to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The study, titled "Artists in the Workforce, 1990-2005" and being released today by the federal arts agency, reveals that San Francisco, followed by Santa Fe, N.M., ranks above Los Angeles-Long Beach in terms of percentage of artists in the labor force -- but that in sheer numbers, the L.A. area ranks at the top of the list, with 140,620 working artists.

Even in terms of percentages, Los Angeles-Long Beach ranks above New York City, which came in fourth.

The rest of the list, in descending order: Stamford- Norwalk, Conn.; Boulder-Longmont, Colo.; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Danbury, Conn.; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif.; and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.

"I say this as a Californian and an L.A.-born Californian: Californians need to put their artistic inferiority complex behind them," NEA Chairman Dana Gioia told The Times. The research also indicates that, for the 1990-2005 period, the West and the South have seen the greatest growth in artists by state.

The survey shows that nearly 2 million Americans identify themselves as working artists and that as many as 300,000 more report secondary employment as artists. Gioia said the number of working artists, representing 1.4% of the labor force, is only slightly smaller than the number of active-duty and reserve personnel in the U.S. military (2.2 million). While the number of artists doubled from 1970 to 1990, it has remained constant as a percentage of the population from 1990 to 2005.

For the survey, "artist" encompassed workers in both nonprofit and commercial arts fields, including the entertainment industry. The survey included photographers (7%); producers and directors (7%); writers and authors (9%); architects (10%); fine artists, art directors and animators (11%); and performing artists (17%). A whopping 39% identified themselves as designers.

Gioia said that the purpose of the study was to educate decision-makers about the importance of artists to the global economy. "People believe that most artists are unemployed. This is wrong. They are extremely entrepreneurial."

"I think what troubles me most is how many artists are not unemployed but under-employed," he added. "Schools have mostly eliminated the arts from education. It seems to me a big failure of imagination not to use the considerable skills of artists in the American public sector."

[Westsidelife]

Colburn Dance Institute Gets $9-Million Donation

By Chris Pasles, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 21, 2008

An anonymous donor has given the Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles $9 million to support its Dance Institute.

The donation is the largest single gift to the school after Richard Colburn's founding endowment of $20 million and will be added to the Dance Institute's $1-million endowment, bringing the total to $10 million.

"The gift is very important because it allows us to expand our dance curriculum and provide more possibilities for performances, which are really crucial in the educational process here at the school," said Colburn School President Miguel Angel Corzo.

Honoring Trudl Zipper

To commemorate the donation, the institute will be renamed the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute after Viennese dancer Trudl Dubsky Zipper, wife of the school's co-founder, conductor Herbert Zipper. Both are deceased.

"Dr. Zipper and Trudl Zipper were always very much a part of Mr. Colburn's life and were very instrumental in guiding Mr. Colburn to the school when it was at USC," Corzo said. "We thought because they were so important in his life, it would be appropriate to recognize his wife."

Leslie Carothers-Aromaa, previously co-director of the Dance Institute, will become director of the renamed school. A former Joffrey Ballet principal dancer, Carothers-Aromaa has shared institute duties since 2005 with Glenn Edgerton, also a onetime Joffrey principal. Edgerton has left to become associate director of the Hubbard Street Dance Center in Chicago, although he will remain an artistic advisor.

The Dance Institute currently has 406 students, ranging in age from 5 to 80, in ballet, modern dance, tap, contemporary jazz, creative dance, repertory, hip-hop and Mexican folkloric classes. There are also classes in yoga, Pilates and music theory.

"The next year or two will be really just solidifying our department and building on what we've already done over the past couple of years," said Carothers-Aromaa.

"It will be wonderful," she said. "We've already added a number of faculty and offerings that have never been offered here before, and the gift will give us time to grow the institute in a way we would like to, which is really from the ground up in a very systematic way and with a lot of integrity."

The institute also has a training program for high school dancers aiming for professional careers, which was launched by Carothers-Aromaa and Edgerton in 2005.

'Committed' Students

"They are with us 18 hours a week -- and that's after school -- so these are very committed young people, and they have a variety of performances throughout the year," Carothers-Aromaa said.

"This endowment is also going to allow us to give them more opportunities in terms of bringing in more master teachers for special workshops, collaborations with professional organizations and more performing opportunities, which of course is so important for them as they reach the age when they'll start to look for a job," she said.

"I'm a California native. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I went to New York because at that time that's what a dancer had to do. I'm hoping that I can give back to this community in a way that gives Los Angeles and particularly downtown a real place for dancers to come and to stay, so that they won't have to leave to prepare for their careers. They can do that right here."

[tpe]

I love the Price Collection, with its wonderful pieces by Ito Jakuchu and by the "neo-Rimpa" artist and scholar Sakai Hoitsu.

----------------------------

The Age of Imagination: Japanese Art, 1615–1868, from the Price Collection

June 22, 2008–September 14, 2008 | Pavilion for Japanese Art and Hammer Building



The Etsuko and Joe Price Collection is world-renowned for its collection of Japanese paintings of the Edo Period (1615–1868) featuring screens, hanging scrolls, and fan-format paintings. The Price Collection reflects the eclectic diversity of a remarkably creative span in Japan's history of visual art and is highlighted by some of the finest examples of the distinctive and compelling renderings of animal life by Ito Jakuchu (1716–1800), an artist who caught Joe Price’s eye five decades ago, when the artist was fairly unknown...


http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibPrice.aspx

[Westsidelife]

image hosted on flickr


Art Gallery Signs Lease at 5th and Spring

By Stephen Friday
June 29, 2008

Joining the soon-to-open Crocker Club inside the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring is Phyllis Stein Art Gallery (aka PSA), a fine art venue focusing on emerging artists and film production rentals.

With the assistance of the Historic Downtown Retail Project, PSA signed a lease on the building’s ground floor last month and a grand opening celebration is scheduled for Thursday, July 10.

Councilman Jose Huizar will be present to officiate the ribbon cutting ceremony being held at 6:00pm that evening. Immediately following the public event from 7:00pm to 11:00pm is the artists’ opening reception. Complimentary hors d’ oeuvres will be served.

In addition to the artwork rentals, PSA offers sales to private collectors, commission work and art finding services.

Phyllis Stein Art Gallery
207 W 5th Street (Ground floor of the Spring Arts Tower)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-622-6012
phyllissteinart.com
Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm

[milquetoast]

Well well, when there's a void, guess who's culture comes rushing in?

This is the usual gearhead activity, can you guess where it's at?

Baghdad!

Los Angeles Times

[Westsidelife]

^ No void. Just a lack of knowledge.