2008

From Burlesque to Couture: The Ultimate Show and Tell!
November 17, 2008| 7:30 pm
Hosted by Liz Goldwyn with special guest Dita Von Teese and introducing Ava Garter
Based on her HBO documentary and book, Pretty Things, the fabulous Liz Goldwyn will take us into the world of burlesque, where satire meets glamour, providing us with an in-depth look at the women, designers, and costumes of the last generation of American burlesque queens.
Following the discussion Liz and Dita will introduce one of the rising stars in neo-burlesque, their protégé, Ava Garter, who will cap the night off with an exciting performance full of grace and glamour.
Cocktail reception and book signings to follow on the Los Angeles Times Central Court.
Bing Theater
Costume Council Members Free
Guests of Costume Council Members $25
LACMA Members $35
Non-Members $50
Costume Council Members RSVP to 323-857-6013 or bginter@lacma.org.
To purchase tickets, call the LACMA Box Office at 323-857-6010 or purchase tickets online.
This event is sponsored by LACMA's Costume Council.

Discussion: Why Photography Now?
November 17, 2008| 7:00 pm
In light of the recent presidential election, this final Words Without Pictures panel discussion will bring together Leslie Hewitt, A.L. Steiner and Charlotte Cotton, curator and head of the Wallis Annenberg photography department to discuss the importance and relevance of contemporary photographic art practice during our present moment of geopolitical uncertainty.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required-available at the box office one hour before the program.

Masters of Architecture Lecture Series
November 10, 2008| 7:30 pm
David Adjaye, OBE, MA, RIBA, Hon FAIA
Principal, Adjaye Associates
Born in 1966 in Dar-Es-Salam, David Adjaye moved to London in 1979 and is now recognized as one of the leading architects of his generation. In June 2000 Adjaye reformed his studio as Adjaye/Associates and has gone on to win a number of prestigious commissions, including the recently completed Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo and The Idea Store in Whitechapel, London for which Adjaye was nominated for the 2006 Stirling Prize Award. The studio's first solo exhibition: David Adjaye: Making Public Buildings was shown at the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London in 2006, with Thames and Hudson publishing the catalogue of the same name. This followed their 2005 publication of Adjaye's first book entitled David Adjaye Houses. In 2007 Adjaye was awarded an OBE in the Queen's birthday honors list for Services to Architecture.
Bing Theater | Tickets: $12; $10 AIA & LACMA members; $5 seniors 62+ and students with ID | Tickets: 323-857-6010 | For more information: 213-639-0777 or visit the AIA website.
Presented by the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The Director's Series: Conversations with Michael Govan
Michael Govan in Conversation with Chris Burden
November 6, 2008| 7:00 pm
Chris Burden's Urban Light (2000-2007) has become an LA landmark since its installation at LACMA last February. In November, the artist will join Michael Govan for a discussion of the genesis of the project and how it has transformed the museum's new BP Grand Entrance.
Bing Theater | Free; tickets required | Tickets: 323-857-6010

Video Screening and Q&A with Collector Joe D. Price
November 2, 2008| 2:00 pm
The Etsuko and Joe Price collection is regarded as one of the world's finest collections of paintings from Japan's Edo period (1615-1868). Discover how Joe Price, an engineer from Oklahoma, became interested in Japanese art and together with his wife Etsuko amassed a painting collection of over 200 magnificent works. A video screening will be followed by a question and answer session with the collector. This program is held in conjunction with the current exhibition, The Age of Imagination: Japanese Art, 1615-1868, from the Price Collection-Encore (on view until January 4, 2009).
Brown Audition | Free, no reservations

Discussion: A Picture You Already Know
October 30, 2008| 7:00 pm
This debate explores the often unspoken issue of repetition (of visual forms and subject matter) in contemporary photography. Charlotte Cotton, curator and head of the Department of Photography, will discuss with Amy Adler,  Alex Slade and Penelope Umbrico the conscious and unconscious ways in which individual photographers deal with repetition.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required-available at the box office one hour before the program.

The Director's Series: Conversations with Michael Govan
Michael Govan in conversations with artist Jorge Pardo
October 27, 2008| 7:00 pm
Join LACMA Chief Executive Officer and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan for a conversation with contemporary artist Jorge Pardo about his installation of LACMA's pre-Columbian collection and future plans with LACMA. Past conversations—featuring Jeff Koons, Diana Thater, Robert Irwin, and James Turrell—have sold out, so be sure to reserve your tickets early.
Bing Theater | Free tickets available October 1 at the LACMA box office | 323-857-6010

Image: Reinstallation of LACMA Art of the Ancient Americas galleries
July, 2008 Installation designed by Jorge Pardo
Photo © 2008 Museum Associates/LACMA

Film Screening: Liz Goldwyn's Pretty Things
October 26, 2008| 1:00 pm
In conjunction with Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913–2008, filmmaker Liz Goldwyn will introduce her documentary Pretty Things, which examines the demise of burlesque in America. The film features vintage footage and interviews with the stars from the heyday of burlesque. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and a book signing.
Bing Theater | Free; tickets required

Lecture: Borobudur, A Monument of the Flower Ornament Scripture
October 25, 2008| 2:00 pm
The Third Annual Distinguished Lecture on South and Southeast Asian Art presents Jan Fontein, prominent Asian art historian and retired director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In this lecture, he examines the Javanese site Borobudur, the largest Buddhist monument in the world.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations
This lecture was made possible by the Southern Asian Art Council, the South and Southeast Asian Art Department, and the Education Department at LACMA.

