Results tagged “hammermuseum”

If he does say so himself, LA’s own iconic chronicler of 20th century American crime James Ellroy has just published his “ultimate masterpiece." Following American Tabloid (1995) and The Cold Six Thousand (2001), Blood’s a Rover completes Ellroy’s “Underworld USA” trilogy of novels exploring the dark side of the dark side of our country’s political madness circa 1958-1972.

Now this is a recession buster: The Glendale Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department is holding a one-day "penny carnival" today until 5 pm at Montrose Park (3529 Clifton Place). The carnival includes games, face painting, balloons, popcorn and snow cones for 5 to 25 cents.

DRINKING Bigfoot Lodge is celebrating their 10th Anniversary with a week-long party. They're rolling back the prices, so you can actually party like it's 1999. Help them celebrate by enjoying their "recession busting" special pricing. Heads up: if you really want to relive the glory of '99, check them out all week for other fun events like tomorrow's Knotty Pine Derby, and the return of music to the Bigfoot on Sunday, along with their Bloody Sunday crafty cocktail menu.

The Hammer Museum presents a lecture by artist and photographer Stephen Berkman tonight at 7 pm. He’ll discuss his work, which uses antiquated photographic and optical processes. “Berkman, currently a teacher at the Art Center of Design, will also discuss his quixotic art in the context of the early history of the photographic medium, including phenomenology, spirit photography, and the technical processes used to achieve them.” The lecture is a related program to “The Darker Side of Light” exhibition. The public program is free, but tickets are required. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6 pm.

For the eighth year in a row, Dance Camera West will host the Dance Media Film Festival in multiple sites throughout the city from June 5-21. Beginning this Friday and Saturday with three programs screening 31 local and international short (and longer) films at REDCAT downtown, the highly acclaimed festival explores the intersection of cinematography and choreography. Chosen by Los Angeles Magazine as “Pick of the Month” (June 2008), DCW again partners with the city’s most prestigious venues in offering a global perspective on a new visual language through an amalgam of experimental shorts, documentaries, features, and symposiums with visiting international artists.

Are you in the mood for some laughs? The Improv in Hollywood has something in line for your comedic enjoyment for tonight. Funniest in L.A. contest is sure to provide some great laughs as well as getting you acquainted with up and coming talent from the area. Show starts at 8 PM and it is only $14.

THEATRE* ShortLived 2.0 is SF-based PianoFight’s short playwriting competition, and it’s making its LA debut as ShortLived LA at 8 pm tonight at Theatre Asylum. Tickets are $15-$20. Last week, eight original pieces written by local LA writers hit the stage; the highest scoring piece will automatically get a spot in the SF Championship Weekend for a chance to win the grand prize: an invitation to pen a full-length piece produced by PianoFight and staged for a one-month in San Francisco.

              

Earlier this month, LA-Underground co-presented a showcase, with KXLU and Manimal Vinyl, at The Smell in Downtown LA, featuring Alexandra Hope, VOICEsVOICEs, EXITMUSIC, and Warpaint.

What are you doing today? Cinco de Mayo related or not? Add to our list in the comments section below.

ALOUD at Central Library hosts a conversation with Reza Aslan, cofounder and creative director of BoomGen Studios as well as the Editorial Executive of Mecca.com and journalist Amy Wilentz for Young Literati Members tonight at 7 pm. They’ll talk about “launching a revolution in the way we understand - and confront - radical Islam.” After the program, join both authors and Young Literati members for an intimate gathering, including cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at Café Pinot. (ALOUD Program is open to the public, the post-program cocktails are limited to current Young Literati members.)

The ACME Comedy Theatre is hosting the LA Comedy Festival today through May 17. Tonight there are two shows on the schedule. At 8:30 pm has the long-form troupe The Waterbrains, followed by Rick Ramos and the sketch comedy of FUCT. The late show at 9:30 pm has Shredding the Envelope, Adam Harrington and Improperetta. For more comedy this week, check out our LAist Week in Comedy.

Tonight LACMA presents “Sound & Image: A History of Bollywood Film Music with Robin Sukhadia” from 7-9 pm at the museum’s Bing Theater. The seminar is focused on the sound and music of Bollywood, including the works of master film composers Naushad, SD Burman, & RD Burman. The program will feature music videos and film clips, accompanied by historical and political commentary and context by Sukhadia. The evening’s free and kid friendly.

