Category: Los Angeles
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Same Ol’ MOCA
In 2009 MOCA had miraculously survived a financial crisis that left them vulnerable to bankruptcy and acquisition. After receiving an infusion of capital that required them to tighten their belts, the museum was anxious to move forward when they announced their new attitude under the guise of a turnaround campaign called “MOCA New”. When that…
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Artist a Day: Mark Bradford
Jack Whitten, Mark Bradford’s friend, and artistic inspiration loved jazz. When reflecting on his evolving improvisational process with paint, Whitten once commented to the Walker that “The person who got me trapped in all of this was John Coltrane.” Some of Whitten’s favorite albums included Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and John Coltrane’s Blue Train,…
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Artist a Day: Njideka Akunyili Crosby
From the L.A. Times: “Njideka is an artist who has the capacity to really bring together worlds that may not stand in unison. Which is to say the continental African experience and that of black folks living in diaspora,” says Jamillah James, curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. In 2015, when James…
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Artist a Day: Lezley Saar
“Cabinets of Curiosities” are small collections of ephemera curated by antiquarians and naturalists who used objects “to tell stories about the wonders and oddities of the natural world.” These collections of skulls, specimens, botanical sketches, and other flights of fancy were popularized during the 19th-century Victorian era and were displayed in small spaces…
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Artist a Day: Melvin Edwards
“The Negro has been run over for 50 years, but it must stop now, and pistols and shotguns are the only weapons to stop a mob.”~ Eli Cooper As a farmer and an outspoken advocate for unionizing farm laborers, Eli Cooper was determined to fight for better wages from landowners, however his advocacy was met…
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Artist a Day: Ellen Gallagher
My latest review of Ellen Gallagher’s show Accidental Records was published recently by Art Practical. It was a beautifully haunting show that takes explores an Afrofuturistic outcome of the Middle Passage and it exposed me to the music of the Detroit House duo Drexciya. Head over here to read more on Gallagher’s work.
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The Art that Helped Me Survive 2017
Look, I know it’s dramatic, but 2017 was tough and I’m not even going to try to sugar coat it. Despite this, I saw some incredible work that helped me make some sense of the world we find ourselves in today. Here are 9 highlights: 1. Kenyatta Hinkle, The Evanesced @ CAAM The Evanesced at CAAM…
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Booths Without Borders at DesignerCon 2017
For pop culture enthusiasts, there’s an unlimited number of conventions where you can connect with your tribe. There are gamer cons, comic cons, anime cons, dragon cons, quilt cons and even a con that celebrates inclusion. I love spaces where art and kitsch collide and for the past 10 years, DesignerCon has become one of…
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Radical Women Take Center Stage in Two Important L.A. Exhibitions
Two exhibitions at the Hammer Museum and CAAM in Los Angeles have taught me one important thing: radical women get things done. If you silence them, they find a way to speak, if you hide them, they will be seen, and if you ignore their work, they will make their presence known. History has an…
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Yayoi Kusama Comes to the Broad in October
On September 1 the Broad will place 50,000 tickets on sale online for its highly anticipated fall show and anxious Angelenos hitting refresh on their browsers might end up feeling like they’re in an endless infinity loop. Consider it visual dexterity training for Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors opening in October. The traveling exhibition’s L.A. layover will feature 6…
Colony Little, Culture Shock Art 