This is Los Angeles, so there’s no reason to wait until summer to kick off an outdoor concert series: Jazz at LACMA is back for its twenty-first season! Every Friday at 6pm you’ll find excellent jazz right next to Chris Burden’s Urban Light and a stone’s throw from Ray’s and Stark Bar. It’s the perfect way to start your weekend—and it’s free. (Bonus: our galleries are free to all L.A. County residents after 5 pm, excluding In Wonderland.) Tonight the new season kicks off with the legendary Kenny Burrell and the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited. For a preview of the rest of the season, check out this interview with LACMA’s Director of Music Programs, Mitch Glickman on KJZZ.
As detailed on Unframed yesterday, in the Bing Theater tonight LACMA and the Center for Visual Music present two programs of California mid-century avant-garde animation. First up is a retrospective of films by Oskar Fischinger, followed by a variety of shorts by Fischinger, Jordan Belson, Harry Smith, and more.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/35735682]
Also tonight is a restaging of influential performance artist Guy de Cointet’s Five Sisters, the last performance presented before his death in 1983. The play is presented by Dutch art association If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Revolution, and will be preceded by De Cointet’s 1982 monologue Espahor ledet ko Uluner!, performed by Jane Zingale. The performance is free and takes place in the Art of the Americas Building.
'Five Sisters', 2011, Guy de Cointet, cast: Violeta Sanchez, Einat Tuchman, Adva Zakai, Veridiana Zurita. Wardrobe: moniquevanheist; light and sound: Elizabeth Orr. Photo: Sal Kroonenberg. © If I Can't Dance, Amsterdam
On the exhibition front, you’ve got just one more week to see In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States. The exhibition, which features works by Frida Kahlo, Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, and more, closes on May 6.
In Wonderland, installation view
On view in the same building as In Wonderland is Children of the Plumed Serpent: The Legacy of Quetzalcoatl in Ancient Mexico. If you picked up the Los Angeles Times today, you saw the fantastic review of the show, where “numerous ‘wow’ moments will be encountered.” We currently have eight special exhibitions on view—find the one that excites you most.
Bust of Quetzalcoatl, Mexico, 1300–1521, The British Museum, London, photo © Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY
Saturday morning in the Bing, check out the classic Indian film Mera Naam Joker (My Name is Joker), directed by and starring the legendary Raj Kapoor. Set in the circus, the colorful musical follows three loves of a clown, Raju, played by Kapoor. The screening is part of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and is free (though reservations are recommended).
On Sunday, bring your kids to see Chris Burden’s Metropolis II and then take part in free family art-making activities as part of Andell Family Sundays.
Finally, conclude your weekend with a free Sundays Live performance by Jerome Lowenthal and Nadia Shpachenko, performing works by Debussy and Liszt.
Scott Tennent