Where To Play In L.A. This Week
Alright kids, hold onto your fannys. This week is sensory overload featuring the paintings of John Wayne Gacy, the final days of Jasper Johns' retrospective exhibit, and RuPaul's DragCon.
Have you ever heard of a little chubby man named John Wayne Gacy? Perhaps the headlines featuring the bodies of unwilling victims of his art of pedophilia? Well, although I don't condone the assault of a child in any form nor viewing/producing/distributing child pornography, I am still addicted to Law & Order SVU and fascinated by the uniqueness of art in all forms. Murdering is an art form, and I will study it. The human mind is a fascinating place and boy do I know from experience, creating or taking part in activities that are taboo and stereotypically chastised by much of the world takes balls, determination, and the constant agony of a bi-polar relationship with the soundness of self that going against the grain is more likely to instigate. I'm sure if I painted landscapes fully clothed using my hands, the approved method, it would be easier for me to seek and surround myself with viewers that approved or even praised my work. If anything, family, friends, and strangers would probably just placate me with approval, hell, this is L.A.
Now, it is true that there are and will be haters of all possible positions, and I would not be able to completely avoid all of them. You might be thinking "how would she know." You are right. I am not a refined landscape painter. However, I "imagine" this because I am an anal artist: anal about art, my opinion, and yes I literally paint with my ass. I also loathe run of the mill landscape paintings filling galleries, restaurants, homes, and hotels up and down the California coast. Now, in my spare time I do not go picket these events or hate spam their Facebook pages, or worse, pretend like they don't exist, even when I might rarely like an individual piece. I am not afraid of who knows my opinion, whatever that may be, and to each his or her own. So, this is how I draw my conclusions. I see the plight of those that go against the norm, in whatever area of life that may be, because it is always more work. Hell, if you don't like the music you hear on FM radio i.e. mainstream music, you have to search the internet and trial and error yourself silly a playlist of tunes you like by bands no one you know of has yet heard of and thus you cannot even readily converse with say a stranger on the street about them for they have yet to be versed in the "obscure." Jasper Johns blurred the lines between language, color, symbols and more through his brain scrambling images that forced the viewer to find different meaning or no meaning at all in things thought to be ingrained in the brain as having only one meaning or purpose such as the American Flag, the numbers 0 through 9, geographical maps, and the alphabet. And although Los Angeles may be considered somewhat progressive, dressing in drag and genuine interest, acceptance, and respect by those that do not personally partake is radical compared to even a decade ago. We all cannot be as forward thinking or accepting as us artists or us abnormal creatives (as in not normal---normal being the average of a majority of society---NOT what is right or better than the average minorities).
As time goes on, through the use of technology and by those working "harder" than most, more and more doors of perception are opened, never cleansed. It would be overly optimistic for me assume one day everyone will be "cool" with anal artwork, Jasper Johns, John Wayne Gacy, or drag queens and other members of the LGBT community, but, I for one persevere without the goal of making the world at large accepting in an effort to accept myself. Therefore, those that go against the standing laws and morality of society at large inspire me in their effort and perseverance through persecution. Additionally, the psychology of individuals within those not so average scopes of human interest fascinate me, and not in the way people are fascinated by a train wreck and can't look away, akin to dropping the remote during a marathon of Keeping Up With The Kardashians or the nightly news. There is beauty in a mind that creates the unseen or thinks the un-thought of and unsought after ideas, whether they be viewed as insane, unholy, unnatural, or especially hanus. These are there stories, and I am willing, ready, and eagerly along for the ride. Dun Dun.
Goodbye Pogo, The Art of John Wayne Gacy
May 10-12
Opening Reception 8pm to 11pm 5/10
Lethal Amounts Gallery
Lethal Amounts for the win, again.
Gacy's art can be looked at despite what he did to boys. I can do that, can you? The performance art of a clown. Hitler painted and so did John Wayne Gacy. I consider art to be therapy, and I suppose some just need more therapy than others.
