November and Change. Not the Change We Wanted.

It’s official. He’ll be president again. I am so disappointed with members of the populace. I know my tribe is on the same page as me, but what about the others? I have family that support that person. Maybe one day they will be able to explain it to me. In the meantime, I am planning on disconnecting from the media drama that we are in store for. I refuse to allow this to take me to a place I don’t enjoy inhabiting. I plan to preserve my goodness and seek joy by creating for myself, and for others, providing a platform where they can speak. Check out Poet’s Place this month to see what’s Linda’s poets have for you. Vent, but don’t hurt yourself by being so angry or confused or depressed. He’s not worth it. They’re not worth it. Help others find joy. Be there for your tribe and beyond. Make shit!!

Go see art. PST is going on all over Southern California, with new events and exhibits happening all the time. Check it out. And check out the shows I’ve found around town that look fun. Fun is important, especially now. Let’s go!!

Join Us for the PST ART & Science Family Festival!

Ready for a weekend of hands-on science fun? Join us for the PST ART + Science Family Festival at La Brea Tar Pits, November 9–11 from 10 AM–6PM daily! From exploring space to digging into fossils and imagining future worlds, there’s something for everyone. Be sure to register for the day you plan to visit to receive all event details. Access to the event is free.

The PST ART + Science Family Festival is presented by Getty, hosted by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at the La Brea Tar Pits, and produced by Edinburgh Science Festival. The Family Festival is part of PST ART.

LA Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

November 9-11 from 10 AM - 6 PM daily

Free event, registration is required

TORRANCE ART MUSEUM PRESENTS

What: MAS Attack Pop-Up Exhibition

When: Friday, December 13th, 6-9pm (Artist drop-off from December 10th-13th, 10am-4pm)

Where: Torrance Art Museum, 3320 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, CA

Cost: Free and open to the public

Show Up, Share Art, Stand Together: MAS Attack Returns to TAM December 13th!

Torrance, CA – After a challenging and divisive period, artists from Southern California are invited to gather, share, and support one another with the return of the Mutual Appreciation Society (MAS) event: MAS Attack! This one-night-only pop-up exhibition will take place on Friday, December 13th, from 6-9pm at the Torrance Art Museum (TAM), offering a space for artists to share work that reflects the turbulent times we are living in.

In the wake of political unrest, social tensions, and the aftermath of a divisive election, many artists are grappling with what the future holds. The MAS Attack event is an opportunity to express the emotions, struggles, and hopes that have emerged from this period of uncertainty. It is about reaffirming our sense of community, replacing grief, anger, and anxiety with hope, resilience, and strength through art.

How to Participate:

  • Artists are invited to simply drop off their work at the Torrance Art Museum from Tuesday, December 10th to Friday, December 13th, between 10am and 4pm.

  • No registration or application is required—just bring your art and show up.

  • The Opening Reception will take place on Friday, December 13th, from 6-9pm.

  • At 9pm, artists can retrieve their work.

    MAS Attack welcomes all forms of art and all voices, with no restrictions on medium, style, or message. Whether political, emotional, or personal, your art has a place in this exhibition, and your voice is valued. This is an event focused on solidarity, community, and the power of collective expression. Together, we are stronger.

    Join us for this special night of art, community, and mutual appreciation. Let’s show up, share our voices, and stand together.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2024

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Glendale Central Library

Get ready to step into a world of endless possibilities! You are cordially invited to the Grand Opening of the brand new Youth Spaces at Glendale Central Library. Join us for a day filled

with excitement, creativity, and fun as we unveil these

state-of-the-art library spaces. 

 

Thank you to Assemblymember Laura Friedman who worked to allocate $6.095 million to the State Budget, which was administered by the California State Library (CSL).  The City of Glendale also received $5.7 million from CSL’s Building Forward grant fund and $2.5 million in local funding from Measure S. 

Building Forward is the single largest investment in California’s public libraries in over 20 years. 

Making Space Workshop: Watercolor & Textiles
Thursday, November 14, 6:00PM-8:00PM
OXY ARTS, 4757 York Blvd.

Join OXY ARTS for the third & final FREE Making Space workshop this season!

Workshop #3: Watercolor & Textiles

Explore watercolor painting on fabric to consider how materials work together to create new forms and images. The current OXY ARTS exhibition showcases images of invisibility amulets from Malaysia, Ghana, Nigeria and Thailand behind embroidered curtains which the viewer must lift to see. Inspired by this installation choice, we will explore how adding fabric can obscure, complicate, and transform our experience of a painting. 

