Easy On the Eyes
In the museums and at the beach, these summer exhibitions will suffuse you in SoCal's light
Whether to please the expected onslaught of tourists, or because in the summer, L.A. is at its sun- and fun-loving, optimistic best, many large-scale exhibitions this season will reflect a distinctly SoCal vibe. From the Getty to Laguna Beach, look forward to shows that celebrate our artists, sports, shores, and that ethereal magic without which we couldn't survive here.
Mary Heilmann: To Be Someone, Orange County Museum of Art, May 20-August 26. Featuring 65 paintings from the past 40 years, OCMA presents the first retrospective of works by a woman considered one of the greatest painters of her generation. Heilmann's inspiration for her bright and sassy abstract canvases - cited by curator Elizabeth Armstrong for their "pure visual punch" - came from athletic childhood days spent in the SoCal surf, as well as punk and pop music from the '70s through today. Info: Ocma.net.
SoCal: Southern California Art of the 1960s and 70s from LACMA's Collection, L.A. County Museum of Art, August 19, 2007-March 30, 2008. This exhibition examines a period in L.A. art-making that simultaneously reflected both utopian and dissenting ideas about Southern California life. With over 50 objects ranging in style from Larry Bell's elegant coated-glass Cube (1966) to Edward Kienholz's rusty and debauched Back Seat Dodge '38 (1964), you'll see some of the first creations to put our city on the art world's map. Info: Lacma.org.
Red Bull Illume Image Quest Exhibition, Huntington Beach, June 6-17. Extreme photographs of extreme sports deserve an extreme exposition. For 12 nights, this traveling show presents 50 shots by action sports photographers in eight-foot glass and metal display cubes, lined upon the Huntington Beach sand. Info: Redbullillume.com.
Heart and Torch: Rick Griffin's Transcendence, Laguna Art Museum, June 24-September 30. The first retrospective and solo museum show honoring late '60s "surfer artist" Griffin who, with elaborate posters and cartoons, transformed 19th-century graphics into a psychedelic iconography of the counterculture. Info: Lagunaartmuseum.org.
Catch A Wave, Aquarium of the Pacific, May 25, 2007-March 31, 2008. This aquarium at the Long Beach shore gets even wetter with wonder this summer. Expect a "surf culture" film series, exhibits that explore the science of waves, and a speaker series that includes a book-signing with Craig Smith, Newport Beach author of the surf science and story compendium Extreme Waves. Info: Aquariumofthepacific.org.
Evidence of Movement, Getty Museum, July 10-October 7. As the Getty continues to shed its stuffy skin and welcome contemporary art upon its hill, the Getty Research Institute presents a show dedicated to one of the most complex of all modern art forms. Evidence will explore the critical issues surrounding performance art, and the variety of materials that reanimate these pieces for scholars. Already on view: Medieval Beasts. Everyone loves looking at the beasties! Through July 29. Getty.edu.
Already open:
Eden's Edge: 15 LA Artists, Hammer Museum, through September 2. Featuring both established and emerging L.A. artists - including Jim Shaw, Lari Pittman, Monica Majoli, Eliott Hundley, and the late Jason Rhodes - this exhibition reveals their shared dedication to craft and intrigue with L.A.'s vast contradictions. Also on view: Hammer Contemporary Collection, Part II, featuring work by current L.A. art stars, and more. Through August 12. Hammer.ucla.edu.
A Centennial Celebration: The Life of Norton Simon<, Norton Simon Museum, through December. Opened just days after what would have been Simon's 100th birthday, this biographical collection of photos, text, and artworks heralds a man who came to hold one of Southern California's most exquisite fine art collections. A yearlong series of events and special programming accompanies. Also on view: Alexei Jawlensky (1864-1941). More than 100 paintings and works on paper by the Expressionist artist and member of the "Blue Four" who bathed his canvases in the least naturalistic yet most affecting hues. Through November 5. Info: Nortonsimon.org.
Published: 05/17/2007
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