This weekend at LACMA is filled with art, art, and more art. We have a record number of exhibitions on view at this moment—many of which have earned rave reviews from critics and visitors alike. Plus, LACMA is continuing its Stanley Kubrick film retrospective tonight and hosting Foodprint L.A. this Sunday.
Ken Price, 100% Pure, fired and painted clay, collection of Frank and Berta Gehry, © 2012 Ken Price, photo © 2012 Fredrik Nilsen
Two major exhibitions are in their final weeks at LACMA before they travel to other museums around the country. Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective closes on January 6 and then heads to the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas before continuing on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Looking for a holiday gift for the art lover in your family? The New York Times named the Ken Price Sculpture catalogue one of the best art books of the year, plus, we put together a handy LACMA holiday gift guide.)
Stephanie Barron, Ken Price Sculpture curator and department head of modern art, will be participating in the Glass House Conversations starting this Sunday at 5 pm. In an online public forum, she'll be discussing the intersection of architecture and sculpture, including the work of Ken Price.
Jindrich Styrsky, Stehyovaci cabinet, 1934, collection of Annie Le Brun, photo © 2012 Museum Associates/LACMA
Also closing January 6 is Drawing Surrealism, a massive show that traces the use and influence of drawing in the surrealist movement. The exhibition features 250 works by artists from all over the world, including heavyweights such as Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, and Joan Miro and lesser-known artists. (The Drawing Surrealism catalogue was also named a best book for art lovers by the NYT.)
Steve, McQueen,Static (still), 2009, 35mm film transferred to HD video,gift of Steve Tisch, © 2012 Steve McQueen
The rest of the lineup is just as spectacular. Reserve your tickets in advance for Stanley Kubrick and Bodies and Shadows: Caravaggio and His Legacy, both of which are seeing long lines on the weekends in particular. We've got everything something on view for all tastes right now: Lost Line: Contemporary Art from the Collection, Ed Ruscha: Standard, Michael Heizer: Actual Size, Walter De Maria: The 2000 Sculpture, Daily Pleasures: French Ceramics from the MaryLou Boone Collection, Robert Mapplethorpe: XYZ, and Masterpieces of Expressionist Cinema: Caligari and Metropolis. And this is to say nothing of the installations throughout the museum, including a brand new exhibition of ancient Maya ceramics on the fourth floor of the Art of the Americas Building.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, c. 1595, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, photo © 2012 Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Reminder: Members get free tickets to both Stanley Kubrick and Caravaggio and His Legacy, AND they get free general admission all year-round, among many other great benefits. Not a member? Join. Know someone who isn't but should be? LACMA membership makes a perfect holiday gift, plus it comes with the chic yet utilitarian tote from BAGGU.
Both films in our Stanley Kubrick film retrospective this weekend, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon,are sold out. However, there will be a standby line to which any available tickets will be released on a first-come, first-served basis.
Lastly, cap off your weekend with the fourth in a series of international conversations about food and the city. At 12:30 pm on Sunday LACMA is hosting Foodprint L.A., which will explore the forces that have shaped the Angeleno foodscape—from taco trucks to the world's largest Frito factory and the eviction of South Central Farm—and speculate on how to feed Los Angeles in the future. The event is free.
Stick around for LACMA's free Sundays Live concert featuring the UCLA Camarades, and as usual there will be free tours throughout today and Sunday for visitors to explore LACMA's collection.
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you here!
Jenny Miyasaki