The current exhibition, Invisibility: Powers & Perils, is curated by Yael Lipschutz and presented in collaboration with Getty's PST ART: Art & Science Collide. The exhibition explores how both invisibility and hypervisibility impact privacy, history, and systems of knowledge on a social, environmental and cosmic level. The participating artists, scientists and activists ask us to consider the dangers and complexities of how visibility functions in the world and cosmos.

This is part of a FREE event series and all supplies are provided by OXY ARTS. No registration required.

LEARN MORE

October and Spooky Season Have Arrived!

October means fall is almost here. A couple of heat waves first and then we can settle into autumn and the spooky season. Art season to. There is something going on around town from now until forever! The fall Brewery Art Walk was this past weekend and was super fun. Everyone I know was running around arting and having a blast. The Highland Park Independent Film Festival also happened this past weekend. You may have seen the schedule in last month’s edition. Hopefully you got a chance to catch some of their films. Wander over to Poet’s Place to read this months poetry provided to you every month by the lovely Linda Kaye.

I mentioned last month that PST was starting, and sure enough exhibits are opening every weekend. Go to their website to see what’s new. And read on below for more art suggestions that are going on around town.

IN MEDIAS RES: EXPANDED

and

JET PASCUA: THE ARREARS ON ARRIVAL

Petra Cortright, (Still from) New Landscapes 2023, 2023

VENUE: Torrance Art Museum

LOCATION: 3320 Civic Center Dr, Torrance, CA 90503

DATES: October 12th – December 7th, 2024

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 12th from 6-9pm

Torrance Art Museum (TAM) is excited to announce the final two exhibitions for 2024: In Medias Res: Expanded a collaboration with FEMMEBIT, and Supercollider and Jet Pascua: The Arrears on Arrival.

Torrance Art Museum

3320 Civic Center Drive

Torrance, CA 90503

(310) 618-6388

TorranceArtMuseum.com

TAMAdvocates.com

facebook.com/TorranceArtMuseum

Instagram: @torranceartmuseum

Fiber Portraits with Artist Kandy G Lopez

Saturday, October 5, 2024 1–3 p.m.

Riverside Art Museum (Olds Conference Room)

$20

Using plastic canvas, thread and yarn, participants will create dynamic portraits and other images (figurative or not) that explore ideas of identity. The class is facilitated by Kandy G Lopez, an artist and educator who believes in the importance of self-expression and artistic discovery for all. 

Photo courtesy of the artist. Pictured: Kandy G Lopez, Marly & Luis (Green), 2022.

October 19, 2024, 6–9 p.m.

The Cheech (Sala José Jaime Medina)

Free for members

Please join us to celebrate the opening of Yolanda M. López’s twin exhibitions Portrait of the Artist and Women's Work is Never Done, and the opening reception for Desde los Cielos.

Portrait of the Artist presents a compendium of López’s work from the 1970s and 1980s, when she created an influential body of paintings, drawings, and collages that investigate and reimagine representations of women within Chicano/a/x culture and society at large.

Women’s Work is Never Done is an exhibition of rediscovered drawings, collages, paintings, photographs, prints, and process pieces that charts the evolution of Lopez’s creative projects over six decades from the 1960s to the 2020s.




July! Summertime! Summertime! Hydrate!

It’s finally getting warm around here. Fortunately not like the rest of the country, which is suffering from heat! This is why we live here. The weather and the art. We do have the largest creative economy in the world. Learn more about that at the Otis Report website. Knowledge is power. I love how it shows how important creative people are in the world. But we knew that already. It’s about educating the others.

When you go to an art event, hopefully one you saw here, you contribute to the creative economy by not just maybe buying a piece of art, but by all the other things you indulge in while you’re out. Keep it up Los Angeles! Making art and seeing art! Speaking of art, go check out Poet’s Place to read some art, provided by Linda Kaye, and her group of poets.

Check out the events listed below and check back now and then to see what’s been added. Time for art and music and the beach…good times. And remember to stay hydrated!

June Gloom. At Least it's Not the Heatdome!

Summer is almost here and it appears Southern California is being spared from a vicious “heatdome” over much of the west. Crazy. But, I”m grateful to be here in Los Angeles not suffering the heat. It’ll be here soon enough. In the meantime, what’s the art scene providing for us this month? All kinds of cool options and some are listed below.

Go over to Poet’s Place when you get a chance and see what Linda Kaye has in store for you. She just got back from some time in Europe and she’s sharing it, along with work by some of her poet friends. Enjoy.

DTLA Art Night is bustling away with new galleries joining every month. Check it out. The Los Angeles Makery will be having an art extravaganza, with shows topside, with the 2nd Annual Spring Invitational, and downstairs in Sub Terra there’s the opening for Confluence. When you’re done with us you can go next door to LACP, up to Broadway to Gabba Gallery, over to 4th and Spring for The Luna Factory and across the street the DTLA Art Night Gallery. Get the map and see where else you need to go.

A Contemporary Art Magazine with a Focus on the Los Angeles Art Scene

Art and Cake has a series going on right now called 60 Over 60. It’s a fabulous way to find out what it’s like to be an artist in the later years of life, from their perspective.

It's May!!

Here we are right smack in the middle of spring. It’s generally gorgeous out so outdoor events are a good choice for art activities right now. The art shows also tend to theme shows to showcase springtime in all of its beauty. Below you’ll find a few shows like that listed.

Wander over to Poet’s Place and check out the Barcelona edition from Linda Kaye. She has been across the pond, visiting France and Spain. She has a nice collection of poets this month.

This year's application for the Beyond the Box - Mural Art Program is now open! Apply before the deadline of June 21, 2024, at 5:00 PM PST.


Beyond the Box extends public art to new areas in an inventive way while creating an attractive environment. The theme for this year is Art & Science Collide in celebration of Glendale Library, Arts & Culture’s participation in PST ART: Art & Science Collide, which is the Getty Foundation’s Southern California regional arts and culture initiative returning in September 2024. This year’s theme, Art & Science Collide, will create opportunities for civic dialogue around some of the most urgent problems of our time by exploring past and present connections between art and science. Applicants are highly encouraged to visit the PST ART: Art & Science Collide website at Pst.Art/en/exhibitions to gain inspiration for submissions and proposals.


Artists are strongly encouraged to incorporate this year’s theme in their design. The Arts and Culture Commission (ACC) will fund $1,000.00 per utility box and anticipates selecting artwork for up to 15 utility boxes. Artists are responsible for prepping, priming, and painting the utility boxes, and are encouraged to incorporate volunteers in the painting process.


Beyond the Box is open to all local and regional artists. The ACC encourages both new and established artists to apply. Artists may apply as an individual artist or as a group. City of Glendale employees are not eligible to apply.


Beyond the Box is supported by the City of Glendale and the Glendale Arts and Culture Commission.

Application submission deadline:

June 21, 2024 | 5:00 PM (PST)

APPLY NOW

April has Arrived!

It’s tax season! Unless you’re getting a refund, right? Those people filed their taxes right away. Anyway, there is art all over this wonderful city. How can we see it all? The Other Art Fair is this weekend. There’s an opening at the Los Angeles Makery tonight. All kinds of good stuff.

Wander over to Poets Place, which Linda sent in from Paris, France, and see what her merry poets have written this month. First heatwave is coming next week! What outdoor art can everyone check out? How about mural tours? That sounds like fun.

WHAT:      In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month, Metro Art and KJazz are teaming up for KJazz Tracks at Union Station on Saturday, April 27 from 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The free concert is open to all with performances taking place in the station’s historic Ticket Concourse. Hosted by KJazz DJ Rhonda Hamilton, the event will feature three uniquely talented artists, including Kassa Overall as headliner, and Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few and Darynn Dean also on the bill.

                               The first 40 visitors to present their TAP cards to the Metro Art info table will receive a free Metro Art book, Los Angeles Through the Eyes of Artists, and Union Station swag bag!

                             Go Metro to the event! Union Station is accessible via Metro Rail, Metro Bus and several municipal bus lines. Take the B Line, D Line, J Line or L Line directly to Union Station. Plan your trip using the Transit app, the trip planner at metro.net or by calling 323.GO.METRO.

WHO:                  Kassa Overall (Artist), Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few (Artist) and Darynn Dean (Artist);

DJ Rhonda Hamilton (Host)

WHEN:                April 27, 2024 from 7:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

WHERE:              Los Angeles Union Station (Ticket Concourse)

                             800 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

RSVP: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/metro-art-presents-kjazz-tracks-at-union-station-tickets-868712361057

 

March is Here! Spring is Within View!

