LACMA Public Programs August 2010

The following listings are program highlights presented by the film, education, and music departments of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

EVENTS

EATLACMA Public Fruit Jam
Sunday, August 1 | 12–4 pm
Artist collective Fallen Fruit invites the public to bring homegrown or street-picked fruit and participate in a collective jam making session. Participants work together without recipes to come up with unique flavors that reflect the collaborative nature of this public performance. Take home your own jar of jam.
Hancock Park | Free, space is limited. Tickets will be handed out the day of the event with a limit of 150 per hour from 12 noon to 3 pm. Tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis; no reservations.

TALKS & COURSES

Gallery Discussion: The Art of Looking
Thursday, August 12 | 12:30 pm
Join LACMA educators for one-hour facilitated tours of the museum’s permanent collection.  Offered monthly, the tours offer an in-depth look at masterpieces in the galleries. The August session will feature the newly reinstalled galleries of European art.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Gallery Course: European Art at LACMA
Saturday, August 14 | 9 am
Join LACMA educator Mary Lenihan as she presents a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s newly reinstalled galleries of European art. Following an introductory lecture, enjoy a private gallery tour entitled The Baroque 17th Century: Rembrandt, Caravaggio and More.
Brown Auditorium | Members $30, nonmembers $35 (refreshments and parking fees included.) Reservations:  323 857-6010.

Traditional Korean Buddhist Sutra Painting
Saturday, August 21 | 2 pm
Oegil Kim Kyeong Ho, artist and president of the Korean Sutra Transcription Research Association, will give a lecture and demonstration on the traditional Korean technique of painting sutras, sacred Buddhist texts. During the Goryeo period (918-1392), Buddhism was officially supported by the king and state, which led to a flourishing of Buddhist art. Many exquisite gilt-painted manuscripts, which were both costly and time-consuming to make, were commissioned. Unfortunately this delicate technique of manuscript painting was eventually replaced when printing became popular.  Oegil Kim Kyeong Ho has dedicated his career to rediscovering this past art.  The lecture will be in Korean with onsite English interpretation.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations
This program was made possible by a grant from the Korea Foundation.

Painting Demonstration: Korean Buddhist Sutras
Saturday, August 21 | 4–6 pm
Observe artist Oegil Kim Kyeong Ho demonstrate the traditional Korean technique of painting sutras.
Boone Children’s Gallery, Korean Art Galleries | Free, no reservations
This program was made possible by a grant from the Korea Foundation

MUSIC

Latin Sounds
Relax in Hancock Park as world-renowned artists play the hottest sounds from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Cuba, and Los Angeles. The concerts are every Saturday 5 pm–7 pm, May through September at the Dorothy Collins Brown Amphitheater at LACMA, in Hancock Park north of the museum. Free; no tickets or reservations required.

Adonis Puentes
Saturday, August 7 | 5 pm
Juan de Marcos, one of the masterminds behind the Buena Vista Social Club project and leader of the groundbreaking Afro-Cuban All-Stars, calls Cuban vocalist Adonis Puentes, "Verdadero Sonero." Adonis has shared stages with Celia Cruz, Oscar De Leon, Paquito De Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Cuban Timba All Stars, and Jane Bunnett and Pancho Quinto, as well as jazz greats Hubert Laws and Kenny Burrell.
Hancock Park | Free, no reservations

Mongorama
Saturday, August 14 | 5 pm
"Mongorama" is a new, 9-piece, latin-jazz ensemble formed by KJazz radio personality Jose Rizo (host of 'Jazz on the Latin Side'), exploring the early Mongo Santamaria charanga-jazz material of the 50's and early 60's. Conga legend Mongo Santamaria, saxophonist Chombo Silva and flautist Rolando Lozano performed an exciting latin jazz sound driven by cuban charanga rhythms and old-school straight ahead jazz. "Mongorama" celebrates this music preserving the "old-school" element, yet refreshing it with a modern perspective.
Hancock Park | Free, no reservations

Alfredo de la Fe
Saturday, August 21 | 5 pm
Cuban-born and New York-based violinist Alfredo de la Fe helped transformed the violin into an important sound of salsa and Latin music. The first solo violinist to perform with a salsa orchestra, de la Fe has toured the world more than thirty times, appearing in concert and recordings with such top-ranked Latin artists as Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, José Alberto "El Canario", Cheo Feliciano, the Fania All-Stars and Santana. His second solo album, Alfredo, received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Album.
Hancock Park | Free, no reservations