Prints and Drawings Council Lecture
Holy Sh*t: Scatology and Longing in the Art of James Ensor
Kevin Salatino
October 23, 2008| 7:00 pm
James Ensor (1860–1949) is one of the titans of modern art, famous for his bizarre and shocking etchings and paintings, the most famous of which—Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889—belongs to the J. Paul Getty Museum. In the 1880s and '90s Ensor began to use scatology more and more frequently as a way of expressing his take-no-prisoners politics and his radical worldview. Even today, these works retain their power to offend. Kevin Salatino, curator of the prints and drawings department, will examine Ensor's most outrageous scatological images, particularly the famous Doctrinal Nourishment (a rare hand-colored etching recently acquired by LACMA), in their historical and cultural context, while explaining just how revolutionary Ensor's art was—and still is!
Bing Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Symposium: Talking Cloth—New Studies on Indonesian Textiles
October 18, 2008| 10:00 am
The fourth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium on Textiles and Dress focuses on recent research and discoveries in the field of Indonesian textile studies, and is presented in conjunction with the exhibition, Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles: Selections from the Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection. This daylong symposium features prominent scholars from around the world and a special dance performance by the Balinese Gamelan Burat Wangi from the California Institute of the Arts.
Bing Theater | 10-4:30 pm| Free, tickets required-call 323 857-6010 | Get the full symposium schedule
This symposium was made possible by the R.L. Shep Symposium Endowment for Costume and Textiles, LACMA.  Additional support is provided by the Georges and Germaine Fusenot Charity Foundation, Doris Stein Research Center for Costume and Textiles at LACMA, and Textile Museum Associates of Southern California, Inc. The Balinese dance performance is sponsored by the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Los Angeles.

Talking Hard Targets
Discussion: Masculinity in Sport and Contemporary Art
October 16, 2008| 7:00 pm
Artists and Art Historians - Jeff Sheng, Kori Newkirk, Jennifer Doyle and Christopher Bedford - address how contemporary art engages with and disrupts conventional codes of masculinity, in particular in relation to athletic imagery. The roundtable, cosponsored by The Contemporary Project at USC, will be moderated by Richard Meyer, art history professor and head of the project.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Opening Night: Glamour Girls
The Costume Council Celebrates its 55th Season
October 14, 2008| 7:00 pm
Please join us as the Costume Council kicks off our 55th season! Famed photographer Patrick McMullan will share his experiences as a photographer of the most famous figures of the past three decades. Sharing the stage with Patrick will be several of L.A.'s most fashion-conscious women… trendsetters with different interests, but every one a woman with a keen sense of fashion and her own style.

Patrick McMullan is the premier nightlife photographer in New York City. His work appears regularly in New York magazine, he is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and his photography has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, Vogue, and Harper's Bazaar. He can also be seen on Full Frontal Fashion on the VOOM HD Network. His books include Kiss Kiss, InTents, and so8os: A Photographic Diary of a Decade.

Following the talk, McMullan will sign copies of his newest book, Glamour Girls, which boasts one of the largest collections of photographs ever published of the world's most celebrated women—from sophisticated society galas to flirty Hollywood parties and the famed New York nightlife.

"If you don't know Patrick McMullan, you ought to get out more!"—Andy Warhol.

Tickets: Free for Costume Council Members, $25 for Guests of Costume Council Members, $50 for non-Council Members. Costume Council members: RSVP to 323-857-6013 or bginter@lacma.org. General Public: purchase online or call 323-857-6010 for tickets. Parking is available in the 6th Street parking garage, located just east of Fairfax Avenue. Additional parking is available at the corner of Wilshire and Spaulding.

Target Free Holiday Mondays: Artist Talks
October 13, 2008| 1:30 pm
Join artists from the exhibition Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection as they speak informally about their work. At 1:30 Gilbert Lujan speaks informally about his low rider car installed in the BP Grand Entrance. At 2:30pm, Margaret Garcia and at 3:30 Patssi Valdez will speak about their work in the galleries of the exhibition.
BP Grand Entrance and LACMA West | Free, no reservations | 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 pm | In conjunction with the Target Free Holiday Monday on October 13.

Conversations with Artists: Collier Schorr
October 10, 2008| 7:00 pm
New York-based artist Collier Schorr will speak with LACMA's assistant curator of contemporary art Christopher Bedford about "performances within performances: dualities in movement and gesture," a subject that alludes to the range of masculine emotions and expressions. Schorr's work is featured in the exhibition Contemporary Projects 11: Hard Targets-Masculinity and Sport on view until January 18, 2009
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required-available at the box office one hour before the program.
This program is supported in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund.

Decorative Arts & Design Council Lecture: Kathryn Hiesinger
October 6, 2008| 7:00 pm
&The series continues with Kathryn Hiesinger, curator of European decorative arts after 1700 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She will discuss Collecting Modern: Decorative Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1876 to the Present. 
Brown Auditorium | Tickets: Free for Decorative Arts and Design Council members and students; $15 LACMA members; $20 non-members | Tickets: 323 857-6528

Conversations with Artists: Walid Ra'ad and Allan Sekula
October 2, 2008| 7:00 pm
Artists Walid Ra'ad and Allan Sekula will discuss their current work, which engages with different approaches to photographic archives and documentary practice.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required-available at the box office one hour before the program.
This program is supported in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund.

