Maxine Kim Stussy and Jan Stussy in promotional flyer for “Feitelson on Art,” KRCA-TV, 1957 (via woodbury.edu)
The Physical Brawls of the Surrealists
When: Wednesday, December 7, 7pm
Where: Hauser Wirth & Schimmel (901 East 3rd Street, Downtown, Los Angeles)
Nowadys, arguments over contemporary art are more likely to be handled with discourse than fisticuffs, however in the 1920s, several disputes involving the Surrealists escalated into physical brawls. As part of her series of works investigating these Surrealist fistfights, Shana Lutker presents The Average Mysterious and the Shirt Off Its Back at Hauser, Wirth & Schimmel. The performance blends Surrealist theater with film, news reports, and music from the period. Tickets are $10.
Shana Lutker, “The Average Mysterious and The Shirt Off Its Back” (2015), performance, October 29, 2015, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC (via hauserwirthschimmel.com)
The Story of Tuna Canyon Detention Station
When: Opens Saturday, December 10, 11am–5pm
Where: Japanese American National Museum (100 North Central Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles)
Our nation’s wartime interment camps are a black mark on our history, one that most people thought could never be repeated. However, in light of recent political remarks, this seems like a dangerous and alarming possibility. Only the Oaks Remain tells the story of LA’s Tuna Canyon Detention Station, which housed Japanese, German, and Italian immigrants who were targeted as potential risks to national security during World War II. Through photographs, letters, and diaries of prisoners, the exhibition reveals the consequences of implementing such a damaging violation of civil rights.
Bunkroom at the Tuna Canyon Detention Station (image courtesy the Merrill H. Scott family, via janm.org)
Maxine Kim Stussy & Jan Stussy
When: Opens Saturday, December 10, 6pm
Where: WUHO Gallery (6518 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Art from the middle of the 20th century is generally considered the high point of formalist abstraction, however this narrative excludes the numerous artists who were exploring new figurative directions. Maxine Kim Stussy and Jan Stussy were two such artists, whose sculptural and two-dimensional work prefigured the SoCal strains of dark abjection later in the century. The Human Beast presents over four decades of work from this under-recognized LA-based couple.
Morton Feldman (via mondayeveningconcerts.org)
Morton Feldman: Crippled Symmetry
When: Saturday, December 10, 8pm
Where: LAXART (7000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles)
With his dark-rimmed, coke-bottle glasses, and perennial cigarette dangling from his lips, Morton Feldman was a seminal figure in the avant-garde New York school of composers alongside John Cage and David Tudor. LAXART presents a unique opportunity to see Crippled Symmetry, one of his late masterworks for piano, flute, and percussion. The experimental score draws on such diverse inspirations as Anatolian rugs, the writings of Proust, and the sculptures of Calder. The free event is at capacity, but you can add your name to the wait list by emailing events@laxart.org.
Art & Artivism! (via welcometolace.org)
Art & Activism!
When: Sunday, December 11, 1–5pm
Where: LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) (6522 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles)
One of the most direct ways that art and activism can intersect is the making of signs, posters, and banners. Co-presented by artists Micol Hebron and Suzanne Wright, Art & Activism! is a free workshop for the production of progressive visual media to be used in upcoming protests and marches. Some supplies will be provided, but participants are welcome to bring their own.
“Sunset Boulevard” still from Jessica Diamond: Film Show (via teamgal.com)
Jessica Diamond: Film Show
When: Opens Sunday, December 11, 4–7pm
Where: Team (Bungalow) (306 Winward Avenue, Venice, Los Angeles)
Jessica Diamond’s installations and text-based wall drawings explore subversive, often anti-commercial themes. With Film Show, her first US solo exhibition in 20 years, she turns her attention to cinema. Through poetics and word play, Diamond addresses the medium’s wide scope, from F.W. Murnau, to The Wizard of Oz, to underground film legend Kenneth Anger.