Oscar Hernandez and the LA/NY Connection
Saturday, August 28 | 5 pm
Oscar Hernández has long been considered one of the most gifted and prominent pianist/arrangers on the contemporary Latin scene. Oscar has charted the musical course of the Rubén Blades Band, Seis Del Solar, and, more recently, the Grammy Award winning band Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
Hancock Park | Free, no reservations

Jazz at LACMA
Featuring the art of jazz as practiced by leading Southern California artists, these free concerts are presented in the Los Angeles Times Central Court every Friday evening from April to November.
Friday Night Jazz is made possible in part by the Johnny Mercer Foundation. In-kind support is provided by K-JAZZ 88.1.

Skipper Henry Franklin
Friday, August 6 | 6 pm
Bassist Henry “The Skipper” Franklin’s prolific career began with Willie Bobo and Archie Shepp, and he rose to fame working with Hugh Masekela. Franklin has recorded numerous albums as a bandleader and has also worked closely with Gene Harris and the Three Sounds, Freddie Hubbard, Bobbi Humphrey, and Hampton Hawes.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Nick Mancini Collective
Friday, August 13 | 6 pm
"Nick Mancini ... an exploratory young vibraphonist with two toes dipped in tradition who splashes gentle swing and exotic undersea layerings of filtered light. Original and good."—Greg Burk, LA Weekly.
As both a vibraphonist and as a bandleader, Mancini enjoys a reputation as one of New York’s top players. Now an in-demand Angeleno, Mancini plays with a maturity that belies his youth. He has accrued both a band and a following that reflects his dual commitment to deep musical exploration and old-school entertainment.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Bradford Mo’tet with visual artist George Herm
Friday, August 20 | 6 pm
Join trumpet legend Bobby Bradford for a special collaborative evening of music and art with world-renowned artist George Herm. Bradford’s historic career included tours with Ornette Coleman and John Carter followed by work with Eric Dolphy, Charlie Haden, Vinny Golia, and David Murray. Last year, Bradford became the second recipient of the Festival of New Trumpet Music's Award of Recognition.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Mon David
Friday, August 27 | 6 pm
In 2006, vocalist Mon David won the London International Jazz Vocal Competition, which led to his signing with Candid Records and the start of his international singing career. The Philippine-born vocalist has performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Jakarta Jazz and Philippine Int'l Jazzfest and has been a favorite headliner at JazzPhil-USA's annual Fil-Am Jazz Fest. Known for his wide vocal range, rich tone, fearless style, and eclectic musicality, Mon has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Dianne Schuur, David Benoit, Eric Marienthal, and Bobby Enriquez.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Sundays Live
Sundays at 6 pm, Bing Theater
Sundays Live is an ongoing series and includes free classical music concerts presented by LACMA in cooperation with Friends of Sundays Live. These concerts take place in the Bing Theater and feature mid-career professionals and student virtuosos taking center stage.

Please note: Sundays Live concerts can be heard live via streaming audio at lacma.org, or by delayed broadcast the following Wednesday at noon on KCSN, 88.5 FM.

Sunday, August 1 | 6 pm
Program to be announced.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Sunday, August 8 | 6 pm
Pianist Petronel Malan performs Griffes: Sonata, Haydn: Sonata in A-flat major, HobVI:46,  Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.19.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Sunday, August 15 | 6 pm
The Lyris String Quartet – Alyssa Park (violin), Shalini Vijayan (violin), Luke Maurer (viola), and Timothy Loo (cello) perform works to be announced.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Sunday, August 22 | 6 pm
Pianist Andreas Klein performs Mozart: Sonata in A minor, K.31, Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Opus 5.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Sunday, August 29 | 6 pm
The Capitol Ensemble—violinist Phillip Levy and pianist Rina Dokshitsky perform works by Strauss, Chopin, and Beethoven.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

FILM

TICKETS & INFORMATION
Film tickets are on sale now and can be purchased in advance at the museum box office or at www.lacma.org: $7.00 for members, seniors 62+, and students with ID; $10.00 for nonmembers. Tickets to the second film on a double bill are $5.00 and are available at the box office the night of the screening. Films are subject to change. Many films are unrated and may not be appropriate for younger viewers.
 