East Asian Art Council Lecture
Between Fire and Clay: Exceptional Japanese Potters from the 20th century to the Present

September 29, 2008| 6:30 pm
Robert Yellin, noted authority on ceramics of Japan, will present an illustrated lecture on outstanding 20th century and contemporary Japanese potters. He will discuss various ceramic forms and styles including Bizen, Mashiko, Shino and Hagi. Following the lecture, Mr. Yellin will answer questions.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations | For more information 323 857-6565

Curatorial Talk: Christopher Phillips
September 25, 2008| 7:00 pm
Christopher Phillips, curator at the International Center of Photography in New York, will examine recent directions in Japanese photography and video in advance of the exhibition Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan, coming in 2009.
Brown Auditorium | Free | Tickets are required and available one hour before the program begins

Lecture: Eccentrics at the Gates of the Academy
18th-Century Japanese Painting
September 14, 2008| 2:00 pm
University of London professor Timon Screech discusses Japan's mid-Edo period, which produced what many consider a golden age of creativity. The academy's rigid control of artistic styles led to alternative types of work, giving rise to new, hybrid types of painting. The lecture complements the special exhibition The Age of Imagination—Japanese Art, 1615-1868, from the Price Collection.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Decorative Arts & Design Council Lecture Series: Brian Dolan
September 8, 2008| 7:00 pm
The yearly series kicks off with Brian Dolan, professor at UC San Francisco. Author of Wedgwood: The First Tycoon, he will outline how Josiah Wedgwood built his pottery business into a formidable empire.
Brown Auditorium | Tickets: Free for Decorative Arts and Design Council members and students; $15 LACMA members; $20 nonmembers | For tickets: 323-857-6528

Painting from Within: Yi Insang (1710–1760) and the Visual Poetics of Subjectivity in late Joseon Korea
August 26, 2008| 6:30 pm
The rise of seo'eol intellectuals in the world of art and literature marks one of the most important historical changes in the eighteenth century. The seo'eol were a class of secondary sons of the commoner concubines of officials and degree-holders, belonging to the ruling yangban class yet deprived of the social privilege. In this talk, Chin-Sung Chang, associate professor at Seoul National University, will explore the ways in which the self-fashioning of the eminent seo'eol intellectual Yi Insang is embodied in the thematic density of his autobiographical works. His works reveal a complex mindscape of psychological dislocation and internal exile that is inseparable from his identity as seo'eol. Professor Chang will discuss how the questions of psychological self-hood and subjectivity played a significant role in the making of Yi Insang's art as well as how the artist used allegorically autobiographical paintings as a means of constructing his self and his identity.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

This lecture was made possible by the East Asian Art Council and the Chinese and Korean Art Department at LACMA.

Lecture: The Age of Imagination: Japanese Art, 1615-1868, from the Price Collection
July 20, 2008| 2:00 pm
To complement the special exhibition The Age of Imagination: Japanese Art, 1615-1868, from the Price Collection, guest curator Money Hickman discusses the work of the eccentric painter Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800). During his long and productive career, Jakuchu produced an impressive corpus of paintings greatly admired for their distinctive beauty and conceptual originality. Jakuchu's evocative and innovative depictions of myriad fauna and flora reveal his deeply religious convictions and fundamental Buddhist belief in the universal unity of all living things. Hickman, formerly curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is the author of Japan's Golden Age: Momoyama and several other publications.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Lecture: Hearst and the Antique—A Larger Context for the Hope Hygieia
July 19, 2008| 3:00 pm
The re-restoration of the Hope Hygieia at the Getty Villa offers an opportunity to explore the modern history of this ancient statue, from the time it was excavated in 1797 to the present. Mary Levkoff, curator of European painting and sculpture at LACMA, addresses issues of taste and collecting, with a focus on the American newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who owned the statue in the mid-1900s and is the subject of an upcoming exhibition at LACMA.
Getty Villa Auditorium | Free, reservations required
Please visit www.getty.edu to make a reservation.

Gallery Discussion: The Art of Looking
July 10, 2008| 12:30 pm
Join LACMA educators for a one-hour gallery discussion focusing on the permanent collection. On July 10, Mary Lenihan facilitates a discussion of Roman, medieval, and early Renaissance art.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Conversations with Artists: Chaz Bojorquez and Vincent Valdez
June 29, 2008| 2:00 pm
This informal conversation between artists from the exhibition Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection—graffiti artist Chaz Bojorquez and figurative painter Vincent Valdez—offers insights into contrasting views of Los Angeles.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required | Tickets are available at the box office one hour before the program begins

Discussion: Cheech Marin and Chon Noriega
June 22, 2008| 2:00 pm
Chon Noriega, UCLA professor and LACMA adjunct curator, and art collector/actor/activist Cheech Marin discuss the current state of Chicano art. Additionally, they address the place of Chicano art in history, Marin's own collection, and developing the Latino audience. This conversation is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Los Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections from the Cheech Marin Collection, which opens June 15.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Conversations with Artists: Hosoe Eikoh
June 21, 2008| 2:00 pm
Hosoe Eikoh has devoted much of his career to creating images of butoh dancers, setting a benchmark for the visual arts through his fusion of photography with this avant-garde dance tradition. He and curator of Japanese art Hollis Goodall will discuss his work in the exhibition Hosoe Eikoh and Butoh: Photographing Strange Notions, on view in the Pavilion for Japanese Art June 22 through September 14. 
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required | Tickets are available at the box office one hour before the program begins

Conversations with Artists: Philip-Lorca diCorcia
June 10, 2008| 7:00 pm
In conversation with curator of photography Charlotte Cotton, the influential photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia expands on the nature and meaning of his art. LACMA's exhibition of diCorcia's photography, which opens May 25, demonstrates his long-term agendas and presents one thousand of his Polaroid pictures together for the first time.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Photography Discussion: The Value of Photographs
June 5, 2008| 7:00 pm
In this panel discussion, curator of photography Charlotte Cotton and artists Anthony Pearson, Paul Graham, and Soo Kim consider how the way we look at photographs is changing in light of the approaching obsolescence of analog photographic prints. Focusing on the work of each of the individual artists, the panel explores how this shift affects our understanding of the history of photography and the values that we assign to contemporary photographic prints.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required | Tickets are available at the box office one hour before the program begins

Decorative Arts and Design Council Lecture Series
June 3, 2008| 7:00 pm
The lecture series continues with Paola Antonelli, curator of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She discusses her latest exhibition, Design and the Elastic Mind.
Brown Auditorium | Tickets: Free for Decorative Arts and Design Council members and students with valid ID; $15 LACMA members; $20 nonmembers. For information and tickets: 323-857-6528.