Did you like Heidi and Spencer’s Q&A yesterday? Then tonight’s your night because the Paley Fest brings the cast of The Hills to the Cinerama Dome at 7 pm tonight. Though Spence isn’t on the bill, Heidi, Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Whitney Port, Brody Jenner and Lo Bosworth are. And you never know what may happen with this crew anyway. Tickets are $45-$60. If you have a question for them, post it here.

There’ s an evening showcase by New Filmmakers LA at Sunset Gower Studios. Short films by Bruno Miotto, Nicholas Wong, Robert E. Sperlinga and Sean Christensen, will be screened at 5:45 pm with feature films at 7 and 9 pm. The first feature is the LA premiere of Gigantic (starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman), followed by another LA premiere of Goodnight Irene (a foreign feature from Portugal starring Golden Globe winner Nuno Lopes). Guests will have an opportunity to meet the directors and actors from the films and participate in a Q&A. Tickets are a steal at $6 -- and that also includes an an open bar and appetizers.

The Hammer Museum hosts an Artist Talk tonight at 7 pm with LA-based artist Jeffrey Vallance, whose work encompasses object-making, installation, performance, curating and writing. Examples of his art include projects as burying a frozen hen (Blinky the Friendly Hen, 1978) at a pet cemetery, traveling throughout Polynesia in search of the origin of the myth of Tiki, having an audience with the King of Tonga, creating a Richard Nixon Museum, installing an exhibit aboard a tugboat in the Västerbotten Maritime Museum in Umeå, Sweden, curating shows in the fabulous museums of Las Vegas, such as the Liberace Museum, Debbie Reynolds Casino, Cranberry Museum and the Clown Museum. The free lecture is being held in conjunction with the current exhibit "Nine Lives: Visionary Artists from L.A." It's the fifth in the Hammer’s biannual invitational exhibition series highlighting work created in greater Los Angeles. Tickets are required and will be available at the Billy Wilder Theater Box Office one hour prior to start time. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6 pm.

The quarterly FLUX Screening Series at the Hammer Museum takes place tonight from 7-11 pm. The night will debut the World Premiere of PSST! 3, a collaborative new film project featuring shorts by a worldwide network of designers, directors, animators, and composers. PSST! founder and curator Bran Dougherty-Johnson will be in attendance to present the films. The evening will also include the premiere of two N.A.S.A. videos from its highly-anticipated new release The Spirit of Apollo; "Gifted" featuring Kayne West, Santogold and Lykke Li; and "A Volta," directed by Logan in collaboration with The Date Farmers. Check the website for the full screening schedule. A courtyard after-party will follow the film screenings. Admission is FREE, but reservations are highly suggested. Seating is first come, first served and an RSVP does not guarantee seating. (So get there early!)

Think you got the gift of gab? Then head to The Moth's monthly LA StorySLAM tonight, keeping the theme of “Love Hurts" in mind. Sign up, and if you're one of the 10 people picked, keep your story down to five minutes. And make it good. If you don't have the gift of gab, then just come down and listen. The evening begins at 7 pm at El Cid. Listen to sample stories here.

There’s a screening of Sam Fuller’s The Crimson Kimono tonight at 8 pm in Ramo Auditorium. Here’s the premise: “A pair of LAPD detectives, a murdered stripper, and a love triangle—the quintessential mid-century L.A. story. The twist in director Sam Fuller's largely unseen gem are its interracial relationships and Little Tokyo setting.” A panel discussion, hosted by Larry Mantle of KPCC FM, will features Lon Kurashige, Associate Professor of History, American Studies, and Ethnicity, University of Southern California; Henry Sheehan, Film Critic; James Shigeta, actor from The Crimson Kimono..

Here’s a sampling of what’s going on around town tonight. But you want to start planning your weekend, too? Then check out the LAist Agenda: December for upcoming events

The Paley Center hosts the cast and creative team of Monk tonight at 8:30 pm. There’s usually a screening, followed by discussion and Q&A. In person guests include Tony Shalhoub, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford, among others.