We are moments away from time change and longer days. It should be warmer too. It makes seeing outdoor art all the more pleasant. Have you been to the Huntington lately, or Descanso Gardens? Both places with gorgeous gardens and equally wonderful art. If you wander over to Barnsdall Park, you can catch the show, Apophenia at the LAMAG in the park, which closes March 16th. You can also see the Hollyhock House, by Frank Lloyd Wright. Los Angeles is truly blessed to have so many art venues.

A fresh month means a fresh dose of poetry from Linda Kaye and her poets over at Poet’s Place. Check out her offerings. And if you ever want to submit your own poetry, send it to Linda.

From Artwork Archive

5 Ways Diversify Your Income and Make More Money as an Artist

Here are five additional income sources for artists, besides your art. Plus, the pros and cons of each one.
Follow the link to find out.

Current Exhibitions
Blood in the fire, sugar in the milk, on view in the Igal & Diane Silber Vault Gallery through April 21, 2024.

REVEAL: Recent Acquisitions 2020-2023, on view in the Armstrong Gallery through July 21, 2024.

Fahrenheit 2024, on view in Gallery B through September 8, 2024.

A Traveler's Guide to Mettlach: Villeroy and Boch, on view in the Robert and Colette Wilson Gallery, ongoing.

June...I Just Met ChatGPT. Have You?

I took a class last week to get to know ChatGPT. It happened to be the same day as some of the creators or AI were warning our government about the consequences if it isn’t regulated immediately. Many people are extra worried about being replaced by AI. Many will. That sucks. Many artists could be replaced if they don’t make themselves better. And use AI to assist you, not replace you. Things to think about because that cat is out of the bag, and we need to use it before it kills us…just kidding about the killing thing (sort of.)

Humans are creative by nature. Ah, hell, animals are creative by nature. So up your creative game. Expand your creativity using AI. Play with it. Get to know it. And when you’re want to read art from people’s hearts, check out Poet’s Place, where Linda Kaye brings together poets monthly, to share their art.

So, what else is happening? I’ll list some of that info here…

Making Space: A Workshop on Space, Sci-Art, & Society

July 14-16 in Pasadena, CA

 

Making Space is an interdisciplinary workshop for artists, scientists, and educators about space and society, where we use art to explore scientific concepts and humanity’s relationship to the solar system. This workshop is about connecting with the cosmos, blending knowledge and art, and the role artists can play in space exploration, and features a combination of talks, discussion, and art-making. The theme of this event is Oceans & Ice: Exploring Icy Moons with NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission, featuring the mission’s Project Scientist (lead) Dr. Robert Pappalardo from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, celebrated LA artist and environmental activist Kim Abeles, and other guests from JPL, ArtCenter, and more. Come make art and explore space with us! https://makingspace.psi.edu/

SPARC Presents 
“Coffee Table Books Live”
Featuring “The Paradise Circus” by JT Burke, 
At Burke Triolo Studio, June 11, 2023

South Pasadena, CA, June 5, 2023…. “Coffee Table Books Live,” the meet-the-author and book-signing series hosted by the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC), features digital artist Jeffrey Thomas Burke and his new, lavishly illustrated book, The Paradise Circus, on Sunday, June 11, 2023, from 2 to 4 p.m. at BurkeTriolo Studio in South Pasadena.

            In this collection of 170 digital collage works—color images of costume jewelry, trophies, and figurines, paired with quotes and narrative—Burke explores” the spirituality, beauty, grandeur, and myth of Paradise.” The book includes introductions by Peter Mays, executive director of the Los Angeles Art Association; and Shana Nys-Dambrot, Los Angeles-based art critic and reviewer. Nys-Dambrot will join Burke in speaking at the event.

          BurkeTriolo Studio, co-owned by Burke and his wife, artist Lorraine Triolo, is at 538 Mission Street, South Pasadena, CA 91030.

         A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation. The Paradise Circus will be available for purchase. Light refreshments will be provided. Reservations not required.

           

Founded as a grassroots effort in 2009, the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that develops educational and public arts programs, creates interactive projects, and collaborates with other organizations in the City of South Pasadena and the surrounding Los Angeles area to foster and produce cultural events featuring the visual, performing, literary, and media arts. SPARC is open to people in all creative fields, art appreciators, art patrons, educators, and any others interested in helping the arts thrive in South Pasadena and neighboring communities. Information: https://www.sopasartscouncil.org/.

Mercedes Dorame at work in her studio

For the inaugural installation of its new Rotunda Commission series, Getty has invited Los Angeles-based artist Mercedes Dorame to create a special installation in the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Entrance Hall at the Getty Center.

On view June 20, 2023, through July 28, 2024, Mercedes Dorame: Woshaa’axre Yaang’aro (Looking Back), explores how we position ourselves in our relation to the land we inhabit, asking viewers to adjust their perspective and imagine a point of view that prioritizes the original caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles Basin and Southern Channel Islands).

“We are delighted to launch a series of installations at the Getty Center that will highlight new work by contemporary artists,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “For this first commission, we felt it important to showcase the work of a Los Angeles-based artist and invited Mercedes Dorame who was featured in our 2021 Photo Flux exhibition to present the inaugural installation.”

“While visiting Getty, I have often heard the phrase, “on a clear day you can see Catalina Island,” explains artist Mercedes Dorame. “These experiences highlight my awareness of the Museum’s unique position as the only art institution I can think of to have this visual relationship to an island I have an ancestral connection to as a Tongva person. Through this project, I am interested in reversing the view of looking out towards Pimugna (Catalina Island) and presenting a return gaze through the vantage point of an island, a Tongva person, and the abalone to insist on engaging the First peoples of this place, our cultural memory, and the ecologies of our tribal territories.”

Dorame’s installation will consist of five large sculptures in the shape of abalone shells hanging from the ceiling of the Museum’s Entrance Hall, together with painted views of the horizon and coastline of southern California. Colored filters over the upper windows will affect the light pattern and spectrum of the sunlight filling the space. By positioning visitors below the shells and within a field of light, Dorame seeks to affect the viewer’s perspective and position, submerging them in the visions of an abalone, a mollusk that has long held an important role in the culture, survival, and persistence of the Tongva and other coastal California Native people.

The Rotunda Commission is a new series of installations specifically created for the Getty Museum’s Entrance Hall. The works are inspired by the Museum’s collection, architecture, and the Getty Center site. Each commission will be on view for a period of about one year.

About Mercedes Dorame

Mercedes Dorame was born in Los Angeles, California, and received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her undergraduate degree from UCLA. She calls on her Tongva ancestry to engage the problematics of (in)visibility and ideas of cultural construction.

Dorame is currently a visiting faculty member at CalArts and was recently honored by UCLA as part of the centennial initiative “UCLA: Our Stories Our Impact.” She was part of the Hammer Museum’s 2018 Made in LA exhibition and her work has been shown internationally.

Various Venues in DTLA, Culver City & Long Beach
June 22–25, 2023
Workshops, panel discussions, tours, artist talks, cocktail receptions and more with a focus on a broad range of design professionals. LA Design Festival provides a place for creatives to explore, collaborate and engage with other members of the design community. Free (some programs may involve fees).

Hauser & Wirth | DTLA
American Gurl: Film Exhibition
Saturday, July 24—July 30, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 24, 2023 | 6–9pm
This film exhibition presented by Womxn in Windows brings together a group of intergenerational artists curated with curiosity around the perspectives and nuances of the Black feminine experience related to beauty, success, freedom and power in America.

PHOTO INDEPENDENT VIRTUAL FAIR
OPENS THIS WEEK!

Discover original photographic works from international photographers from the comfort of your home.

Photo: © Zoe Wiseman, "Cyclone"

Virtual Opening Reception:

Saturday, June 24, 2023

2–4pm PST/5–7pm EST

Click here for exhibition details, including to RSVP for the Zoom reception link.

May. Yeah, May. Spring/Summer Show Season has Arrived!

Last weekend the citizens of LA had quite a few options to see art and handmade wares around the Southland. I was at The Brewery Art Walk, which was fabulous, with a large group of artists. In Pasadena, Jackalope took place, at Central Park in old town. Santa Monica hosted the Renegade Craft Show. And I know there were other shows taking place across town. During May there will be many more. I’ll list some of them here. Also check out Poet’s Place for a fresh crop of poetry, brought to you by the lovely Linda Kaye.

Over at the MorYork Gallery in Highland Park there’s a show with Cristi Lyon and her husband Stevan Wahl. If you haven’t been to the MorYork you are in for a treat. It’s a double good time.

Saturday evening at The Los Angeles Makery, in Little Tokyo, they will host the opening of their latest show, 4 Visiones. Featuring fresh new work from Enrique Brito, Alan Albert, Miguel Velez, and Efren Montiel. Come by and see their art. 7:30-9:30 pm.