Conversations with Artists: Danny Jauregui and Rubén Ortiz-Torres
June 1, 2008| 2:00 pm
This intergenerational conversation between artists from the exhibition Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement offers insights on the changes in attitudes toward Chicano politics and art.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required | Please pick up tickets at the LACMA box office beginning one hour before the program

Lecture—Entropy as Monument
May 18, 2008| 2:00 pm
James Meyer, Winship Distinguished Associate Professor of Art History, Emory University, discusses how artists Renee Green, Sam Durant, and Mike Nelson have re-imagined the practice of Robert Smithson, best known for his monumental earthwork, as well as the topic of the "sixties return" in contemporary art and culture.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations
 
Image: Mike Nelson, Triple Bluff Canyon, 2004, Installation view at Modern Art Oxford, Courtesy of the artist, Matt's Gallery, London and Galleria Franco Noero, Turin

Lecture—Who Owns Antiquity?
May 17, 2008| 2:00 pm
James Cuno, president and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, considers ways to both preserve archaeological sites and share antiquities as a way of encouraging a greater appreciation of our common heritage. This lecture was made possible by the Southern Asian Art Council at LACMA and UCLA. Following the lecture, Cuno will sign copies of his newly published book, Who Owns Antiquity?
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Image:Head of a Buddha, India, Uttar Pradesh, Sarnath, c. 475, sandstone, 10 x 7 x 4 ½ in., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates purchase, M.79.9.2. Photo © 2008 Museum Associates/LACMA.

Lecture—Making Paintings for the Floating World: The Ukiyo-e Painter and His Practice
May 15, 2008| 7:00 pm
Julie Nelson Davis, assistant professor of the history of art at the University of Pennsylvania, reappraises how the ukiyo-e painter's practice changed over the course of the Edo period. Following the lecture Dr. Davis will sign copies of her new book, Utamaro and the Spectacle of Beauty (2008). This lecture was made possible by the East Asian Art Council at LACMA.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Gallery Discussion: The Art of Looking
May 8, 2008| 12:30 pm
Join LACMA educators for a one-hour facilitated gallery discussion focusing on the permanent collection. Mary Lenihan facilitates a discussion of colonial American painting and furniture.
Meet near the escalators at the BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Conversations with Artists: Sandra de la Loza & Harry Gamboa
May 4, 2008| 2:00 pm
This intergenerational conversation between artists from the exhibition Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement offers insights on the changes in attitudes toward Chicano politics and art.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required | Please pick up tickets at the LACMA box office beginning one hour before the program.

Art Book Swap
May 3, 2008| 12:00 pm
In conjunction with Regency Arts Press Ltd. and the New Art Dealers Alliance, LACMA presents Art Book Swap, an opportunity for sharing and exchange. Donations of art books are made by galleries, museums, publishers, distributors, retail stores, libraries, and individuals prior to the event, and on May 3, you can bring your own art books to swap.
North Piazza | Free, no reservations | 12:00 noon–5 pm

Gallery Course—A Connoisseur’s Delights: Indian Painting from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection
April 26, 2008| 9:00 am
Join curator Tushara Bindu Gude for an in-depth look at the current exhibition A Connoisseur’s Delights: Indian Painting from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Explore the development of Indian painting in an introductory lecture followed by a private gallery tour of the exhibition.
Brown Auditorium | Members $25; non-members $30 | For reservations: 323 857-6010

Conversations with Artists: Uta Barth and Lynn Zelevansky
April 24, 2008| 7:00 pm
In this informal conversation with LACMA's curator Lynn Zelevansky, Los Angeles-based artist Uta Barth discusses her ongoing exploration of the processes of perception, in particular the visceral and intellectual experiences of seeing. This conversation will also highlight her photographic view of the construction of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) on the LACMA campus.
Brown Auditorium | Free, tickets required | Tickets are available at the LACMA box office one hour before the program begins.

CalArts at LACMA: Reading Series in Contemporary Literature
April 21, 2008| 8:00 pm
Curated by Brighde Mullins, Director, MFA Writing Program, CalArts
Chicana writers Cherrie Moraga and Helena Maria Viramontes read from their work in the Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement exhibition galleries, creating the possibility for spontaneous intersections of literary and visual experiences.
Art of the Americas Building, Plaza Level | Free, tickets required | Tickets are available at the LACMA box office one hour before the program begins. Seating in the exhibition space is limited.

Photography Discussion: Remembering and Forgetting Conceptual Art
April 15, 2008| 7:00 pm
In this panel discussion artists John Divola, Shannon Ebner, Sarah Charlesworth, and others recap on the liberties taken with and given to photography by conceptual artists in the 1960s and early 1970s. Relating this to current trends in contemporary art photography, the conversation will question what is new and what has simply been forgotten.
Brown Auditorium | Free, tickets required | Tickets are available at the LACMA box office one hour before the program begins.

Lecture—International Modernism Reconsidered: Exhibiting its Germanic Roots
April 13, 2008| 2:00 pm
Rose-Carol Washton Long, professor of art history, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, offers a reconsideration of international modernism in light of LACMA's new installation of its collection of European art of the late 19th and early 20th century. Previous installations, not only at LACMA but also at major museums across the country, have organized art objects on a Franco-centric interpretation of modernism. LACMA's exploration of the Germanic roots of modernism adds greater complexity to the master narrative of modernism's development.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Colloquium: Collecting 19th-Century American Landscape Drawings: Three Perspectives
April 12, 2008| 2:00 pm
In celebration of the recent acquisition of a major Pre-Raphaelite drawing by noted mid-nineteenth-century American artist William Trost Richards, LACMA is hosting a colloquium on nineteenth-century landscape drawings. Three speakers, a scholar, a commercial dealer, and a paper conservator will provide alternate perspectives on the topic.

