The City of Angels and its evolution are highlighted this weekend in the finale of Los Angeles Past, Present, and Future, the exhibition film series inspired by The Presence of the Past: Peter Zumthor Reconsiders LACMA. Get Out of the Car and Schindler’s Houses play back-to-back on Friday night at 7:30 pm; these two recent films show a modern city sorting out its obstinate history. Saturday, beginning at 5pm, see Miracle Mile and the panic that ensues when an unsuspecting Angeleno at Johnnie’s Coffee Shop receives an alarming phone call about the impending nuclear catastrophe heading to L.A. Then, at 7:30 pm, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi standard Blade Runner—The Director’s Cut offers a strange and frightening vision (perhaps because of its plausibility) of Los Angeles, 2019. Starring Harrison Ford, Blade Runner, with its un-aging special effects, is as dark as it is thought provoking—the type of film best experienced on the big screen.
The Art + Film Lab arrives in San Bernardino on Friday night. This mobile workshop offers free filmmaking lessons and free outdoor movie screenings on weekends from July 26 through August 25. In addition, the Art + Film Lab asks participants to share their personal stories and be a part of an oral history project, providing an opportunity for citizens from each city to preserve a part of their heritage in the museum’s collection. To kick-off five weeks of free programming, LACMA is throwing an Opening Night Celebration on Friday at 6 pm, complete with live music, food and drinks for purchase, and a screening of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. The San Bernardino Art + Film Lab is supported by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation.
LACMA 9 Art+Film Lab, photo by Duncan Cheng
Closer to home, visit the museum on Friday till 11 pm during Late Summer Hours. Residents of Los Angeles County receive free admission starting at 3 pm and can access galleries on the west side of campus late into the night (tickets and reservations required for James Turrell: A Retrospective). On Sunday, families are invited to participate in Andell Family Sundays and explore Hans Richter’s techniques beginning at 12:30 pm.
In our galleries, we debut Newsha Tavakolian in the Ahmanson Building and her photographic perspective on the changing role of women in Iran. Also, be sure to see the Japanese Painting: Okyo and His School in the bird and Flower Tradition, Alia Syed: Eating Grass, Masterpieces from the National Museum of Korea, and Unveiling Femininity in Indian Painting and Photography on their final days at LACMA.
Newsha Tavakolian
, Untitled from the series Listen, 2010, purchased with funds provided by the Farhang Foundation, Fine Arts Council and an anonymous donor
Lastly, three excellent musical groups take center stage every evening this weekend at LACMA. First, on Friday at 6 pm at Jazz at LACMA, the Kahn Jazz and Blues Revue performs their signature L.A. jazz sound at the BP Grand Entrance. Next, on Saturday at 5 pm at Latin Sounds, the Lucky 7 showcase their take on classic mambo in Hancock Park. Lastly, on Sunday at 6 pm at Sundays Live, the iPalpiti Artists play movements from Beethoven and Bruckner in the Bing Theater. All concerts are free and open to the public.
Roberto Ayala