There are a few Halloween-themed events happening in LA this week. For those who are classically inclined, the G2 Gallery is hosting a series called "Echoes Above At the Beach". The event is today at 4 PM, and features director/baritone James Koenig, pianist Steven Vanhauwaert, and cellist Laszlo Mezo. The show also includes tricks, treats, "witches brew" and cost 15 dollars for student tickets, or a 20 dollar donation.The NEW LATC is celebrating Dias de los Muertos with a celebration of their own, featuring dance, music, and theatre, but of the folk variety. That is in Downtown on the day after Halloween from 8-9 PM. Tickets are 35 but the student/senior discount can get you in for a mere 15 dollars. Foods and flowers are also provided!

                                   

Last night, Indie 103.1's "Also I Like To Rock" series continued, at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, with performances from local bands Miss Derringer (MySpace) and The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace).

                                   

Last month, local band The Airborne Toxic Event (MySpace) returned to Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake to headline a show that included The Deadly Syndrome (MySpace), and The Henry Clay People (MySpace) with support from I Make This Sound (MySpace) and Le Switch (MySpace). As aptly described by Mouse from Classical Geek Theatre, "Before a mixed-crowd of longtime fans and recent, true-believing converts, The Airborne Toxic Event rewarded ticket holders with a near flawless-set that could have just as easily been played at The Hollywood Bowl, The Kodak Theatre, or Coachella. There was no melodrama, very little hype, and nobody on stage had to prove anything. It was just the band and their songs; naked, raw, hard-boiled."

When Hollywood’s Production Code took effect in 1934, the onscreen antics of film characters got decidedly more wholesome. The same rang true for the cartoons of the time. Pre-Code, the animation by major studios was “just as violent, sexy, rude and crude as their live action counterparts. Nudity, naughty words, and outrageous gags involving body parts, toilet paper, voyeurism, ethnic stereotypes and, in particular, booze (remember, this was before prohibition ended) were the order of the day.” Tonight see rare Pre-Code shorts starring Betty Boop, Krazy Kat, Scrappy and Flip The Frog. Animation historian Jerry Beck (of CartoonBrew.com), who will also introduce the program.

Tired of beach-going so early in the season and looking for a more cerebral way to enjoy the weekend in, say, air-conditioning? You're in luck. The Hammer Museum is the place to be on Sunday afternoon. The much-lauded Kara Walker exhibition, My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love, ends on Sunday and by all accounts, it's a show you don't want to miss. Doors open at 11am giving you plenty of time for a leisurely Sunday morning of coffee and perfectly flaky pastries at Amandine before making your way up Wilshire to the show.

Highlighting the combination of dance and film/video, the 7th annual Dance Camera West festival begins its month long series of screenings, ceremonies and related events this Friday at the REDCAT Theater downtown. Presenting a wide variety of short, feature length and documentary work, the events will occur at locations that range from the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica to the Hammer Museum's Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood to films shown with the Los Angeles Film Festival and even a show on the grass at the Braude Center Plaza in Van Nuys.

Dance Downtown kicks up its heels tonight for the first installment of the summer-long Friday night series. Free admission to anyone who feels like trying a little salsa out on the Music Center Plaza. Beginner lessons are at 6:30, and a live DJ provides the tunes from 7:15-10.

”The Art of Vision” features artists like David Hockney and Paul Frank who created works of art that play on a theme. In this case, “vision” includes objects like glasses, binoculars, telescopes and cameras. Proceeds from the exhibit go to youTHink – a museum division that brings art programs to schools and community centers.

Is Westwood making a comeback? The LA Times thinks so, in today's article on the burgeoning real estate development in UCLA's backyard. But isn't this a story we've heard a million times before? It goes something like this: Westwood used to be a great pedestrian area, then it fell victim to gang violence in the late 80's, and it's never been the same since. But maybe there's hope yet -- at least, that's what developers are hoping.

On Glendon Avenue, a block east of Westwood Boulevard, the first of an anticipated 700 tenants have moved into the 350-unit Palazzo Westwood Village even as workers scurry to complete the project. Nearby on Lindbrook Drive, the former site of a Flax art supply store, developer Kambiz Hekmat has broken ground on an "extended stay" boutique hotel that will have shops and restaurants. A modernist retail project from developer Ron Simms is planned at the site of the recently razed 1,100-seat Mann National Theater, where "The Exorcist" had its Los Angeles opening in 1973.