Warm up to spring with LACMA this weekend. To start, take a quick jaunt to the traveling Hacienda Heights Art+Film Lab during its last days at Steinmetz Park. On Friday evening polish up on international films with a free screening of Even the Rain (Tambíen la Lluvia) at 7 pm; learn video editing techniques during the free Instant Film Workshop on Saturday at noon; or contribute your personal story as a Southern Californian to the Oral History project on Friday at 3 pm and Sunday at 12:30 pm. This mobile art space has been going around the county, providing opportunities for neighboring communities to interact with art and film in exciting ways, and will make its next stop in Montebello starting April 4.
LACMA9 Art+Film Lab, photo by Duncan Cheng
Meanwhile on campus, we’re rolling out the red carpet for the 2014 Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival taking place on Saturday at 6 pm. Celebrating Iranian heritage, this event showcases emerging filmmaking talent from around the world and includes a reception after the awards have been handed out. Then, all day on Sunday, celebrate the arrival of spring at the Nowruz Celebration with a full day of free activities at the museum. Guests will be treated to a traditional costume parade, live musical performances, storytelling and calligraphy for children, and a traditional Nowruz display, Haft Sîn. The weekly edition of Sundays Live keeps the festivities going with a performance from L.A.-based Lyris Quartet on Sunday at 6 pm.
Hassan Hajjaj, My Rock Stars Experimental, Volume 1, 2012, Mandisa Dumesweni, purchased with funds provided by Art of the Middle East: CONTEMPORARY, courtesy of Rose Issa Projects
Around the galleries, make it a point to see the history of photography in See the Light—Photography, Perception, Cognition: The Marjorie and Leonard Vernon Collection before it closes on Sunday. This exhibition showcases over 200 images from one of the world’s most extensive photography collections and gives viewers the insight into the medium’s position between art and science. Across campus check out truly gorgeous artworks from Japan in The Color of Life: Japanese Paintings from the Price Collection. And, from our permanent collection, discover how Hassan Hajjaj: My Rock Stars Experimental, Volume 1, 2012 blurs cultural boundaries through a three-channel video featuring nine performances from an international array of musicians. Spring has sprung.
Roberto Ayala