Charles Gaines, “Falling Leaves #10” (1978), color photograph, ink on paper, three parts: 20 × 16 in each, collection of Daisy Addicott (photo by Randy Vaughn-Dotta, via hammer.ucla.edu)
This week, there’s a retrospective of early work from an LA conceptual art pioneer, a talk on art and porn, an experimental performance in a private home, a French New Wave film with live harp soundtrack, and more!
Le Révélateur (with live score by Mary Lattimore and Jeff Zeigler)
When: Thursday, February 5, 7:30pm
Where: The Cinefamily (611 North Fairfax Avenue, Fairfax District, Los Angeles)
French filmmaker Philippe Garrel began making movies in 1964 when he was only 16, inspired by the works of the older New Wave directors Godard and Truffaut. Despite a long and lauded career in Europe, he is little known in the States. This Thursday, the Cinefamily will be screening one of his earliest works, Le Révélateur (1968), an experimental, silent film that strictly film school describes as “a fractured and elliptical, but instinctive, elemental, and haunting rumination on the process of awakening, maturation, psychological trauma, and transformation of childhood memory.” Accompanying the film will be a live score by Mary Lattimore and Jeff Ziegler, whose harp and synth compositions provide a fittingly hypnotic counterpoint.
Das Eskimobaby, 1918 (via panoramaonview.org)
Mush! to the Movies: A Polar Film Club
When: Friday, February 6, 7:30pm
Where: Velaslavasay Panorama (1122 West 24th Street, University Park, Los Angeles)
In collaboration with the Los Angeles Film Forum, the Velaslavasay Panorama presents this six-part series covering almost a century of polar-themed films. This second screening includes Das Eskimobaby (1918), a German silent movie in which a polar explorer brings an Eskimo woman (played by German actress Asta Nielsen) back to Berlin, leading to cross-cultural hilarity. Also included is Eskimo Hunters of Northwest Alaska (1949), a documentary in the model of Nanook of the North (1922), which will be showing on March 20.
Boiling Process 2: Emerging Artists from Tijuana and Los Angeles
When: Friday, February 6, 6:30–9:30pm
Where: Jaus (11851 La Grange Avenue, Sawtelle, Los Angeles)
The cultural bonds between Mexico and California go back centuries, which is not surprising considering that California used to be in Mexico, only becoming a US state in 1850. Following a similar exhibition held recently at TJINCHINA in Tijuana, Boiling Process 2 is a one-night exhibition that brings together artists from LA and Tijuana. This cross-border artistic dialogue covers painting to performance from Paula Flores, Mariel Abarca, Elyse Reardon-Jung, Eric Vrymoed, and others.
Larry Sultan, “Sharon Wild” (2001) (via larrysultan.com)
Full Exposure: Art and Pornography in Los Angeles
When: Saturday, February 7, 4pm
Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles)
Los Angeles is home to one of the largest adult entertainment industries in the world, giving artists here a unique perspective on pornography. Presented in conjunction with their Larry Sultan retrospective, LACMA will host this discussion on the relationship between art and pornography in LA. Panelists include journalist Mike Sager, artist A.L. Steiner, UC Berkeley film professor Linda Williams, and photography curator Rebecca Morse. Following the talk, there will be a screening of Boogie Nights, P.T. Anderson’s epic saga of the porn community in 1970s San Fernando Valley.
Charles Gaines: Gridwork 1974–1989
When: Opens Saturday, February 7
Where: Hammer Museum (10899 Wilshire Boulevard, Westwood, Los Angeles)
Charles Gaines: Gridwork is the first museum exhibition to focus on the early work of this pioneering Los Angeles conceptual artist. Gaines’ work from this period serves as a bridge between the first generation conceptualists of the 1960’s, and later artists like Cindy Sherman and Lorna Simpson who used conceptual strategies to investigate language and subjectivity. During this phase, Gaines employed ordered systems to create works of quiet beauty.
Artist Lindsey Lollie in rehearsal with Harriet Bailey and Brian Felsen (photo by Andrew Mandinach, via Facebook)
homeLA / San Marino
When: Sunday, February 8, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm ($15)
Where: RSVP for Address (Private Home, San Marino, CA)
Founded by dancer/choreographer Rebecca Bruno, homeLA produces experimental performances in domestic settings throughout Los Angeles. For their seventh installment, a San Marino family will generously open up their home to a number of artists who will present works in response to the architecture. Performances will range from dance to physical theater to light and space installations. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased here.