To check current programs, call the museum box office at 323 857-6010 or the film recording at 323 857-6000; or visit our website. Email film[at]lacma.org to receive the film department’s weekly e-newsletter.

Tuesday Matinees
Every Tuesday at 1 pm, LACMA presents a classic film from the Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment Company’s library. Admission: $2; $1, seniors (62+).

Mata Hari
Tuesday, August 3 | 1 pm
Romantic biography of World War I's notorious lady spy.
1931/b&w/91 min. | Scr: Benjamin Glazer, Leo Birinski; dir: George Fitzmaurice; w/Greta Garbo, Ramon Novarro, Lionel Barrymore
Bing Theater | $2 general admission; $1 seniors 62+

Jailhouse Rock
Tuesday, August 10 | 1 pm
After learning to play the guitar in prison, a young man becomes a rock 'n roll sensation.
1957/b&w/96 min./Scope | Scr: Guy Trosper; dir: Richard Thorpe; w/ Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy
Bing Theater | $2 general admission; $1 seniors 62+

Adam’s Rib
Tuesday, August 17 | 1 pm
Husband-and-wife lawyers argue opposite sides in a sensational women's rights case.
1949/b&w/101 min. | Scr: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin; dir: George Cukor; w/ Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday
Bing Theater | $2 general admission; $1 seniors 62+

Rebel Without a Cause
Tuesday, August 24 | 1 pm
An alienated teenager tries to handle life's troubles.
1955/color /111 min./Scope | Scr: Stewart Stern; dir: Nicholas Ray; w/ James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Dennis Hopper
Bing Theater | $2 general admission; $1 seniors 62+

National Velvet
Tuesday, August 31 | 1 pm
A British farm girl fights to train a difficult horse for the Grand National Steeplechase.
1945/color /125 min. | Scr: Theodore Reeves, Helen Deutsch; dir: Clarence Brown ; w/ Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp, Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury
Bing Theater | $2 general admission; $1 seniors 62+

Weekend Series
Fuller at Fox
Pickup on South Street
Friday, August 6 | 7:30 pm
Weaselly Widmark gets more than he bargains for when he grifts top-secret microfilm from the purse of a Communist spy (steamy Jean Peters, future wife of Howard Hughes) and goes on the lam as both the Feds and the Reds try to track him down. A breathless cat-and-mouse game infused with virtuoso mise-en-scène and punchy slang, the film is rich in New York details and ambience—from Widmark’s shack under the Brooklyn Bridge to grimy noodle joints and ramshackle Bowery bedrooms—though it was largely shot in a studio with some exterior work done in downtown Los Angeles. Awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival by a jury headed by Luchino Visconti, the film also garnered an Oscar nomination for Thelma Ritter as a hard-bitten snitch who sells neckties for a buck. “Fuller’s great love story…a masterpiece of low-key lyricism… [Fuller is] our skid row Eisenstein, our 42nd Street Brecht, Hollywood’s greatest abstract sensationalist”—J. Hoberman.
1953/b&w/83 min. | Scr/dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

Fixed Bayonets! 
Friday, August 6 | 9 pm
Fuller’s first assignment for Fox returned him to the gritty Korean War setting of 1950’s The Steel Helmet. An American platoon is abandoned behind enemy lines, trapped on snowbound terrain booby-trapped with landmines. They’re also hopelessly outnumbered. Fuller energizes the terse camaraderie and raw nerves of this stranded band of brothers with elaborate crane shots, taut long takes, and stunning circular pans.  Look out for James Dean in one of his earliest screen roles as the fresh-faced grunt “Doggie.” An infantryman during World War II, Fuller fought in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy, and Czechoslovakia and took part in the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp. “You can’t show war as it really is on the screen, with all the blood and the gore. Perhaps it would be better if you’d fire real shots over the audience’s head every night and have actual casualties in the theater. War is the oldest profession, not whoring.”—Samuel Fuller.
1951/b&w/92 min. | Scr/dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Richard Baseheart, Gene Evans, Michael O'Shea
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

