Ramiro Gomez, “Cut-Outs” (via Facebook)
LOS ANGELES — This week, Union Station hosts a screening of classic LA film Killer of Sheep, Art + Practice opens a show of new work from assemblage art pioneer John Outterbridge, Charles Gaines sets political speeches to music at REDCAT, and more.
Sonolevitation
When: Wednesday, December 9, 8pm
Where: South of Sunset (1218 West Temple Street, Echo Park, Los Angeles)
As part of its residency at South of Sunset, sound-based art collective Volume presents this project from Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand. Part science experiment, part sensory experience, “Sonolevitation” features leaves of gold suspended in the air with sound waves. The evening will also feature a performance from “microsound” artist Richard Chartier. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door, but seating is limited to 40 people.
Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand, “Sonolevitation” (via Facebook)
Killer of Sheep
When: Wednesday, December 9, 8pm
Where: Union Station (800 N Alameda, Downtown, Los Angeles)
Made for under $10,000, Killer of Sheep was Charles Burnett’s thesis film when he graduated from UCLA film school in 1977. Though the film was critically praised — it was selected as one of the “100 Essential Films” by the National Society of Film Critics — its release was delayed for decades due to music copyright issues. Filmed on location in Watts, Killer of Sheep presents a profound vision of African-American urban life in Los Angeles. Wednesday’s free screening begins with an introduction from Burnett himself. Doors open at 7:30pm.
Charles Burnett, “Killer of Sheep” (1978) (via Facebook)
Charles Gaines: Manifestos 2
When: Wednesday, December 9, 8:30pm
Where: REDCAT (631 West 2nd Street, Downtown, Los Angeles)
Charles Gaines has been exploring identity, representation, and politics through conceptually-based works for almost 50 years. Much of his recent work has engaged with music and musical notation as rule-based systems. The upcoming presentation of his Manifestos 2 features a score based on political speeches and essays ranging from Malcolm X’s final public speech to Olympe DeGouges’s 1791Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen. The performance features a nine-piece orchestra and large-scale video projection, with a musical arrangement by director and composer Sean Griffin of Opera Povera. Tickets are $12–$25.
Charles Gaines, “Manifesto” performance at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York (2014) (photo by Julieta Cervantes, via redcat.org)
John Outterbridge: Rag Man
When: Opens Saturday, December 12, 2–4pm
Where: Art + Practice (4339 Leimert Boulevard, Leimert Park, Los Angeles)
Like fellow artists Noah Purifoy and Ed Kienholz, John Outterbridge was a pioneering figure in the California assemblage art movement, giving new life to discarded junk and urban detritus by incorporating them into his artwork. He was also a seminal member of the African-American art scene in Los Angeles, serving as the artistic director of the Communicative Arts Academy in Compton from 1969 to 1975 and as director of the Watts Towers Art Center from 1975 to 1992. Rag Man presents work from the last 15 years made from tools, twigs, bone, and hair, all resembling talismanic objects, as well as a selection of important earlier work.
John Outterbridge, “Rag and Bag Idiom III” (2012), mixed media, 32 x 14 x 7 1/2 inches (image courtesy Tilton Gallery, New York, via artandpractice.org)
Biomythography: Currency
When: Closes Saturday, December 12, 4:30–8pm
Where: Eastside International (602 Moulton Ave, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles)
Currency is the third in a series of exhibitions at Eastside International examining Biomythography, defined by Ted Warburton as “the weaving together of myth, history and biography in epic narrative form,” thereby countering a singular historical perspective. The closing reception for the exhibition will feature a panel discussion on the artists’ interdisciplinary practices. Panelists include exhibition curator Chris Christion and exhibition artists Albert Lopez, Marton Robinson, and Glen Wilson.
Marton Robinson, “Sin Nombre” (2014), print over a paper, 6.14 x 2.6 inches (via eastsideinternational.com)
Ramiro Gomez: Cut-Outs
When: Opens Saturday, December 12, 6–9pm
Where: Charlie James Gallery (969 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles)
LA-based artist Ramiro Gomez’s subtle interventions into familiar images make visible the hidden. On top of reproductions of works by popular artists like David Hockney or luxury advertisements, Gomez paints in faceless workers — the predominantly Latino gardeners, maids, and cooks whose unseen labor is crucial to a certain kind of affluent lifestyle. For his upcoming exhibition, Cut-Outs, Gomez expands his project, creating a room-filling installation populated by life-sized cardboard figures.
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