This week, you can: c elebrate the Bauhaus 100 years after its founding; challenge your "ageist" perspective; hear good friends Frank Gehry and Charles Arnoldi in conversation; meet architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee; and experience contemporary Irish arts.
1) Bauhaus Beginnings
The origins of the Bauhaus art school (Germany 1919 to 1933) lie in the late 19 th century anxieties about the soullessness of modern manufacturing, and fears about art's loss of social relevance. The Bauhaus aimed to reunite fine art and functional design, creating practical objects with the soul of artworks. The school is also renowned for its extraordinary faculty, who subsequently led the development of modern art - and modern thought - throughout Europe and the United States.
Marking the 100th anniversary of it's founding, the Getty Research Institute exhibition Bauhaus Beginnings considers the school’s early dedication to spiritual expression and its development of a curriculum based on the elements deemed fundamental to all forms of artistic practice. More than 250 rare objects will be on view, including woodcut prints, drawings, collages, photography, textile samples, artists’ books, student notebooks, masters’ teaching aids and notes, letters, and ephemera from the school’s founding and early years.
This exhibition will be accompanied by the online exhibition “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist,” also launching June 11, which further explores the school’s history, theoretical underpinnings, and novel pedagogy. This online platform features more than 50 rare objects not available in the gallery exhibition and includes three interactive activities modeled after exercises developed by Bauhaus masters—a Wassily Kandinsky color survey, a Josef Albers 3D paper cutting exercise, and a customizable experience that embodies the spirit of Oskar Schlemmer’s “Triadic Ballet.”
You can find more information on both the gallery exhibition and the interactive on-line exhibition here.
When: Opens Tuesday, June 11th. Exhibition runs through Oct 13
Where: The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles 90049
Tickets: Free
2) AGEIST Presents: Your Best Life (YBL)
Getting older doesn’t have be a downer. Not according to Ageist, a publication and community for the 50-plus whose tagline is “Live Fast Die Old.” Founded by David Harry Stewart, Ageist will launch its first conference this Tuesday. Hear from leaders in the fields of wellness, technology, entrepreneurship and urban design about living on, and on, with purpose and plenty of style. KCRW’s Frances Anderton will moderate a conversation with Jan Garde, founder of The Embassies of Good Living, about new concepts in housing for older populations. KCRW listeners get a 20% discount.
When: Tuesday, June 11, 9:00 am - 6:30 pm
Where: Valentine DTLA, 600 East 4th Street, LA 90013
Tickets: $295+ (use code KCRWdna for 20% discount). You can purchase tickets here.
The studio at 1643 12th Street, #4, Santa Monica that Gehry and Arnoldi built and shared. Gehry was too busy, so they hired architect Aleks Istanbullu to create their vision.3) In Conversation: Frank Gehry and Chuck Arnoldi
Frank Gehry and Chuck Arnoldi have been friends since they met in the 1970s and shared studio space amidst the exploding Venice creative scene that also included Ed Moses, Jay Chiat, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, and many others. Gehry went on to....well fans of DnA all know what Gehry went on to accomplish, and Arnoldi, while perhaps not quite a household name, has had a very successful career as a contemporary, abstract painter and sculptor with a boldly graphic and colorful aesthetic. His work has been widely exhibited and collected.
As part of the closing event for Arnoldi's solo show Then and Now, Karma Galleries brings these two friends and luminaries together for mutual admiration and discussion about life and work.
When: Wednesday, June 12, 6 - 8 pm
Where: Karma International, 4619 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles 90019
Tickets: Free
4) Johnston Marklee book signing
Here's your chance to see the architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee in a bookstore that they themselves designed in 2102! Arcana Books hosts the founding partners of Johnston Marklee for a signing of their new book “El Croquis 198: Johnston Marklee 2005-2019: Folding Time.”
The firm, founded over 20 years ago, has forged an identity as Southern California modernists with a global twist. They've designed the Menil Drawing Institute in Houston and are currently building the UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios here in Los Angeles.
When: Saturday, June 15, 4-6 pm
Where: Arcana: Books on the Arts, 8675 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Tickets: Free. More information here.
5) The Ladder is Always There – Visual Arts Exhibition by Amanda Coogan
Contemporary Irish Arts Center Los Angeles (CIACLA) operates as a creative hub for Irish and local partners to showcase their activities and push 're-set' on the cultural image of what it means to be 'Irish'. The Center launches its summer program with Irish Performance Artist Amanda Coogan's The Ladder is Always There, and live performances with a selection of local artists. The title of the exhibition, which derives from a line of the Adrienne Rich poem, Diving into the Wreck, speaks to a metaphorical journey in which Coogan and by extension, the other performers, dive into or work to overcome an obstacle. You can learn more about the exhibition and performance here.
When: Opening Saturday, June 15, 6 - 9 pm, Exhibition runs through July 5
Where: CIACLA, Bergamot Station, Ste. B1, 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica 90404
Tickets: Free. You can reserve tickets here.