Charles Gaines, “Numbers and Trees: Central Park Series II: Tree #6, Fredrick” (2016), back and white photograph, acrylic on plexiglass, three panels, overall approximately 95″ x 127.50″ x 5.75″ (via vielmetter.com)
LOS ANGELES — This week, LA’s newest museum, the Main Museum, has a soft opening, museums along Grand Ave. open their doors for free, a Día de los Muertos celebration kicks off in Grand Park, and more.
Dirty Talk: Art / Environment / Action
When: Opens Thursday, October 27, 6–9pm
Where: USC Roski MFA Gallery, Graduate Fine Arts Building (3001 S. Flower Street, University Park, Los Angeles)
In the popular imagination, Los Angeles is more closely associated with concrete, glass, and steel than the natural world, but the city has a long history of environmental activism. Dirty Talk: Art / Environment / Action, organized by MA candidates at the University of Southern California’s (USC) curatorial program, pairs historical environmental artworks from the 1970s and ’80s with contemporary projects by LA-based artists that explore ecological issues unique to our sprawling urban landscape. Featured artists include Mel Chin, Encyclopedia Inc., Joel Tauber, Jenny Kane, Fallen Fruit, and others.
Helen and Newton Harrison, “Making Earth” (1970), photo-documentation of performance (via Facebook)
Grand Ave Arts: All Access
When: Saturday, October 29, 10am–5pm
Where: various locations (Grand Avenue between Temple and 5th St., Downtown, Los Angeles)
The stretch of Grand Ave. between Temple and Fifth Street downtown has an especially high concentration of cultural institutions, rivaling Wilshire Boulevard’s Museum Row. This Saturday, they’ll be coming together for Grand Ave Arts: All Access, a full day of free programs, performances, tours, and exhibitions. Participating institutions include the Broad, MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art), LA Opera, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Central Library, Music Center, and more.
Grand Ave., Los Angeles (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)
Charles Gaines’s Numbers and Trees
When: Opens Saturday, October 29, 5–7pm
Where: Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects (6006 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California)
For over 40 years, Charles Gaines has been a conceptual art pioneer, employing seemingly simple systems to challenge the supposed objectivity of images. His latest body of work, Numbers and Trees: Central Park Series II, continues a series begun three decades earlier that juxtaposes a black-and-white photograph of a tree with a brightly colored gridded version overlaid on top. The image of the tree collides with its purely numerical representation, calling into question the verisimilitude of each.
Noche de Ofrenda (via Facebook)
A Celebration of Día de los Muertos
When: Saturday, October 29, 7–9pm
Where: Grand Park (200 N. Grand Ave., Downtown, Los Angeles)
Quite different from Halloween’s infatuation with ghouls, monsters, and the occult, the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is all about reverence and respect for one’s ancestors, expressed through often quite elaborate family altars. Produced in conjunction with Self-Help Graphics, Grand Park’s Noche de Ofrenda will kick off a weeklong Art + Altars exhibition, unveiling a series of artist-made altars, as well as a community altar by Ofelia Esparza. The evening will also include performances from LA-based poets and musicians, and traditional prayers led by members of the local indigenous community.
Tea at 3307 (via Facebook)
Tea with an Artist
When: Saturday, October 29 & Sunday, October 30, 11am–6pm
Where: 3307 (3307 W. Washington Boulevard, Arlington Heights, Los Angeles)
Tea ceremonies are highly ordered events, fusing the performative and the gastronomic. Fittingly, a tea service is artist Kiyomi Fukui’s performance, the only stipulation being that participants must engage in conversation with the artist and up to two others. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are highly recommended.
The Main Museum Inaugurates a Series
When: Sunday, October 30, 1–5pm
Where: The Main Museum (114 W. 4th St., Downtown, Los Angeles)
Beta Main’s opening (via Facebook)
Galleries aren’t the only art spaces popping up all over LA, and this weekend marks the soft opening for LA’s second new downtown museum after the Broad, the Main Museum. Although the whole space isn’t set to open until 2020, Beta Main, a series of programs and exhibitions that will unfold as the museum is built begins on Sunday with a discussion and performance by Suzanne Lacy and Andrea Bowers. The event is free and open to the public but please RSVP.
