Young Il Ahn, Water BLRG 16 (detail), 2016, courtesy of the artist and Susan Baik/Baik Art, © Young Il Ahn, photo by Michael Underwood

This Weekend at LACMA

February 24, 2017
Myra Hassaram, Marketing Coordinator

Welcome three new exhibitions this weekend at LACMA.

Explore the first-ever introduction of a Korean American artist at LACMA in Unexpected Light: Works by Young Il Ahn, which highlights the ever-expanding diversity and realities within the ethnic Korean population in Los Angeles. The exhibition showcases many works from Ahn’s best-known series, Water, which was inspired by a near-death incident on the Pacific Ocean.

Tony Smith’s Smoke has become a LACMA icon since its 2008 installation in the Ahmanson Building atrium. In this exhibition, discover the artist’s lifelong exploration of patterns found in organic life through objects that trace Smoke’s evolution, beginning with early Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired buildings, cellular drawings and paintings, and related sculpture and sketches.

The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts features sculptures and eye-catching textiles that explore how the arts and their visual regimes enable transitions from one stage of life to the next. Surround yourself with iconic figures, masks, initiation objects, and reliquary guardians that guide people to spirit realms, esoteric wisdom, and the afterlife.

In conjunction with The Inner Eye, join professor John C. Newton for the special lecture The Outsider (or Uninitiated) Usually Sees Through the Nose. He’ll speak on The Inner Eye (Ojú-Inú), which refers to insight, a special kind of understanding of a person, thing, or situation, not usually derived from an obvious source. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Sunday night, listen to the classical sounds of USC Thornton Guitar Ensemble in the Bing Theater. The USC Thornton School of Music's Classical Guitar Department educates students and prepares them for a successful career in the rapidly changing world of music.