Results tagged “arts”

Last Saturday, artist Bruce Nauman took the skies above Pasadena to make an environmental statement, of sorts. "Leave the Land Alone," a skywriting plane wrote. The piece, viewed from the city and surrounding San Gabriel Valley neighborhoods, launched the Armory Center for the Arts into their 20th Anniversary celebration.

Before Barack Obama's campaign, Yosi Sergant was a local public relations guy and a constant presence in the Los Angeles arts and grassroots scenes. He represented Shepard Fairey among other organizations before he got the idea to have artists make posters for the campaign. One of those, Fairey's HOPE, became a huge hit and a driving force and symbol of the campaign. Sergant was then offered a job in the White House as the arts liaison and eventually was named the Communications Director at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Apparently, the state's budget cuts has claimed UCLA's Arts Library, according to a petition that's getting some steam online. In fact, it was a tipster who works at the Museum of Modern Art who let LAist know. From the petition, which can be signed here: UCLA Library Management, behind closed doors and without consultation with the UCLA community has decided to close its Arts Library, potentially as soon as January 2010.

Angeleno Opera enthusiasts have been anticipating the long-planned Ring Festival LA, which will span multiple venues between mid-April and late June of 2010 and boast numerous performances by different organizations, each "providing its own unique point of view on the influences of [composer Richard] Wagner's art and philosophy from the 19th century to the present day," explains the LA Opera.

Now here's something you don't get a chance to see everyday: “Mild Light: An evening of Cantastoria from the Performance Department of the Museum of Everyday Life” comes to the Manual Archives tonight. "Cantastoria" involves the display of representational paintings accompanied by sung narration. Clare Dolan, Chief Operating Philosopher of the Museum of Everyday Life (Vermont), will demonstrate the "versatility and saucy immediacy of this performance form, with stories ranging from accounts of bloody crime in the 1930's written by Bertolt Brecht, to the dilemmas of a modern-day heroine trying to make a living and achieve total happiness." There are two shows tonight at 8 and 10 pm. Tickets are $12/$8.

Our city's film festival continues today with a fourteen screenings with more than half of them happening at 7:30 p.m. or 9:45 p.m. LAist Film Editor Josh Tate recommended Bronson and Public Enemies in his preview of the whole festival.

When MOCA found itself in financial trouble last year, Eli Broad was one of the first to offer up assistance. Now, the LA-based philanthropist has committed to contribute almost half a million dollars to help arts programs in public schools...in New York, according to the LA Times.

The Sports Museum of Los Angeles opened with much fanfare on November 28th last year, but just three months later has already closed its doors to the general public, according to the Downtown News.

"Months on End," playing at the Tre Stage on La Brea at Sunset this is a treat -- a great indie theater find with a strong script and a great cast. We attended the show last Friday where we watched 12 months of happiness and heartache unfold.

A new youth arts center in Watts run by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs will have its grand opening later this month during a weekend when two festivals will be happening. Named after the famous jazz musician and past local resident, the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center will expand space for youth arts programs. The new building, which is next to the Watts Towers Arts Center, will bring more classroom space expanding the department's educational classes that give children a safe and creative atmosphere for individual expression with guidance and direction from professional artists.

That tiny notation at the bottom of your calendar tells you today is indeed Flag Day. And while many Angelenos are inadvertently and loosely interpreting that to mean "stick a Lakers flag on your car" it is actually (and obviously) a bigger deal on a national level. Besides waving your own Stars and Stripes or taking part in a parade, it's tough to commemorate the adoption of the flag.

Since billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad has funded Los Angeles institutions such as LACMA's BCAM and UCLA's Stem Cell Institute, Curbed LA asked its readers what he should spend his money on next if it were to be a civic project. The "Subway to the Sea" won with overwhelming results.

This is a purposefully backdated post for a National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) workshop called "The New Frontier Part Two: Blogging, Social Networking and YouTube!" organized by the LA Stage Alliance with guest speakers D. Jean Hester and LAist Editor, Zach Behrens. The following are notes and reference links for workshop participants.

Not only does California ranks dead last in per capita state spending for the arts, its largest city is losing its media art critics. After LA Times dance critic Lewis Segal was bought out last month, news comes that LA Weekly classical critic Alan Rich was given the ax yesterday. Public Relations blogger Laura Stegman has the scoop:

After getting the news earlier today, I spoke with Alan late tonight, and he said, "It's open season on critics. We are an endangered species. I was surprised, but I wasn't surprised." He says the decision was made "by the corporate people in Phoenix," and that when Editor Laurie Ochoa gave him the news over lunch, "she was as sorry as can be."

A reader sent along a pithy and poignant e-mail with a petition attached last week. The petition is to save one of the many LA Times cuts buyouts, specifically dance critic Lewis Segal, whose last piece was printed today. All the reader wrote was "Why is the LA times abandoning arts?"

Two North Hollywood news items melded into one last night when, as reported on LAist, a US Marshal walked in on a robbery in progress at an auto parts store in NoHo Arts, fatally shooting one suspect who is believed to be the "Skeleton Bandit."

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Despite SXSW starting up this week with 100+ Los Angeles based bands heading over there, residencies are growing stronger and more venue-diverse across the line, especially on Monday nights where the volume makes it hard to choose from. Here's to a great month of residencies, rock on.

Local independent dance artist Liz Hoefner has directed and choreographed Fear of Drowning/Fear of Flying and will present its premiere this Friday through Sunday at the Diavolo Dance Space in the Brewery Arts Complex. According to her, the new dance theater work is a collection of stories, dialogues and dances that relate to actual and metaphorical fears of traveling, flying, drowning and dying in a post 9/11, tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina world. The cast of eight dancers, five actors and two musicians will explore the origins of fear in comic and tragic dance theater.

With the near completion of the Central Los Angeles High School #9, or the LAUSD High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, on Grand Avenue more folks are talking about the architecture stylings of Coop Himmelblau and the monument to the arts that they’ve created. Driving along the 101, people have speculated as to the meaning and purpose of the tall structure that creates an entry along with the Cathedral bell tower across the 101.

One of L.A.'s most unique and important centers for poetry, literature, and art, the non-profit center Beyond Baroque, may be in danger of losing its lease. According to an email sent out by the group's Board of Trustees, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo would like to begin the auction process for the building, offering it up for other non-profits to bid on. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl had promised to extend Beyond Baroque's lease for another 25 years, but this new move by Delgadillo threatens to ruin the whole deal for the literary non-profit. As the website states, this "uncertainty is threatening grants, programming and our entire future."

They've brought luminescence to Burning Man nights and misting relief to blistering Coachella days. This Saturday, Do LaB sets out to light up your love life, whether you hate V-Day or not. Skip the roses and head downtown for a night of burlesque, nonstop beats, and a brand new performance by the Los Angeles' own Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque.