Pacific Standard Time - Events 10/4 - 10/9

An Evening with Marcel Odenbach

LACE, the Goethe Institut and the Long Beach Museum of Art reunite to present a program of Odenbach’s classic and new video works, followed by a brief artist talk. Odenbach is also included in Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach 1974-1999, curated by Kathy Rae Huffman and Nancy Buchanan at the Long Beach Museum of Art, on view 7 October 2011 - 12 February 2012.

Spirit Resurrection Pot Luck

Join Liz Glynn and fellow artists and organizers to learn how to participate in Spirit Resurrection, a web-based platform that invites artists to recreate Public Spirit / Live Art LA, a citywide performance festival that took place in 1980. Glynn’s Spirit Resurrection will serve as an archive for historical documents from and about Public Spirit to give people access to this history and serve as an organizing tool and catalyst for the recreations of the original performances scheduled to occur throughout January 2012.

Twenty Twenty

Roger Guenveur Smith and Marc Anthony Thompson premiere Twenty Twenty, their new multimedia performance about black music created and fostered in L.A. from 1960 to 1980. Smith and Thompson are your sonic tour guides through this impressionistic survey of distinctive music that includes Odetta’s spirituals, free jazz, psychedelic rock and the funky soul of the Brothers Johnson.

Beverly Maloof & Mike Johnson (Maloof Woodworking) talk at the Craft in America Study Center

Please join us for a talk by Beverly Maloof and Mike Johnson of Maloof Woodworking at the Craft in America Study Center. Event is from 6-8pm, talk begins at 7pm.

This event is FREE. Parking is available behind Freehand Gallery and street parking is also available.

Please RSVP to info@craftinamerica.org or (310) 659-9022.

Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach, 1974-1999 Opening Reception

The opening reception for LBMA members, exhibiting artists, press, and City officials will allow guests to have a first look at the LBMA exhibition, Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach 1974-1999. Exchange and Evolution, a retrospective selection of the significant international video works and artists who were part of the historic video art program at the Long Beach Museum of Art (LBMA), will be on view at the Museum from October 7, 2011 - February 12, 2012. The exhibition is the result of research into the numerous cultural exchanges, and the subsequent evolution of ideas made possible by the Museum’s media art center.

This is an invite-only event. If you are not a LBMA Member yet, sign up now to be the first to see this extraordinary international exhibition.

Walkthrough of the exhibition with Patssi Valdez and Gronk, members of the ASCO collective, whose work is on display in the galleries.

Still Evolving: Art at the Natural History Museum, Then and Now

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston and Betye Saar were emerging Los Angeles artists. NHM exhibited the work of all three. The trio comes together for this occasion to share stories about the L.A. art scene past and present. Panel discussion moderated by curator Charlotte Eyerman.

Exchange and Evolution: Worldwide Video Long Beach, 1974-1999 Free Public Opening Day

The Long Beach Museum of Art is free every Friday thanks to the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Exchange and Evolution establishes LBMA as a key influence on the growth and development of video as an art form. The exhibition features both single-channel video and installations by artists from eighteen different countries, whose work provides an overview of the history of video art and its expressive abilities.

DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST, Directed by Julie Dash (1991, 112 min.)

Julie Dash’s masterpiece, the first American feature by an African American woman to receive a general theatrical release, announced a formidable talent with its story of an island family, descendants of escaped slaves, living off the Southern coast of the US in 1902 and preparing for a move to the mainland. Superb performances, cinematography, music and touches of magical realism, grace this unforgettable film.

Preceded by

FOUR WOMEN (Julie Dash, 1975, 7 min.).
Dancer Linda Martina Young portrays the four Black women described in Nina Simone’s stirring ballad.

IN PERSON: Filmmaker Julie Dash

SPIRITS OF REBELLION, Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis (2011, 45 min.)

This documentary work-in-progress by Zeinabu irene Davis provides intimate access to several filmmakers identified with L.A. Rebellion, including Charles Burnett, Ben Caldwell, Julie Dash, Haile Gerima, Barbara McCullough, Billy Woodberry and Davis herself. The film’s topics include the origins of the name “L.A. Rebellion” and the intriguing question, “What is a black film?”

IN PERSON: Zeinabu irene Davis

BUSH MAMA, Directed by Haile Gerima (1975, 97 min.)

Bush Mama is a powerfully moving look at the realities of inner city poverty and systemic disenfranchisement as experienced by Dorothy, a pregnant welfare recipient in Watts, played by the magnetic Barbara O. Jones. Motivated by the incarceration of her partner T.C. (Weathers) and the protection of her daughter and unborn child, Dorothy undergoes an ideological transformation from apathy to action.

Preceded by

DAY DREAM THERAPY (Bernard Nicolas, 1977, 8 min.).
Daydream Therapy, set to Nina Simone’s haunting rendition of “Pirate Jenny” poetically envisions a hotel worker’s escape from workplace indignities through vivid fantasy.

IN PERSON: Bernard Nicolas

Members' Only Opening Reception

OCMA members of all levels are invited to join the celebration, enjoy refreshments and a cash bar, and experience incidental, spontaneous performances by exhibiting artists. RSVP to memberRSVP@ocma.net by Friday, September 30.

Not yet a member? Visit our website for more information: http://www.ocma.net/index.html?page=join_info

Becoming Mexican-American and Beyond

Professor George Sanchez’s 1993 book, Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900–1945, is considered one of the seminal works on the formation of Latino ethnic identity and culture in pre—World War II Los Angeles.

Scholars, educators, and other participants will join Professor Sanchez in an in-depth exploration and discussion of Latino ethnic identity in the United States, the impact of the publication of his 1993 book, and current issues surrounding ethnicity and immigration.

Visionaries Free Second Sundays

October Theme: Make-Believe Masquerade

Come in costume to a world of make-believe on the opening day of our new exhibitions! Enjoy art making inspired by works on display and take part in interactive performances with artists from the galleries!

Free Second Sundays are an ideal way for Orange County families to spend time together and have fun with art for free, including hands-on art projects, entertainment, gallery tours, and more! Activities from 11 am to 4 pm, visit www.ocma.net for more information.

Judy Chicago: A Conversation with Her Younger Self

Judy Chicago presents A Conversation with Her Younger Self, a performative reenactment and response to a feminist lecture that Chicago originally delivered at Pomona College in 1970.

Reception to follow at Pomona College Museum of Art.

Walk-Through with Curator Jo Lauria
Join curator Jo Lauria as she conducts a walk-through of the exhibition Golden State of Craft: California 1960-1985.

Please RSVP at rsvp@cafam.org or (323) 937-4230, x. 50

L.A. Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema - Filmmaker Panel

As we inaugurate this screening series, a number of representative filmmakers will convene for a panel discussion to mark the occasion and to discuss various issues and ideas surrounding L.A. Rebellion. The wide-ranging discussion will touch on topics such as the shared and individual goals of the group’s members, their view of its legacy and its implications for the idea of “Black Cinema” today.

In Person: filmmakers Ben Caldwell, Larry Clark, Julie Dash, Zeinabu irene Davis, Alicia Dhanifu, Jamaa Fanaka, Alile Sharon Larkin, O.Funmilayo Makarah, Bernard Nicolas, Barbara McCullough and Billy Woodberry; and Jacqueline Stewart (moderator).

SHOPPING BAG SPIRITS AND FREEWAY FETISHES: REFLECTIONS ON RITUAL SPACE, Directed by Barbara McCullough (1981, 60 min.), plus other short films

McCullough converses with members of L.A.’s vibrant Black arts communities to explore the role of ritual in Black life and art. Interviews are combined with still photographs, colorful video effects, music by Don Cherry and footage from McCullough’s landmark work, Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification.

Dream States: The Avant-Garde of the 1940s and 1950s

A dorm near USC. A flat above the Sunset Strip. A garage in the San Fernando Valley. A stage in Pasadena. These are the places where the filmmaking artists of Los Angeles found ways to express their creativity in the years after World War II.