In a Blue Frame of Mind

The Blue Room by Richard Jackson

Although the Orange County Museum of Art's exhibition of works by Richard Jackson, Ain't Painting A Pain, has closed up, I figured that I would share a couple photos with you all. It was a fun time, both entertaining and inspiring. Yes, the huge statue of Bad Dog was definitely my favorite piece, but I was charmed by the entire collection, from the stacked paintings to the crashed model plane.

Each piece had a whimsical inventiveness at its core, an inviting quality that played to the viewer's sense of humor. Thus engaged in mirthful appreciation, the viewer could be drawn in to consider the artistry and craft, the use of structure and serendipity together, in the creation of the work.

I found it to be a fresh approach, accessible both to the casual art enthusiast and the dedicated art critic.

Detail of Maze for Eugenia Butler by Richard Jackson

I'm very grateful to the OCMA for putting on such a wonderful exhibit.

Dancing and Singing for the Muse

SZC Project performs a dance across the LACMA campus as part of the Muse Artwalk events

My friends sometimes ask me, if I have the normal member's free admission to LACMA's galleries, why would I attend the bustle and crowd of the annual Muse Artwalk? The answer is obvious: the performances. Certainly, I can visit the museum whenever I wish. Likewise, I'm no stranger to the Miracle Mile art galleries. But it is a rarity that I can view some engaging modern dance performances.

Moreover, the manner in which the choreography incorporates the unique features of the site absolutely cannot be replicated anywhere else. This makes for a "one time only" experience, an aesthetic moment that is transitory, constrained in time and space. For me, this limitation makes it a precious and much coveted art event.

Yeah, sometimes the throng of visitors might get annoying, especially if they have some rambunctious children with them. However, for the uncommon taste of performance art and dance, I will happily tolerate an occasional screaming babe. ;-)

Invertigo Dance performing in front of Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008)


Now, the hazy and humid heat might present another problem, but, if the performers can endure it, then I can do so as well. After all, it's not me jumping around, kicking and twisting and writhing, upon the hot concrete of the BP Grand Entrance. And that's a very good thing. :-P

A dancer from kDub Dance, constrained within the boundaries delineated by colored tape.


The performances were well worth the effort. I especially enjoyed SZC Project's performance upon the exterior stairway of the Broad Contemporary, but each dance brought something new and engaging. They really inspired me to make more of an effort to attend dance events. Every year, the Artwalk inspires me, but I rarely follow through. This time, I intend to hit at least three shows before next year's event.

More to It Than Just Dancing

Alicia Markova, Giselle (1947)


The title of prima ballerina assoluta is given out to only the most highly regarded of ballet dancers, those who have made lasting impressions and contributions towards the refinement and development of the art form, those who have performed with unforgettable grace and indelible expressiveness. It is from among these legendary dancers that we focus upon Alicia Markova in celebration of her birth date.

As is common with early 20th century ballerinas, there isn't much footage available to view, leaving us to piece together her artistry from photographs, contemporary accounts, a few snips of film, and the performance techniques of her students. In aggregating these sources together into a coherent testimony, it is clear that Markova was every bit as amazing as her devotees claim.

So, let's take a moment today to consider the Art of the Dance. Although it's also true for most types of artistic endeavors, be it writing or painting or theater, the effort that goes into a dance career does not generally translate into notable financial gains. The rigorous training sessions, the constant searching for dance engagements, and the short career span, these all combine to make a dancer's art one of the hardest to pursue.

Alicia Markova was born on December 1, 1910.

Although some flowers do bloom in the desert, many more thrive where water is prevalent. A similar situation exists in the world of performing arts, as regards finance. So, consider visiting a dance performance sometime soon; even just a holiday viewing of the Nutcracker would be cool. The next generation's Markova may be on the verge of calling it quits, going for steady employment behind a desk rather than starving upon the stage.

And that is a sad situation.

