This Weekend at LACMA: Caravaggio Closes, New York Noir Film Series, Shinique Smith at Charles White Elementary, and More

February 8, 2013

This is it, folks: Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy has entered its final weekend and Sunday is your last day to see this phenomenal show. Tickets for this exhibition are timed, so reserve yours in advance to ensure that you get to see the exhibition. (Plus, your Caravaggio ticket also gets you admission to Stanley Kubrick and the rest of the museum!) Call 323 857-6010 or click here to reserve your tickets.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Ecce Homo, 1605, Musei de Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco, Genoa, Italy, photo © Musei di Strada Nuova Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Ecce Homo, 1605, Musei de Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco, Genoa, Italy, photo © Musei di Strada Nuova

Speaking of Stanley Kubrick, Saturday sees a daylong symposium dedicated to the master filmmaker—Into the Archive: Re-Viewing Kubrick. Scholars from the University of the Arts London, Stanley Kubrick Archives, and Victoria & Albert Museum will give talks on Kubrick and his films—see the full schedule here. This event is sold out but there will be a standby line.

Sue Lyon as Dolores “Lolita” Haze, Lolita, directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1960–62, GB/United States, © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., photo by Bert Stern Sue Lyon as Dolores “Lolita” Haze, Lolita, directed by Stanley Kubrick, 1960–62, GB/United States, © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., photo by Bert Stern

Partly inspired by Stanley Kubrick, tonight (Friday) we kick off our latest film series, New York Noir and Neorealism. All of the films we are screening in February feature New York of the late 1940s-early 1950s—the same period in which Kubrick was documenting the city through his photographs in Look magazine (which you can see in the exhibition) and in early film work like Day of the Fight and Killer’s Kiss (the latter will screen on February 23). The series begins tonight with Jules Dassin’s 1948 noir classic The Naked City, followed by the 1947 corker Kiss of Death.

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Families—there are a lot of options for you this weekend, both on campus and off. As mentioned on Unframed earlier this week, artist Shinique Smith has opened Firsthand at Charles White Elementary School near MacArthur Park. (The school is formerly site of the original Otis campus, hence there is a fully functioning gallery space.)  The exhibition is a combination of original works by Smith, objects from LACMA’s Costume and Textiles collection, and works made by Charles White students. You can see the exhibition and enjoy family-friendly tours on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. There will be activities and chances to make art as well.

Shinique Smith, Swaying Beauty, 2007, gift of Schiff Fine Art, © 2013 Shinique Smith, photo © 2013 Museum Associates/LACMA Shinique Smith, Swaying Beauty, 2007, gift of Schiff Fine Art, © 2013 Shinique Smith, photo © 2013 Museum Associates/LACMA

Alternatively, here at LACMA on Saturday we are offering family tours of the collection (in English and Spanish), with emphasis on artworks proven to be a hit with the little ones. Don’t forget, your children can sign up—for free!—to be NexGen members at the museum. One of their benefits as museum members is they get to lug one parent along with them, also for free. Even more family activities are available the next day, during Andell Family Sundays—including artist workshops and a chance to check out The Ancient Maya World.

The weekend closes out with a free Sundays Live performance from pianist Svetlana Smolina, performing pieces by Schubert, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Bolcom.

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There is still more happening at the museum. Check the list of featured exhibitions on view, plus even more on view all over campus, including Lost LineWalter De Maria, and Robert Mapplethorpe. (On Mapplethorpe, have a listen to the latest Modern Art Notes Podcast, featuring LACMA curator Britt Salvesen and artist Catherine Opie talking about the exhibition and the artist.

Robert Mapplethorpe, Cedric, N.Y.C. (X Portfolio), 1978, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, jointly acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, partial gift of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; partial purchase with funds provided by the David Geffen Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Trust, 2011, © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation Robert Mapplethorpe, Cedric, N.Y.C. (X Portfolio), 1978, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, jointly acquired by the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, partial gift of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; partial purchase with funds provided by the David Geffen Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Trust, 2011, © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

Scott Tennent