Featured speakers are Linda S. Ferber, longtime curator of American art and presently Vice President and Museum Director of the New York Historical Society; John Driscoll, John F. Kensett Authority and Director of New York based Babcock Galleries; and Janice Schopfer, Senior Conservator and Head of Paper Conservation at LACMA.

Brown Auditorium | Free for LACMA members; included in the price of museum admission for nonmembers | Seating is limited | reservations required | Call 323 857-6028 by April 7.

This colloquium is being held in honor of Larry Curry, the first curator of American Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Sponsored by the American Art Council.

The Art of Looking: Contemporary Art Gallery Discussion
April 10, 2008| 12:30 pm
Join LACMA educators for a one-hour gallery discussion focusing on the permanent collection. On April 10, Cristina Cuevas-Wolf offers a look at the objects on view in the Broad Contemporary Art Museum.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

The Anousheh and Ali Razi Lecture on Persian Art and Culture
Ancient Persian Themes in Early Islamic Textiles: Imitation, Parody, Misunderstanding
April 9, 2008| 7:30 pm
Lecture given by Professor Robert Hillenbrand from the University of Edinburgh
Bing Theater | Free, No Reservations

Symposium—Phantom Sites: Rethinking Identity and Place in Contemporary Art
April 5, 2008| 10:00 am
This symposium, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, considers how the politics of identity may or may not be seen as a phantom presence in contemporary art. The event includes two roundtable discussions with leading art historians, artists, and curators in the field, as well as a film screening of a collection of historical performances.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations | 10:00 am–5:30 pm

Conversations with Artists: Richard Serra and Lynne Cooke
April 1, 2008| 7:30 pm
Artist Richard Serra and Lynne Cooke, curator at the Dia Art Foundation, will explore questions relating to the practice of sculpture today, taking as their point of departure Serra's monumental Band, 2006, which was recently acquired for LACMA's collection.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations | Limited Seating

Photography Discussion: Too Early, Too Late
March 25, 2008| 7:00 pm
In this panel discussion, Charlotte Cotton, curator and head of LACMA's Photography Department, and artists Miranda Lichtenstein, Carter Mull, and Amir Zaki scrutinize the slow, constructed, and directorial approach to photography. While providing a reassuring sense that every element of a photograph can be attributed to the intent of its maker, this approach may risk overshadowing a photographer's intuitive, unconscious artistic response to the happenstance of experience. This debate considers how these two modes can be accorded parallel importance within artistic practice.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets required. Tickets are available at the LACMA box office one hour before the program begins.

Discussion: How to "Score" Big in the Movies
March 20, 2008| 7:30 pm
Moderated by Jon Burlingame, Professor of Film-Music History at USC
Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino - who wrote the score for The Incredibles and Ratatouille - has been mesmerized by movie music since he first saw (and heard) Star Wars as a child. His fascination led him to study film production at the School of Visual Arts in New York and composition at Julliard. Giacchino visits Zócalo to explain how his childhood obsession became reality, what it's really like to be a musician in Hollywood, and how composers help create such memorable scenes. 
Bing Theater | For reservations please go to www.zocalola.org

This program is organized by Zócalo in collaboration with LACMA. The Zócalo "Public Square" Lecture Series presents a vibrant series of programs that feature thinkers and doers speaking on some of the most pressing topics of the day.

The Art of Looking: Modern Art Gallery Discussion
March 13, 2008| 12:30 pm
Join LACMA educators for a one-hour gallery discussion focusing on the permanent collection. On March 13, educator Elizabeth Gerber facilitates a discussion in the newly redesigned Modern Art galleries.
BP Grand Entrance | Free, no reservations

Conversations with Artists:Chris Killip and Martin Parr
March 9, 2008| 7:00 pm
LACMA’s curator of photography Charlotte Cotton moderates an informal discussion with the British photographers Chris Killip and Martin Parr about their work from the early 1980s. This conversation explores the visionary work of these highly influential documentary photographers whose images document the social terrain of their communities in the United Kingdom during times of economic and political turbulence.
Brown Auditorium | Free; tickets are required. Tickets are available at the LACMA box office one hour before the program begins.

Documentary Film: Four Stones for Kanemitsu
March 4, 2008| 7:00 pm
The Academy Award nominated documentary film Four Stones for Kanemitsu shows the collaboration between artist Matsumi Kanemitsu and Master Printer Serge Lozingot as they create a four-color lithograph. For the first time, the actual sense of making a color lithograph in a professional workshop is captured vividly and effectively in this superb film. This film screening is presented in conjunction with the installation Kanemitsu in California during the 1960s and 1970s on the second floor of the Art of the Americas Building.
June Wayne, founder of the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, will introduce the film.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Discussion and Book Signing: John Richardson on A Life of Picasso
March 3, 2008| 7:00 pm
British-born art historian John Richardson has devoted his career to researching and writing about artists whose work changed the way we look at the world. For more than two decades, he has been at work on a multi-volume biography of Pablo Picasso. To mark the release of volume three of that series, and to celebrate the recent gift to LACMA of more than two dozen works by the great Spaniard, Richardson joins LACMA curators Stephanie Barron and Kevin Salatino to discuss Picasso’s life. Richardson will sign copies of A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917–1932 following the presentation. 
Leo S. Bing Theater | Free, no reservations | Please arrive early

