Today I mapped out about 4 different exhibits I wanted to get to, and they weren’t necessarily that far from each other (Westwood, Hollywood, and Santa Monica); but we got going too late, and had to return to Pasadena too early to be able to fit in more than one of them, especially considering LA traffic (1 hour to get there; 1.5 hours to get back; how do people stand it out there?).

The first (and last) place we made it to was the Armand Hammer Museum, which I am now officially declaring to be my favorite museum in LA. Every show we’ve seen there has been fantastic. OK, well, that may not apply if you’re primarily interested in viewing only Impressionist works or art from previous centuries. But for me and Terry, the shows at the A.H. tickle our art-appreciation bits the most.

Each room in the Oranges and Sardines Exhibit showcased the work by a current artist with accompanying works by artists who influenced them. What a strong show!

The first room contained the work of Mary Heilmann, whose piece, “Blood on the Tracks,” 2005 (above) I found to be quite striking.

I’m afraid my notes are too sketchy to reconstruct the experience, but I do recall (I think) that one of her influences was Francis Bacon, and they had his piece “Figure with Two Owls, Study for Velasquez,” 1963 on display. A gorgeous work. I do love how he applies paint; it’s so scrumptious!

Do click on the link in the title to see more about this show at the Armand Hammer (they do a great job of extending their exhibits online). If you’re in LA, please do yourself a favor and go see this show! The few images here are but a tease.

Here are the pieces I made note of throughout this exhibit:

Amy Sillman
U.S. of Alice, the Goon
2008

(no image)
Willem de Kooning
Untitled XXII
1982

(no image)
Juan Mele
Irregular Frame #2
1946
Oil on Masonite

Eva Hesse
H + H, 1965
(love the colors! green, chartreuse, ochre, ecru, brown, + stripes!)

Alice Neel
Thanksgiving
1965
Oil on Canvas

Philip Guston
Sleeping
1977
Oil on Canvas
(I’m pretty sure I saw this in a Philip Guston show at the Art Institute of Chicago when I was a student there.)

(no image)
Philip Guston
North
1961-1962
Oil on Canvas

Forest Bess
Star of David
1959
Oil on Canvas

(no image)
Dieter Roth
Selbstportrait als Suppe
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint

(no image)
Dieter Roth
Bonbons am Abend
1974
glue and acrylic paint

(no image)
Dieter Roth
Ein Bleicher Kracker
1974
glue and acrylic paint

(no image)
Dieter Roth
Mit Vogelkacke sich ernahrender bleicher Schleimbonbonscmeisser
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint

(no image)
Dieter Roth
2 Kartobbelknaben
1969-74
glue and acrylic paint

(some of the above were in the room of Christopher Wool; no promises that I got the German words correct!)

(no image)
Albert Ohlen
Untitled 1988
Oil on Linen

(no image)
Picasso
Man with Pipe
1969
Oil on Canvas

Charlene von Heyl
Big Nobodaddy
2008
acrylic, oil, pastels on linen

Carla Accardi
Verderosso #6
1914

Wols
Oui, Oui, Oui
1946-47
Oil on Canvas

Wade Guyton’s room:

(no image)
Robert Morris
Horse of the Vetti II
1983
felt, grommets
(do an image search on Robert Morris — great stuff!)

Mark Grotjahn’s room:

Paul Klee
Blossom in the Night
1930

(no image)
Paul Klee,
Two Heads
1932

Clyfford Still
1946

(I think this was the Still painting; he has long been one of my favorite Abstract Expressionists)

(no image)
Joseph Albers
Homage to the Square
1954

Yayoi Kusama
No. T.W. 3
1961
Oil on Canvas
(small swirls of white paint, more or less covering a stained canvas, with holes through which you could see the stain color, similar to the one above — and check out the slideshow on her bio page!)

Sherrie Levine
Untitled, White Knot 9
1986
Casein on Plywood
(similar to the one above)

One of the art exhibits I really wanted to see while in LA, based on my pre-trip research, was the “Cut: Makings of Removal” exhibit at the Vincent Price Museum at East Los Angeles College.

It did not disappoint. In fact, I was quite blown away. All of the work is created with paper cut by the hand of the artist. The variety of work was delightfully surprising.

What had really drawn me to the exhibit was an installation of hanging paper by Chris Natrop. Delicate vines of cut white paper hung from the ceiling in a small space of maybe 8′x8′ and gave one the sensation of entering a magical paper garden.

Artist Adam Fowler assembled what seemed to be dozens of thin layers of geometrically cut out circular shapes in this piece and another, much larger piece.

These “plastic” chairs may look like a crazy stack of actual chairs, but they are in fact photographs of chairs attached to foam core and then arranged, by Dana Maiden.

I stepped around this beautiful work by Deb Whistler.

Desi Minchillo had at least two large works of tiny cut paper bits assembled into thought-provoking pieces. This one is called “Embattled Icons and Faded Ideals.”

Artist Jane South had several large pieces, such as this one, that reminded me of the infrastructure under amusement park rides.

The works of Justin Pearce combined cosmic drawings, like tatoos, on the bodies of cut-out figures.

I have to say the work of Leigh Salgado was probably my favorite. These huge pieces hang away from the wall a bit, and are very intricately cut — yes, Virginia, everything there that looks like a hole in lace is indeed a hole, hand-cut by the artist. The subtle coloration is scrumptious, and the way the light shining through the holes creates shadows on the wall behind makes for an even more complex and compelling image.

“Church Lady’s Rapturous Veiled Hat” by Leigh Salgado

“Mirror, Mirror” by Leigh Salgado

These three pieces by Noriko Ambe will probably end up effecting my work the most. I really love the stratification she creates through the layers of cuts in the paper and the book.

Teresa Redden had three tiny pieces — one cube, one cylinder, and one cone, created from itty bitty teensy tinsy circles of cut paper interwoven together like chainmail. I really do not see how she did it, unless she has hands the size of a fairie’s. Quite remarkable, and the photos I took do not do these pieces justice. At all!

This was another amazing work, by Yuken Teruya, made from a shopping bag. The artist cut and folded inward the tree shapes from the bag.

Here’s a shot of the top of the bag:

There was actually a lot more gorgeous and amazing work at that show. Terry and I were both quite impressed with all the work, and thrilled that we were able to see it.

Elevating a motorcycle rally to art by moving it indoors and placing it on a stage.

Painting by Nancy Plotkin
“Chaya, Dancer”
20″x22″
date unknown *(I believe this image is newer than the class note).

Class notes from SAIC, 1991

Nancy Plotkin at Artemesia – MUST SEE!