Mark the start of May with a visit to LACMA. Friday night begins with the premier of Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, the newest film series from Academy @ LACMA. Curated by the Academy Award®–winning director, each title has been newly restored and features work from Poland’s most accomplished filmmakers. See Camouflage and The Constant Factor, with director Krzysztof Zanussi in conversation, beginning at 7:30 pm. The film series runs through June. For more classic cinema, check out The Essential Orson Welles film series, showcasing the screen legend’s body of work on Saturdays in May. This Saturday, the comedic Too Much Johnson starts it all off with a live musical accompaniment at 7:30 pm.
Still from Too Much Johnson, 1938, © Paramount Pictures
More entertainment happens Friday night at this week’s edition of Jazz at LACMA, presenting the Russell Ferrante & Bob Mintzer Quartet at 6 pm in front of Urban Light. Known for their work with the Grammy Award–winning Yellowjackets, keyboardist Ferrante and saxophonist Mintzer have built reputations as prolific composers and arrangers. At Sundays Live in the Bing Theater see the Honors Ensembles from the Colburn School at 6 pm on Sunday.
At the final weekend of the Montebello Art+Film Lab, visitors are invited to participate in the oral-history project on Friday and Sunday, a free double-feature of Iris and Keller and Bless Me, Ultima on Friday at 8 pm, and a free workshop on sound art on Saturday at 3 pm. The final piece of the Lab will take place on July 20 when Montebello-area residents are invited to a free day at the museum. See the lab in Montebello this weekend or at its next stop, Compton.
Image of LACMA9 Art+Film Lab, photos © Museum Associates/LACMA, by Duncan Cheng
Teens take over LACMA on Saturday night during the annual After Dark event. The party includes music and dancing with DJs from arTES High School, an interactive mural project, after-hours access to our galleries and installations like The Painted City: The Art of Teotihuacan, and the ever-popular mashed-potato bar. It all begins at 7 pm, and it’s only for teens—make reservations now. More family-friendly programming takes places on Sunday during the weekly Andell Family Sundays workshop (it’s all about cats this month!) starting at 12:30 pm. And, for insight on the the artistic links between L.A. and an ancient Mesoamerican cultural hub, join a roundtable discussion on Sunday at 12:30 pm during Painted Cities: Comparing the Murals of Metropolitan Los Angeles and Teotihuacán.
Shinsaku Izumi, Tunnel of Night (detail), circa 1931, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Fund
Lastly, we turn our attention to the galleries. Sharpen up on your knowledge of art history with Saturday morning’s gallery course Rococo through Impressionism—Watteau to Monet at 8:30 am. Take part in free, daily tours of the collection, such as a 20 minute tour of Japanese ceramics on Saturday at 2:30 pm or a walk-through of Shaping Power: Luba Masterworks from the Royal Museum for Central Africa (closing on Sunday) on Sunday at 2:30 pm. Not to mention the opening of two new installations, Night in Day and Sam Doyle: The Mind’s Eye, on Saturday. Ready, set, let’s go.
Roberto Ayala