Lecture: The Ardabil Shrine
March 2, 2008| 2:00 pm
Art of the Middle East Department: Lecture on the Ardabil Shrine co-sponsored by His Highness Prince Aga Khan Shia Imami Ismaili Council for the Western United States.
"Sufis, Shi'ites and Shahs: The Great Shrines of Iran 1500-1650" by Dr. Shelia Canby
This lecture will focus on the Ardabil Shrine, the dynastic heart of the Safavid Dynasty, and two other major shrines, the Shrine of Imam Riza in Mashhad and the Shrine of Fatimeh Ma`sumeh in Qum. The gifts and renovations of the Safavid shahs to the shrines bear witness to the important role of these shrines in establishing Shiism as the state religion of Iran and the Safavid shahs as its protectors
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Beyond the Great Wall: A Glimpse from Hua Yan's Painting
February 23, 2008| 2:00 pm
Ginger Hsü, associate professor of art history at the University of California, Riverside, will discuss the work of the Chinese painter Hua Yan (1682-1756) an artist filtered in and out of the list of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" since the late nineteenth century. His painting of the frontier theme addresses issues such as trade routes and travelogue, documentation of the "other,"Yangzhou and the world beyond the Great Wall in the mid-Qing period (1644-1912). This lecture is sponsored by the East Asian Art Council.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Decorative Arts and Design Council Lecture, Elsie de Wolfe Series: La Dolce Vita—Italian Decorative Arts from the 1920s to the 1950s
January 31, 2008| 7:00 pm
This series continues with a talk by Marianne Lamonaca, associate director for Curatorial Affairs and Education, the Wolfsonian–Florida International University. In the twentieth century, Italian artists and designers struggled to reconcile native traditions with modernity. Indeed, much of Italy's "modern" identity is based on its reinterpretation of the past. This lecture will illustrate the socioeconomic, political and cultural rationale for modern design reform in Italy, beginning with the establishment of the Monza Biennale in 1923 and culminating with the genesis of Italy's postwar economic and design boom.
Brown Auditorium | Tickets:  Free for Decorative Arts and Design Council members and students with valid ID; $15 LACMA members; $20 nonmembers; for information and tickets call 323 857-6528

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Elsie de Wolfe Foundation.

Stan VanDerBeek Screening
January 27, 2008| 2:00 pm
This is a rare screening of selected works by experimental filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek. A student at Black Mountain College, VanDerBeek collaborated with many artistic luminaries of the 1950s and 1960s. He is perhaps best known for his humorous and surreal collage films as well as his pioneering early computer animations made with Bell Labs. This program will feature a selection from his oeuvre and a short documentary about the artist. This screening will be introduced by Gloria Sutton, currently a Pre-doctoral Fellow at the Getty Research Institute.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations |For information, call 323 857-6071
Film Information
WARNING 

Gallery Course—Modern Art at LACMA
January 26, 2008| 9:30 am
Join educator Cristina Cuevas-Wolf for this inside look at the newly reinstalled galleries of modern art. The galleries, as well as new works acquired recently, offer the opportunity for a fresh look at art ranging from Matisse and Picasso to Rothko and Pollock. An introduction will be followed by a private gallery tour.
Ahmanson Plaza Level | Members $25; non-members $30 | For reservations call 323 857-6010

Dramatic Reading— Caspian Rain
January 24, 2008| 7:00 pm
Gina Nahai's new novel, Caspian Rain, has received critical praise and accolades. Set in the days before the Islamic revolution, the book explores the struggles of a young woman and her Iranian Jewish family. This event presents a dramatic reading from the book by actress Bahar Soomekh, followed by a question-and-answer session with the author and Dr. Nasrim Rahimieh of UCI. Autographed copies of Caspian Rain will be on sale.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Presented by the Art of the Middle East Department and the Levantine Cultural Center in collaboration with Poets and Writers.

Conversations with Artists: Sara VanDerBeek
January 22, 2008| 7:00 pm
Sara VanDerBeek's photographs of her assemblages of found objects and photographic imagery often utilize the archive of her father, experimental filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek. At this event, Sara VanDerBeek will join LACMA curator Charlotte Cotton in a conversation exploring her relationship with her father's work. The program celebrates LACMA's recent acquisition of two of Sara VanDerBeek's photographs, which will be on view in the Photography Foyer.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations | For information, please call 323 857-6071.

Stan VanDerBeek Screening
January 22, 2008| 5:00 pm
This is a rare screening of selected works by experimental filmmaker Stan VanDerBeek. A student at Black Mountain College, VanDerBeek collaborated with many artistic luminaries of the 1950s and 1960s. He is perhaps best known for his humorous and surreal collage films as well as his pioneering early computer animations made with Bell Labs. This program will feature a selection from his oeuvre and a short documentary about the artist. This screening will be introduced by Sara VanDerBeek, Stan VanDerBeek's daughter. 
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations | For information, call 323 857-6071
Film Information
WARNING 

Nothing to Lose: The Los Angeles Art Scene of the 1960s—Hunter Drohojowska-Philp
January 20, 2008| 2:00 pm
With few galleries and fewer collectors in Los Angeles in the 1960s, it is clear that the artists who chose to pursue their art here were intentionally charting a course independent of that pursued by peers on the East Coast. Drohojowska-Philp's talk will address the personalities and politics of the era, incorporating anecdotes recounted by the artists and those around them. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is a journalist and art critic specializing in the topics of art, design, and architecture. Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe, her first book and considered the most definitive biography of the artist to date, was published in 2004.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Gallery Talks—Murakami and his Art History: A Special Collaboration with MOCA SOLD OUT
January 15, 2008| 7:00 pm
This special two-part collaborative walk-through is co-hosted by LACMA and MOCA in conjunction with MOCA's special exhibition © Murakami. On Tuesday, January 15, LACMA curator of Japanese art Hollis Goodall and MOCA project coordinator Mika Yoshitake will lead a tour of LACMA's Pavilion for Japanese Art highlighting art historical elements and icons that have influenced the work of artist Takashi Murakami. On Thursday, January 17, LACMA curator Hollis Goodall and MOCA project coordinator Mika Yoshitake will lead a walk-through of © Murakami discussing how the art historical elements from the previous lecture appear in Murakami's work.
 