Appreciating Herstory

Otis College is exhibiting "Doin' It in Public" as part of the Pacific Standard Time art event.

There is currently a vast artistic curation and exhibition project underway in the Los Angeles area called Pacific Standard Time. It's premise is to celebrate and display the Los Angeles art scene from 1945 to 1980, the foundational era upon which contemporary LA art builds. Obviously, in an enormous population center like Los Angeles, there will be many narrative and historical strands that will be considered.

So I began my exploration of Pacific Standard Time with a visit to Otis College's exhibit "Doin' It in Public: Feminism and Art at the Woman's Building." It's a fascinating look at the woman's art movement and how the establishment of a feminist institution gave birth to a wide array of creative endeavors, from the aesthetic to the sexual to the political.

In terms of exhibiting original art, there wasn't much. It was more of an anthropological and historical show, which is cool with me. There were plenty of informative media displays. One could spend hours at the exhibit just looking at the videos or listening to recordings. I especially enjoyed the reconstruction of a few performance art installations.

American Dining: A Working Woman's Moment (1987/2011) by the Waitresses

For me, the documentation of the artistic-political collectives was the most compelling part of the exhibit. It seems as if this was where the creative energy of the Woman's Building in forming a community identity and fostering progressive artistic and political activities came together strongest.

The Fire that You Light

Tany Ling displaying Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union

I got to attend the second performance of the Hammer Museum's "Sing Your Favorite Book" series. This time the performer was Tany Ling, singing Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union. I am so glad that I made it to the performance, back pain or no. Tany Ling has an angelic voice, absolutely breath-taking in its purity of tone and beauty.

I'm not familiar with the novel. It's an alternate history detective story set in a Jewish "reservation" in Alaska. That's sounds like it's made of fail to me, but I'm now fairly certain that I'm wrong in this shallow assessment. I had no narrative context by which to judge the passages chosen for the performance, but they were rich and evocative statements. This novel has popped up onto my "must read" list.

Because I was unfamiliar with the book, I focused more upon the singing and articulation of the words. When I heard Jessica Basta perform Lolita, my concentration was given to how she interpreted and arranged the narrative into a coherent performance piece. This made for a radically different listening experience. With Tany Ling, I was listening to the singer singing. With Jessica Basta, I listened to the song being sung. Both were excellent performances, but I was compelled to personally gush with enthusiasm to Tany Ling and take a photo so as to remember to write a blog post.



Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union


I'm certainly looking forward to attending another performance.

Tip of the Tongue Taking a Trip

Promotional image for the film, Lolita (1997)


The Hammer Museum is doing a series of performances called "Sing Your Favorite Book" which is being held in conjunction with the current "Ed Ruscha: On the Road" exhibit. A few weeks back, I was able to attend Jessica Basta's reading of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. I really didn't know what to expect. The concept seemed primed for failure; librettists work hard to shape literary pieces into musical works. How likely is a performer to improvise a quality result?

On the other hand, Jessica Basta has a beautiful voice and a solid improvisational sensibility. Moreover, Lolita has many passages that lend themselves to quotation and dramatic presentation. The goal wasn't to recite the entire novel, but to sing select passages from it. That's got potential.



Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita


The performance was held in the Ruscha galleries. It was a bit surreal, listening to the singing while looking at quotes from Kerouac' On the Road, contextualized over Ruscha's images. As expected Basta's voice and improvisation skills delivered on the rich potential of the text. It was a satisfying performance.

Heard, Not Seen

Calm and serene

The sound of a cicada

Penetrates the rock

(By Matsuo Basho)

The Hammer Museum had a series of performance over the month entitled "Insect Ensemble", a performance curated by Jessica Catron. Using hand percussion and simple mouth sounds, the concept was to create an ambient aural environment of insect-like sounds. Five performers were scattered across the Hammer Courtyard to create this effect.

The performers were Jessica Catron, Jessica Basta, Julia Holter, Tanya Rubbak, and Chris Votek.