Advanced tickets are for the opening reception only. All other tickets will be available at the door during the Friday and Saturday exhibit hours of 12pm to 7pm. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to victims of violent crimes if for some reason you still think you are supporting serial rapists and murderers by attending.
http://lethalamounts.com for tix and more info
Something Resembling Truth
Daily until May 13
The Broad
Jasper Johns retrospective of over 120 pieces never to be see in LA. Worth it.
http://thebroad.org for tickets and more info
RuPaul's Dragcon
May 11-13
Los Angeles Convention Center
Keynote speaker RuPaul, runway shows daily, tons of vendors and exhibitors, contests, pageantry, and panels dedicated to specifics like drag eyebrows, that art of face tune, wrestling, fashion, comedy, dancing, and drag through the eyes of visual artists (for those of you that still don't see the art). Simpsons fan? Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner and Dolph), and Simpsons writer and Drag Race Superfan,Carolyn Omine will be hosting a panel regarding drag and the industry. Why? Well, it relates to an upcoming episode in the works guest-starring RuPaul.
http://rupaulsdragcon.com for tix and more info
The Exhibition Back-burner.
(for when there's still time for you to find time)
Happy Place
Daily April 26 to May 27
LA Live - 1005 Chick Hearn Court
Seems like things are just "popping up" all over the damn place these days. Well, we are quite the non-committal community in Los Angeles. Complementary to that County characteristic, we now have pop up experiences, like Happy Place. It is an immersive multi room larger than life installation heaven haven-ed on the Event Deck at L.A. Live. Just a warning, Happy Place appears like another one of those Museum of Ice Cream/Yayoi Kusama timed entry non-transferable get your tickets now before they are all sold out type of exhibits, not that there's anything wrong with that. I am an enjoyer of immersion in foreign spaces so however lame, I am game, especially if my face looks like a smiling emoji when I leave. Plus, they claim to have the "world's largest confetti dome," so there's that. I can cross another Guinness holder off my list right next to the world's largest ball of twine. Most appealing, it feels like the kind of event that will allow me to crawl on the floor like a baby, channeling my inner child and inner comedic commentary whilst people watching. Win. And you have another thirty days to set a date.
http://happyplace.me for tix and more info
King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh
Daily until January 19
California Science Center
The collection is the largest ever to be displayed outside of Egypt. LA is just one location as part of a years-long international tour. Why now? Well, it's the centennial of the discovery of King Tut's tomb by British archeologist Howard Carter in 1922. Don't worry, you have plenty of time, it's open from 10am to 5pm daily until January 19th of next year.
http://californiasciencecenter.org for tickets and more info
Museum of Failure
Daily until March 8, 2019
Hollywood & Highland
From Sweden to Hollywood, this exhibit with spend 1 year inviting Los Angelans and beyond a look into great failures over human history. This museum is a reminder when in this world it seems there is no time for failure (or that any misstep is death sentence of perpetual inability), failures often precede works of art, and if we don't learn to learn from and later laugh at ours, we will become resistant to trying and in turn resistant to living with our imperfect selves or imperfections. They are there for a reason, and they have a purpose. Our greatest failures as artists have the potential to birth our greatest assets if we take the time to channel them.
http://failuremuseum.com for tickets and more info
Noah's Ark
Permanent Exhibition
Skirball Cultural Center
A permanent collection for kids, yet playing and climbing a life size arc filled with animals sounds like a great time for me. Finding your inner child as an adult is a must if you are going to survive in this world where people, places, and things old and new become less and less mind blowing. Ya feel me? Oh they invented a flying car? Figured they'd do that.
Sensory Sensitive Fridays encourage and accommodate through art special demos and activities for children with developmental disabilities such as Autism. I find this very very spectacular as studies show that Autistic children learn from and interact best with other children their own age as opposed to adults. Add art to the equation = gold.
https://www.skirball.org/noahs-ark for tickets, calendar of events, and more info
Something I missed? If you have an event, let me know, submit via email art@theanalartist.life
GOOD LUCK.