January 15 | LACMA | Pavilion for Japanese Art | 7:00 pm 
January 17 | MOCA | Geffen Contemporary | 7:00 pm
Both Talks | Free, reservations required | Call 213 621-1745 or email education@moca.org to RSVP

2007

The Lost Mummy of Hatshepsut: Adventure in the Valley of the Kings
December 28, 2007| 7:00 pm
Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, will present his re-identification of an ancient Egyptian mummy of Pharaoh Hatshepsut, the most influential reigning queen of Egypt (reign 1473–1458 BC). Scholarly research and the application of new technology provide new information on the health and physical attributes of this important figure from Egypt's most spectacular dynasty.
Bing Theater | Tickets: $8 members; $10 general admission; $5 seniors 62+ and students with ID.
For tickets and questions, call 323 857-6010.

Decorative Arts and Design Council Lecture Series
December 10, 2007| 7:30 pm
The lecture series continues with Ann Wagner's presentation, Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, 1808-1842. Wagner is assistant curator of decorative arts at the Winterthur Museum.
Brown Auditorium | Tickets: Free for Decorative Arts and Design Council members and students with valid ID; $15 LACMA members; $20 nonmembers. | For information and tickets: 323 857-6528.

Student Film Screening
December 9, 2007| 1:00 pm
Short surrealist-inspired films created by undergraduate students in the Cal Arts cinema program will be screened in this program.
Bing Theater | Free; no reservations

East Asian Art Council Lecture—Woodblock Prints in China: Traditions and Modernizations
December 8, 2007| 2:00 pm
Join us for this fascinating examination of the modern woodblock-print medium in China with Professor Xiaobing Tang, author of Origins of the Avant-Garde: the Modern Woodcut Movement. In this presentation, Professor Tang will offer a brief history of the development of woodblock prints as an art form in China, focusing on the multiple uses and genres this medium acquired over many centuries. He will then follow the key dimensions of the new woodcut movement and its aftermath in the twentieth century. By putting artistic images back into their historical and cultural contexts, Professor Tang will demonstrate how woodblock prints form a vital part of modern and contemporary Chinese visual culture.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Gallery Course: SoCal: Southern California Art of the 1960s and 70s from LACMA's Collection
December 8, 2007| 9:00 am
Join educator Cristina Cuevas-Wolf for this inside look at the exhibition, which explores how the myth of California helped shape the vision of artists ranging from the light and space and finish fetish movements to pop art and assemblage. A brief introduction will be followed by a private gallery tour.
Brown Auditorium | Members $25; non-members $30 | For reservations: 323 857-6010

The Twentieth Annual Michele Berton Memorial Lecture on Japanese Art: The Impact of Japanese Art and Aesthetics
December 2, 2007| 3:00 pm
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Michele Berton Memorial Lecture on Japanese art, the museum will host a symposium that explores the impact of Japanese art and aesthetics. Speakers include Edward R. Bosley (University of Southern California School the Architecture), Kendall Brown (California State University Long Beach), Claudia Einecke (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), and Kevin Nute (University of Oregon). 
Brown Auditorium  | Free, reservations required, call 323-857-6565 to RSVP by Tuesday, November 27. Seating is limited.

Special Exhibition Lecture—California Dreaming: Dali and the Golden State
December 1, 2007| 2:00 pm
Sara Cochran, assistant curator of modern art, discusses Dali’s connection to California: the great pull of Hollywood and his discovery of Pebble Beach as a haven to paint during his exile in America at the time of the Second World War.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

On the homepage: Salvador Dalí (Spain, 1904–1989) Portrait of Colonel Jack Warner, 1951 (detail), oil on canvas; 106.2 x 126.2 cm, courtesy of the Syracuse University Art Galleries, © Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala–Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society, 2007.

Film Screening
The Cool School: How Los Angeles Learned to Love Modern Art
November 29, 2007| 7:00 pm
Director Morgan Neville’s documentary features interviews with Dennis Hopper, Frank Gehry, and other artists about the impact of the Ferus Gallery (1958–68). The film considers, among others, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Ed Kienholz, Ed Moses, and Robert Irwin. (2007/b&w and color/86 min. Narrated by Jeff Bridges. Distributed by Arthouse Films.)
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Photo: Ferus Gallery, 1961, by Patricia Faure.

Panel Discussion: Is Photography Really Art?
November 27, 2007| 7:00 pm
In this panel discussion, Charlotte Cotton, curator and head of LACMA’s Photography Department, and artists Arthur Ou, Michael Queenland, and Mark Wyse weigh in on a question that continues to confound the field of photography—“is photography really art?” The increased interaction between photographic practices and other media, as well as the pervasive presence of photography in today’s art market, brings renewed attention to this debate. The conversation will investigate why photography’s status as art remains up for review and will propose new possibilities for photography in contemporary art.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Conversations with Artists: Mike Kelley and Jim Shaw
November 18, 2007| 2:00 pm
In this informal conversation, artists Mike Kelley and Jim Shaw discuss Salvador Dalí’s influence on cult films and visual culture. Both Kelley’s and Shaw’s work manifests a long-standing engagement with popular culture and a sustained questioning of cultural values and attitudes. Their reflections on Dalí’s surrealism and its impact on Hollywood films and American mass culture complements LACMA’s exhibition Dalí: Painting & Film.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Lecture and Book Signing - Diane Keaton, D. J. Waldie, and California Romantica
November 12, 2007| 7:00 pm
Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton has long been intrigued by Southern California's Spanish architecture; over the years she has bought and restored many homes in the area. In this program, she speaks about her love for California's indigenous Hispanic architecture, which is featured in a newly published book, California Romantica: Spanish Colonial and Mission-Style Homes. She is joined by her co-author, award-winning writer and author D. J. Waldie, who has been commenting about California architecture for over thirty years. A book signing will follow the presentation.
Bing Theater | Tickets:  $25, Decorative Arts and Design Council Members; $30, museum members; $40 general admission.
For tickets and questions, call 323 857 6010.