House of Bamboo
Saturday, August 7 | 7:30 pm
In Hollywood’s first film shot in Japan, surly Stack plays a US Military Police sergeant who goes undercover to infiltrate a vicious Tokyo-based crime ring led by an American GI (a megalomaniacal Ryan). As he becomes deeply immersed in Ryan’s underworld operation, Stack recruits “kimono girl” Shirley Yamaguchi, the widow of a slain gangster. With its dazzling Scope tableaus and kinetic sequences—a suspected stoolie plugged while bathing in a wooden tub is iconic—the film offers a vivid panorama of postwar, occupied Tokyo with its pachinko parlors, Shinto shrines, waterfront slums, rooftop amusement parks, and the since-demolished Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. “Monumental… Fuller, working with what may have been the largest budget of his career, gleefully embraces the outsized CinemaScope format…a widescreen riot of sound and color.”—Dave Kehr, The New York Times.
1955/color/103 min./Scope | Scr: Harry Kleiner; dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Robert Ryan, Robert Stack, Shirley Yamaguchi
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

Hell and High Water
Saturday, August 7 | 9:25 pm
Opening with a mushroom cloud, Fuller’s first film in color and Scope is largely confined to a submarine piloted by mercenary captain Widmark, a hard-bitten former Navy officer, as he tries to intercept a nuclear mission by Red China off the coast of Alaska. Presiding over a multinational cast that includes Zanuck’s Polish-born protégé and mistress Bella Darvi in her debut, Fuller masterfully orchestrates tension and intrigue with frantic dolly-shots and wallops of vibrant color. 
1954/color/103 min./Scope | Scr: Jesse Lasky, Samuel Fuller; dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Richard Widmark, Bella Darvi, Victor Francen
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

Forty Guns
Friday, August 13 | 7:30 pm
Fuller’s sagebrush opera is baroque to the point of being hallucinatory and it has garnered a much-deserved cult following. Cochise County is under the heavily-armed control of ruthless cattle baroness Stanwyck and her punk brother. But when a black-clad US Marshall (Sullivan) rides into town, she meets her match. With verve and a cracking whip, Stanwyck completes a trinity of strong-willed belles of the West that includes Joan Crawford’s frenzied saloon proprietor in Ray’s Johnny Guitar (1954) and Marlene Dietrich’s sultry bordello maven in Lang’s Rancho Notorious (1952). “Outrageously lively… pushes all four corners of the black-and-white widescreen to the extreme.”—Andrew Sarris.
1957/b&w/80 min./Scope | Scr/dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Dean Jagger
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

China Gate
Friday, August 13 | 9 pm
In the waning stages of the French war in Vietnam, an international band of hired guns are recruited to travel through enemy territory in order to destroy a cache of weapons belonging to a guerilla army. They’re smuggled to the Chinese border by Eurasian beauty Lucky Legs (Dickinson), a tavern boss with a bastard child and regular jungle routes selling cognac to soldiers. The motley crew—bombs expert Brock (Gene Barry) and fellow Korean War vet Goldie (Nat “King” Cole, also the voice on the film’s theme tune), plus French legionnaires, a Czech soldier, and a Greek private—make their way through a dense forest swarming with snares, snipers, and mines. “Enormously entertaining pulp, delivered with Fullerian formalist brio, and totally, productively crazy”—J. Hoberman, The Village Voice.
1957/b&w/97 min./Scope | Scr/dir: Samuel Fuller; w/ Gene Barry, Angie Dickinson, Nat "King" Cole
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

Classic Film Revival
Life of Oharu
Saturday, August 14 | 7:30 pm
Kenji Mizoguchi considered this staggering period drama to be his masterpiece, and many critics agree. Tanaka—whose career was synonymous with Mizoguchi's for many years—plays Oharu, an imperious court lady of the Edo period. Banished for loving a lowly samurai (Mifune), she embarks on a heartbreaking downward saga. Though a succession of betrayals and tragedies plague her, Oharu is never defeated. Told through interlocking flashbacks and indelible compositions, Mizoguchi’s Shakespearean epic immediately precedes his late masterpieces Ugetsu and Sansho, the Bailiff. “Stately, controlled, and impeccably constructed. [Mizoguchi’s] fascination with the social roles of women leads him, in this film as in many others, to a profound discovery of elevated emotional states. A near-perfect work.”—Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader.
1952/b&w/136 min | Scr: Kenji Mizoguchi, Yoshikata Yoda; dir: Kenji Mizoguchi; w/ Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiro Mifune
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

