ArtRx LA

This week, a horror-themed art show-cum-escape room opens at Think Tank, Montreal-based artist Sabrina Ratté makes her LA debut at Young Projects, Walter Thompson-Hernandez speaks about his “Blaxicans of LA” photo series, and more.

 Sabrina Ratté: Lieux-Dits

When: Opens Thursday, October 6, 5:30–9:30pm
Where: Young Projects (Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, California)

As more  and more of our time is spent living in virtual worlds that mimic reality, Montreal-baed artist Sabrina Ratté inverts this scenario, creating physical spaces from digital sources. Lieux-Dits, her first US solo show,  employs videos and photographic projections to create immersive analog installations.

 Thomas Hirschhorn: Stand-alone

When: Opens Friday, October 7, 7:30–9:30pm
Where: The Mistake Room (1811 East 20th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles)

Thomas Hirschhorn’s sprawling installation Stand-alone may seem like complete chaos at first, but it’s actually quite thoughtfully composed. Created in 2007 and presented here in the US for the first time, the work gives spatial form to the open-ended questions “Where do I stand? What do I want?” Composed of everyday materials — broken doors, sofas wrapped in tape, books, neon lights, and cardboard — the piece unfolds across four graffiti-covered rooms, each exploring a different theme: love, politics, aesthetics, and philosophy.

 The Phantom Carriage

When: Saturday, October 8, 7–10pm
Where: hm157 (3110 North Broadway, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles)

Swedish director Victor Sjöström’s 1921 film The Phantom Carriage is a silent horror masterpiece, a Dickensian morality tale, and a classic example of innovative early cinema. Kicking off the Halloween season, hm157 will be screening the film with a live score by the Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble, followed by a performance by experimental harpist Sun Riah. Tickets are $10.

 Blaxicans of LA: Telling Our Stories

When: Saturday, October 8, 5–6:30pm
Where: Annenberg Space for Photography (2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles)

For the past three years, photographer and filmmaker Walter Thompson-Hernandez has been documenting the Blaxicans of LA—people who have roots in both Africa and Mexico. Significantly, over half of the original 44 founders of Los Angeles are believed to have been of Afro-Mexican descent. This Saturday, he will be speaking about his project, which explores racial identity outside of narrowly conceived boundaries.

 Trap House

When: Opens Saturday, October 8, 7pm–1am
Where: Think Tank Gallery (939 Maple Avenue, Suite 200, Downtown, Los Angeles)

Trap House is a combination art show and escape room that features some of the most popular artists working in horror sculpting and special effects today. Visitors can enjoy the free exhibition of work by such notable creatives as Dick Smith, Carl Lyon, Mike Hill, Catherine Coan, Ian Von Cromer, and others, before entering the ticketed puzzle room for a frightful half-hour escape narrative. Escape room tickets are available here.

 California Continued

When:  Opens Sunday, October 9
Where: Autry Museum of the American West (4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, Los Angeles)

California Continued is a multi-platform project that focuses on the state’s ecological culture and history, and how those can inform our understanding of current environmental issues. These range from exhibitions of Native American art and artifacts, many on view for the first time, dual-projection films of the state’s diverse landscape, and an outdoor ethnobotanical garden that houses more than 60 native California plants.