Fuseli's Phallus: Drawing Sex in 18th-Century Rome 
Kevin Salatino, Curator of Prints and Drawings
November 8, 2007| 7:00 pm
This lecture closely examines a remarkable group of erotic drawings made by the great Swiss-English artist, Henry Fuseli, while resident in Rome in the 1770s. Placing these drawings in their larger historical and cultural context, as well as probing the relationship between drawing and meaning, the lecture argues for a broader consideration of pornography as a liberating force in Enlightenment Europe and the important role that Fuseli played in that liberation.
Please note: some material may be considered objectionable.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

Second Annual Distinguished Lecture on South and Southeast Asian Art—Compassion's Magic Body: The Essence of Tibetan Tantric Art
November 4, 2007| 2:00 pm
Robert A. F. Thurman, Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University

The work of Robert A. F. Thurman—renowned scholar, riveting speaker, and author of many books on Tibet, Buddhism, art, and culture—has been instrumental in making Tibetan Buddhism accessible to Western audiences. In 1997 Time magazine selected Prof. Thurman as one of its twenty-five most influential Americans, describing him as a "larger than life scholar-activist destined to convey the dharma, the precious teachings of Siddhartha, from Asia to America." In this lecture, Prof. Thurman will discuss the Buddhist view of art and how it emanates from Buddhahood itself. Specifically, he will examine enlightenment in mind and body, Tantra, mandalas, creation-stage-visualization meditation, and the difference between liberative art and technologies of control.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

This lecture was made possible by the Southern Asian Art Council, the South and Southeast Asian Art Department, and the Education Department at LACMA. Image: Cosmic Man with Diagrams of Newar Yogic Six-Chakra Transformation, Central Tibet, c. 19th century, mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth, silk borders, 69 x 41 in. overall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Dr. Mark and Dorothy Stern.

Special Exhibition Lecture—"Late Dalí" on Trial: Two Thumbs Down or a Sequel as Good as the Original? 
November 3, 2007| 2:00 pm
Elliott King, author of the recently published Dalí, Surrealism and Cinema, lectures on Dalí's films. King, who is especially known for his research on the artist's late film work, also contributed an essay to the exhibition catalogue for the special exhibition, Dalí: Painting & Film on view October 14–January 6, 2008.
Bing Theater | Free, no reservations

This lecture was made possible in part through the Brotman Foundation Special Exhibitions Lecture Fund.

Conversations with Artists: Kristen Morgin
October 28, 2007| 2:00 pm
Los Angeles artist Kristen Morgin talks with SoCal: Southern California Art of the 1960s & 70s from LACMA's Collection exhibition curator Carol Eliel about her own work and inspirations as well as the work of selected SoCal artists. Morgin’s sculptures—made of clay, cement, glue, wood, and wire—have been likened to ancient Chinese tomb sculptures as well as to assemblage by Southern California artists such as George Herms and Edward Kienholz.
Brown Auditorium | Free, no reservations

Masters of Architecture Lecture Series: Gisue Hariri, Principal, Hariri & Hariri - Architecture
October 18, 2007| 6:30 pm
Together with her sister, Mojgan Hariri, Iranian born Gisue Hariri founded Hariri & Hariri - Architecture in New York City in 1986. Their dynamic work is characterized by the integration of digital technology, an inventive use of materials, a sense of place, and a social agenda—qualities often considered mutually exclusive in architecture. Gisue Hariri received her bachelor of architecture degree form Cornell University in 1980 and has been an adjunct professor of architecture at Columbia University and a visiting critic at Cornell University, McGill University, and the Parsons School of Design. The firm's work has been published and exhibited internationally and they have been the recipients of numerous awards including the 2005 Academy Awards in Architecture from the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters. They were inducted into the Design Hall of Fame sponsored by Interior Design Magazine and were the winners of the Women in Design Awards 2006. Presented by the American Institute of Architects/Los Angeles and LACMA. Call 323 857-6010 for tickets.
Bing Theater | Tickets: $12 public, $10 AIA/LACMA members, $5 students and seniors 62+

Sternbrauerei Salzburg, Austria
Photography © Hariri & Hariri - Architecture

The Director's Series: Conversations with Michael Govan—James Turrell  SOLD OUT
October 16, 2007| 7:30 pm
Join LACMA Chief Executive Officer and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan for a conversation with contemporary artist James Turrell about his work and his future plans with LACMA. For more than three decades, Turrell has created striking works that play with perception and the effect of light within a created space. His fascination with the phenomena of light is related to his personal, inward search for mankind's place in the universe. "My work is about space and the light that inhabits it. It is about how you confront that space and plumb it. It is about your seeing, like the wordless thought that comes from looking in a fire."—James Turrell.
Bing Theater | Free
Tickets are required and available at the LACMA box office (323) 857-6010 beginning October 1st.
For more information, please call (323) 857-6512.

Photo: Florian Holzherr

Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design
October 15, 2007| 7:30 pm
Ghislaine Wood was curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s recent exhibition, Surreal Things. In this lecture, she explores the influence of Surrealism on the worlds of fashion, design, theater, interiors, film, architecture and advertising, outlining how artists engaged with design, and how designers were inspired by Surrealism. Wood also served as curator of recent exhibitions concerning the Art De