Raymond Pettibon, Black Flag at the Starwood, Tuesday, November 18, 1980, 1980, photocopy, 11 x 8 1/2 in., collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, gift of Barry Sloane, courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles
WOW! It’s a crazy time for ART and Design. So many things to see. I’ve been partying like it’s 1980. I’ve made it to a few events, but so many more to go; all part of Pacific Standard Time which is an unprecedented collaboration of cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. Beginning October 2011, over 60 cultural institutions will make their contributions to this region-wide initiative encompassing every major L.A. art movement from 1945 to 1980.
Friday night I went to check out Under the Big Black Sun at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and listen to Henry Rollins spin for MOCA members only party. The show featured over 130 artists and their work from 1974-81 with topics of race, gender, sexuality, presidential history, international relations, (sub)urban blight, war, spirituality, American life, punk culture, media and Hollywood commentaries, and political activism.
Be warned: this show will take a few trips to get thru. Its large and intense. The show is up till February, so that’s enough time for a few visits.
Saturday night we hit up the opening reception Royal/T presents East Village West, curated by Ann Magnuson and Kenny Scharf: An infamous walk on the wild side to celebrate California’s Pop Culture and Hollywood’s influence on NYC’s Neo-Dada art movement. It explored how California pop culture and Hollywood influenced underground club culture and art scenes in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
With art by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf and many more, this show was a lot of fun and saw so many old friends. Even my 3 year old had a blast. You have until January to check it out.
A few of the notable exhibits in the Design and Architecture Category I’m looking forward to seeing:
–The House that Sam Built @ The Huntington Library
-Indoor Ecologies: The Evolution of the Eames House Living Room @ LACMA
–Collecting EAMES– The JF Chen Collection @JF Chen
–California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way” @LACMA
See the Pacific Standard Time site to view more information about all the exhibits and events.
