April 10-16
By Alfred Lee
TARZAN AND NAKED CHESS
In the early 1960s, Los Angeles was considered an artistic backwater. The lack of scrutiny gave freedom to L.A.’s more adventurous artists to work and experiment undisturbed. Deep L.A. artists like Wallace Berman, Ed Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, and Robert Irwin, among others, enjoyed a creative idyll, relatively free of scrutiny, while the Ferus Gallery on La Cienega was the focal point.
Critic and documentarian Kristine McKenna has been doing important work on this epoch. Her landmark Semina Culture show at the Santa Monica Museum of Art collected the elusive work of Wallace Berman, and those who were in his orbit. On Sunday, McKenna will host an evening of varied short films that touch on ’60s SoCal art, titled The Ferus Gallery: A Place to Begin. Like the eclectic era these movies sprung from, the range of subject matter and motifs are far-flung.
One entry is a movie in progress, The Work, by Jackson Price. It currently consists of several short pods by artists Tony Berlant, Ruscha, Claes Oldenberg, and Price’s father, Ken – a Ferus artist – among others.
Andy Warhol’s Tarzan and Jane Regained also screens. “Andy came out here in ’63 for his Elvis show at Ferus. While he was here, he filmed Tarzan and Jane,” McKenna says. “And of course, Wallace and Dennis Hopper are in it.”
What did L.A. represent to Andy? “I think it was fun for him,” McKenna posits. “He loved L.A., especially the glamour of Hollywood. All of his New York films, except Empire, were shot indoors. Tarzan made use of the scenery and the weather here.”
A Game of Chess, documenting artist and theoretician Marcel Duchamp’s appearance at the Pasadena Museum of Art in ’63, also screens. Photographer Julian Wasser captured the event. An iconic image shows the elder Duchamp, blithely puffing on his pipe, across a chessboard from the naked Eve Babitz. “Having Duchamp here was hugely important,” McKenna contends. “He was a god in the art world and I think it surprised New Yorkers that L.A. had so much regard for him. And for his part, I think Duchamp was very charmed by the people he met here.”
The Ferus Gallery: A Place to Begin. Sun., 3 p.m. $9. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (323) 466-3546. Americancinematheque.com.
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THIS WEEK IN THE CITY
THURSDAY 10
SUPER, MAN
It’s L.A. Art Weekend. OK, OK, when isn’t it? But setting this particular weekend apart is the meta-curating of ForYourArt, who have taken it upon themselves to highlight and put together events through Sunday dedicated to the city’s creative talents. The place to be tonight is on the West Side, where the Hammer hosts an evening with non-fic filmmaker Albert Maysles (7 p.m.; free; 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, 310-443-7000; Hammer.ucla.edu), the Italian Cultural Institute opens an exhibition by designer Enzo Mari (7-9 p.m.; free; 1023 Hilgard Ave., Westwood, 310-443-3250; iiclosangeles.esteri.it), and icon/performance artist Laurie Anderson presents Homeland at Royce Hall (8 p.m.; $30-$52; UCLA, Westwood, 310-825-2101; Uclalive.org).
FRIDAY 11
SERIES OF SHRINKS
It’s safe to say that all of Woody Allen’s movies are ripe for the psychoanalytic picking, but Crimes and Misdemeanors is as good a place to start as any, considering it contains murder, suicide, an extramarital affair, and at least one reference to defecation during sex. The film is tonight’s selection for a film series put on by West L.A.’s New Center for Psychoanalysis, where Thomas Brod and Apurva Shah will host a discussion that’s aimed at fellow mental health professionals, but open to the curious public. 7:30 p.m. $10. New Center for Psychoanalysis, 2014 Sawtelle Blvd., West L.A., (310) 478-6541 x10. Newcenterforpsychoanalysis.org.
SATURDAY 12
GROWIN’ OLD
Ever wonder what this city will look like when you’re old? For L.A.’s seniors, that day is today, and, well, let’s see: The L.A. of a half-century ago faced burgeoning urban sprawl, destructive brush fires, dependence on automobiles, and racial tensions. Hmm. About … Productions gathered the insights and stories of L.A. seniors – war stories, first kisses, and the like – and brings them to life for theatrical production Showing Our Age, opening tonight. 8 p.m. $20; $15 students. [Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Bl E, Hollywood, (323) 461-3673. Info: Aboutpd.org.
SUNDAY 13
MINDING THE GAP
Who doesn’t love a good bridge? Most of L.A., actually, which has prompted not one, but two events this week hoping to draw attention to the bridges of the L.A. River. On Thursday, the Getty holds a panel discussion on the subject moderated by KPCC’s friendly-neighbor-in-residence, Larry Mantle. And today marks a “Bridge Mix” tour spanning four sites over about 2.5 miles from downtown to Boyle Heights, covering everything from the bridges’ roles in movie lore to architecture and ecology. 4 p.m. $30. Various locations. Info: (213) 623-2489 or Laconservancy.org.
MONDAY 14
TIRED SOUNDS
Belatedly discovering musical duo Stars of the Lid last year – both recent album Stars of the Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline and especially 2001’s Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid – more or less ruined my life for a few weeks afterward. Most say the whole ambient-drone thing puts them to sleep – is that really so bad? – but the rest of us are driven to wistfully stare out windows for embarrassing periods of time. Tonight, the Stars perform for what’s sure to be one of the stillest crowds in the Echoplex’s brief history. 8 p.m. $15. Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park, (213) 413-8200. Attheecho.com.
TUESDAY 15
TOKYO TINSELTOWN
It’s probably worth going to see Atagoal Cat’s Magical Forest at the Japan Film Festival, just to see who else shows up to a screening of a movie about a gigantic cat and the Botanical Queen Pileah (seriously?) on a Tuesday at noon. JFF Los Angeles runs April 11-17 at Little Tokyo’s new Imaginasian Center; also screening today are Train Man at 7 p.m. and Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina at 9:20. If neither is to your liking, you can still salvage your night at Daikokuya, where the ramen noodles are pretty magical in themselves. $10; $7 students. Imaginasian Center, 251 S. Main St., Little Tokyo, (213) 814-4188. Jffla.org.
WEDNESDAY 16
VEGGIE AISLE VOYEURISM
Hillary Carlip collects grocery lists. The author and artist has been at it for years, and now she’s turned a slightly creepy hobby into a full-fledged book. A la Cart highlights some of the lists Carlip has found over the years and imagines the people who made them; she even went so far as to take pictures dressed up as these characters in grocery stores around Los Angeles. My favorite list: “Mousetraps, cheese, mouse.” 7 p.m. Free. 8818 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 659-3110. Booksoup.com.
Published: 04/09/2008
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