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Edith’s installation, Transversal Garment Manifestation No. 1 at Windward School was on view for a fruit fly’s lifespan. Like her ongoing installation, Long Beach Garment Manifestation at The Collaborative, it was amazing. I was lucky enough to attend the opening while I was in El Lay, here’s a short Flickr tour of an installation whose lifespan was all too brief.
Just when I thought I had exhausted the total supply of severed heads in LA museums, LACMA shines through. I was double lucky (or bi-winning, as we say these days) on this find, as I arrived at LACMA just after they rotated the Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection of netsuke in the Japanese Pavilion, probably my favourite hidden gem in a LA museum, and discovered two 19th century severed heads in the collection, previously unknown to me. It’s been too long since this site had a severed heads post, ne? At top, that’s the Head of Nitta Yoshisada, a legendary samurai clan leader from the 14th century (wikipedia – it’s gotta be true!), who, faced with certain death after being pinned under his horse, denied his enemies the satisfaction of killing him by severing his own head with his sword. That’s as badass as it gets, hands down. Below, we’ve got Decapitated Woman’s Head, an anonymous rotting skull. A criminal, the victim of a crime, in the wrong place at the wrong time? The world may never know.
If the above has got your jugular throbbing with gory anxiety, feel encouraged to visit my ongoing exploration of the subject of decapitation in art history. If, on the other hand, you’re just into tiny, Japanese things, all my netsuke photos are always here. Nilbog, The world’s only horror movie soundtrack cover band will be gracing the stage at Cinefamily tomorrow, March 29 @ 8pm, followed by The Visitor, a terrible, terrible, beautiful, magical film that features John Huston, Glenn Ford, Shelley Winters, and Lance Henriksen. Be there or the monsters under your bed will saw off the top of your head and eat your brain.
This is interesting, MOCA-latte.org, a website devoted to developing a critical dialogue regarding Art in the Streets, MOCA’s upcoming, “inevitably criticized” exhibition. They’re sending out stickers allowing you to play the part of Jeffrey Deitch, “approving” or “disapproving” of various pieces of street art out in the wild, they have a forum, a manifesto, the works.
Tonight Gateway: Japan opens at the Torrance Art Museum, a gathering of Japanese and American artists curated by Yuko Wakaume, Ei Kibukawa and Max Presneill. Among the American artists in the show, three of them, Jocelyn Foye, Macha Suzuki and Devon Tsuno number amongst my favourite people and artists. I spent yesterday previewing the show and shooting film and photos of the assembly of Jocelyn Foye’s monumental clay sumo ring (seen above, artfully concealed under protective plastic), where at 8pm tonight, wrestlers Daishochi and Wakanoho will engage in their own monumental battle, right in the middle of the gallery. It’s going to be epic. Here’s a brief preview via Mike Boehm of the LA Times. Participating artists include: Masaru Aikawa, Taku Anekawa, Shusuke Ao, Jocelyn Foye, Shingo Francis, Gajin Fujita, Tomoo Gokita, Yuki Hashimoto, Mitsuko Ikeno, Ichiro Irie, Minako Kumagai, Gil Kuno, Nobuhito Nishigawara, Satoshi Saegusa, Keiko Sakamoto, Akira Shikiya, Macha Suzuki, Devon Tsuno, Kenichi Yokono, Akihiro Yasugi, Yuki Yoshida Reception is 6-9pm, tonight, March 26. Sumo performance at 8, it will be tight and crowded, arrive early get a good spot to see the performance. Currently on view at LACMA. This thing is hypnotic.
I’ve been having a number of exciting art moments during “Spring Break in LA 2011!!! Woo!!Woo!!”, including a much anticipated visit to Edith Abeyta’s ongoing installation, Long Beach Garment Manifestation, at The Collaborative in Long Beach. It’s massive, architectural an an awe inspiring piece of installation art. The image above is a tease, you can reveal the whole enchilada via the magic of this Flickr set. If you intend on making an in-person visit, contact Edith or the gallery to get inside. The whole thing is visible from the street, but it’s a totally different experience inside the space. In addition to her installation at The Collaborative, Edith is opening another installation tonight at the Held and Brody Family Gallery at Windward School over on the Westside. That installation, Transversal Garment Manifestation No. 1, will only be up for a short time. The opening is 5-7 pm tonight, March 24. Below is a brief video tour of the piece.
Yoshimura Masunobu, a founder of the Neo-Dada Organizers, has died. I do not know if he is a victim of the earthquake or if he has simply passed away. He was a key figure in the Anti-Art movement and took part in the seminal Yomiuri Independent Exhibitions that shaped avant garde art in Japan during in the postwar climate of the 1950′s. Yoshimura was also indirectly responsible for the “white make-up” aesthetic associated with Butoh.
Sure, you could just browse my Flickr set for all the best bits and lie to your friends that you saw the show, but really? You’ve got the time. LACMA’s fashion collection is one of LA’s most hidden gems and I’m hoping that the new addition of space at LACMA creates more opportunities for the museum to show off some of its best bits from the permanent collection. Fashioning Fashion is definitely worthy of the high bar that the museum set with Breaking the Mode in 2007, especially in the “let’s all appreciate the frightening tailoring skills of bygone eras” department. The exhibition closes on March 27. The photos from the Cypress College Class of 3011 robot prom were unforgettable, and the teaser for what I think it’s safe to describe as the most anticipated robot dance party film of the coming Oscar season is an accelerated cardboardstorm of pure joy. |
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