May 1-7, 2008
By Alfred Lee
ASK THE DUST
Last May, Colin Remas Brown took his dog for their usual walk through an unusual Griffith Park landscape. White cinders coated the trail grounds. Gnarled tree branches stood bare and leafless. Lush, green terrain had been reduced to char-black and ash-white by a wildfire that had scorched more than 800 acres of parkland.
And then there were the animal remains. Brown, a Silver Lake photographer, took out his camera.
The burnt deer carcass lying on the ground was the first casualty of the fire Brown documented in photo form. As he walked up a narrow ridge in the park, he saw more victims of the blaze – deer, raccoons, coyotes.
“There was this intense quiet, except for the crows,” Brown says. The cawing birds were like maggots, he thought, and there were hundreds picking apart the loss of animal life.
While Angelenos worried about how the blaze would damage homes and landmarks, it was these animals, Brown felt, who suffered most during the fire in Griffith Park.
Nearly a year after the May 8 blaze, that wildlife will take center-stage in the form of about 20 large-scale photographic prints as part of Brown’s Aftermath: The Griffith Park Fire 05/07 exhibition at drkrm. A portion of photo sales will benefit nonprofit organization North East Trees.
“I think that people really respond to these pictures because we always ask the question, ‘What happened to that deer that I saw that day, or that young coyote pup that I saw?’” Brown says. “We always like to think that they ran away – that they ran away from the fire.”
The photos are a glimpse into the scene of a landscape stripped bare of color and life, but since that May both have returned to Griffith Park. When Brown visited the grounds just months ago, few signs of devastation remained. The green of the forest had returned – instead of silence, insects buzzed and birds chirped.
Just days after last year’s fire, Brown caught the beginnings of a rebirth through the lens of his camera. A single photo shows a small, green bud pushing upwards through the ash-covered ground.
“That was right in the area that I found all the animals,” he said. “It’s just amazing how fast that happened.”
–Amanda Price
Aftermath: The Griffith Park Fire 05/07. Opening reception Sat. 7-10 p.m. Free. drkrm., 2121 San Fernando Dr., L.A., (323) 223-6867. Drkrm.com.
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THIS WEEK IN THE CITY
THURSDAY 1
PING PONG PICTURES
VC Film Fest is one of those kind-of-righteous causes that my friends make a point of attending and have even worked for, but I must confess I’ve never raised my Asian fist at a single screening over the years. Perhaps that changes this go around, now that it’s switched names to the more front-and-center Asian Pacific Film Festival. The opening night film is Ping Pong Playa, the first feature comedy by Jessica Yu, best known for arts-related docs such as In the Realms of the Unreal. The fest ends May 8. 7 p.m. $30; $24 students. Directors Guild of America, Theater 1, 7920 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Info: (213) 680-4462 or VConline.org/festival.
FRIDAY 2
BACK FROM EXTINCTION
Yes, it’s appropriate that The Dodos are performing at the Natural History Museum, but that’s because they – along with headliners Akron/Family – present eons-old folk in a modern context, and with hints of primality in their percussion choices to boot. They join the usual Dublab DJ’s for one of the season’s last “First Fridays.” On the museum-ish side of things, Karen Wise leads a tour of the Ancient Latin American Hall, and Leah Krubitzer asks, “How Does Evolution Build a Complex Brain?” 7-10 p.m. $9; $6.50 students. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., L.A., (213) 763-3466. Nhm.org.
SATURDAY 3
DEEP THROAT
The most triple-A-friendly string quartet in the world is back at Disney Hall, though this time Kronos Quartet brings with it Bjork’s favorite Inuit throat singer, Tanya Tagaq. The interplay between the quartet and Tagaq’s rhythmic breathing and grunting hopefully results in something just discomfiting enough; they collaborate for a piece called Nunavut, and the quartet rounds things out with interpretations of music by Iceland’s post-rock staple Sigur Rós and Xploding Plastix. 8 p.m. $35 and up. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A., (323) 850-2000. LAphil.com.
SUNDAY 4
BEING JACK UNTERWEGER
It’s not quite puppeteering, but thesp John Malkovich is striking out into alternate performing arts territory with “Seduction and Despair,” a multimedia concert presented in collaboration with Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra. Directed by and starring Malkovich, the performance tells the true story of Jack Unterweger, a convicted murderer and writer who after his release from prison killed prostitutes in cities around the world. A musical program by the orchestra and video are integrated into the telling. Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 4 p.m. $25-$49; $12 students. Barnum Hall, 601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 458-4504. Musicaangelica.org.
MONDAY 5
CALENDAR CHICAS
While your friends are out drinking haphazardly mixed salt-aritas and attempting to party to the equally haphazardly mixed sounds of friend-of-a-friend DJs, you can be celebrating Cinco de Mayo with Mexican calendar girls. OK, an exhibition of 30 lithographic prints isn’t exactly the same as a Playboy mansión bash. But there’s time to catch the opening reception of Mexican Calendar Girls: The Golden Age of Mexican Calendar Art, 1930-1960 at the California Heritage Museum and then go enjoy your booze and reggaeton-less DJ sets. Reception 6-8 p.m. Free. California Heritage Museum, 2612 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 392-8537. Californiaheritagemuseum.org.
TUESDAY 6
BLIND BET
One may hear that the ALOUD speaker series is featuring yet another McSweeney’s-published author promoting his first novel, and be forgiven for wanting to take a rain check on any more feel-good irony or stories about Clinton-era dysfunction. But tonight’s McSweeney’s-published first-novelist is Millard Kaufman, a 90-year-old ex-Marine, co-creator of the lovably impaired Mr. Magoo (!), and twice Oscar-nominated screenwriter. The book is called Bowl of Cherries. 7 p.m. Free. Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, corner of Fifth and Flower sts., downtown L.A., (213) 228-7025. Aloudla.com.
WEDNESDAY 7
THE GIGGLES
The coming and going of the Festival of Books and Coachella marks the unofficial start of festival season every year, and so here we are already with the Los Angeles Comedy Festival. Some 160 performers of all shapes and sizes – solo, sketch, standup, improv – will descend upon the McCadden Theatre over 18 days starting May 1. Tonight, the International House of Comics show is at 8 p.m., followed by The Guys & Dolls at 9:30 p.m.; each features about a half-dozen comics. 8 & 9:30 p.m. $12. The McCadden Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Pl., L.A. Info: (323) 463-2942 or LAcomedyfest.com.
Published: 04/30/2008
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