Le Amiche
Friday, August 20 | 7:30 pm, 9:30pm
Saturday, August 21 | 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 9:30pm
New 35 mm print
A young woman returns to her native Turin to open a fashion salon, and there she falls in with a “smart set” that includes the suicidal daughter of an eminent family, a painter who is jealous of his wife’s success, and a woman who vents her despair by attacking her closest friends. With its theme of the spiritual and moral malaise of the wealthy and its succession of strikingly composed images, this important early work from Michelangelo Antonioni, adapted from a novel by Cesare Pavese, looks forward to the director’s groundbreaking L’Avventura. “Impossible to stop watching. The expressive elegance of Antonioni’s camera movements—the way he glides around a scene, composing and recomposing the human figures within it to suggest psychological patterns and unacknowledged erotic connections—still has the power to amaze…What makes Le Amiche so bracing—so sad and, sometimes, so funny—is that its heroines are fallible, flawed, vain and powerful, each in her own way. They often make one another miserable, but their company is always a pleasure.”—A.O. Scott, The New York Times.
1955/b&w/104 min. | Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni; w/ Eleonora Rossi Drago, Gabriele Ferzetti. | A Film Desk Release; restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata with funding provided by Gucci and The Film Foundation.
Bing Theater | $10 general admission. $7 museum members, seniors (62+), students with valid ID.

TOURS

Pathways to Art
LACMA has created a dynamic multimedia visitor tour offering a wealth of audio, video, still images, and text to enrich your knowledge of artworks from the museum's collection. Pathways to Art is available now via personal digital assistants (PDAs)—with full-color screens and simple controls—that can be checked out free of charge from the museum's welcome centers.
Available for checkout at the BP Grand Entrance Welcome Centers with valid ID | Free | Available in English, Spanish, and Korean

Gallery Conversations: Modern and Contemporary Art
Saturdays & Sundays | 1–4 pm
Introducing a new way to experience LACMA! Drop by the modern and contemporary art galleries for informative and informal conversations about works of art with gallery educators.
BCAM Level 3 and Ahmanson Building Level 2 | Free, no reservations

FAMILY PROGRAMS

Andell Family Sundays: Artful Food
Sunday, August 7, 14, 21, 28 | 12:30–3:30 pm
Join us on Sundays for programs designed especially for families. Make art, explore the museum, or join a bilingual gallery tour. Most of all—have fun! Check out the special installation of art from LACMA's permanent collection, Fallen Fruit Presents: The Fruit of LACMA. Then make your own food-inspired art (paint your own still life!) in artist-led workshops with Sean Gall, Katie Bachler, Jenny Ly, and Quan Yen Trang.
North Piazza | Free, no reservations
Children must be accompanied by an adult. Andell Family Sundays is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and the Hauptman Family Foundation.

Information:

Education programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are supported in part by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education.

Arts for NexGen is supported in part by the Employees Community Fund of Boeing California. Additional support is provided by Shirley & Burt Harris Family Foundation and the Louis and Harold Price Foundation.

Andell Family Sundays is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and the Hauptman Family Foundation. Outreach and transportation for Andell Family Sundays are supported by Tally and Bill Mingst. 

About LACMA
Since its inception in 1965, LACMA has been devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography-and represent Los Angeles's uniquely diverse population. Today, the museum features particularly strong collections of Asian, Latin American, European, and American art, as well as a contemporary museum on its campus. With this expanded space for contemporary art, innovative collaborations with artists, and an ongoing Transformation project, LACMA is creating a truly modern lens through which to view its rich encyclopedic collection.

Location and Contact: 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90036 | 323 857-6000 | lacma.org
 
Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: noon-8 pm; Friday: noon-9 pm; Saturday, Sunday: 11 am-8 pm; closed Wednesday

General Admission: Adults: $15; students 18+ with ID and senior citizens 62+: $10

Free General Admission: Members; children 17 and under; after 5 pm weekdays for L.A. County residents; second Tuesday of every month; Target Free Holiday Mondays