UCLA Broad Art Center opens! "LA is one of the great art capitals of the world"

[dragonsky]

The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens on Saturday will open a new education and visitor center, restaurant and more than 6 acres of newly landscaped gardens.

The complex also provides a new entrance to the landmark San Marino site that will take visitors through to the historic Desert Garden, and it couldn't come at a better time.

Many cactus and succulents are in bloom right now. It's a garden in which some of the golden barrel cactus are 100 years old.

The Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center overlooks the Desert Garden. It's a $68 million project that began in 2013 and includes classrooms, meeting spaces and underground storage space for collections too.

I took a walk-through Saturday night during a members' preview. Here are some of the highlights:

--A 36-foot-high glass dome atop a garden court that leads to Rothenberg Hall. Inside are six tapestries created by Alexander Calder in 1975 for the U.S. bicentennial and a 400-seat auditorium for lectures, movies and staged events.

--A long line of olive trees frame a garden landscaped with California native and other plants. The Brody California Garden, as it's named, leads down slope to a Celebration Garden with a little river-like flow in the center. It's this path visitors will follow directly into the upper Desert Garden.

--A new restaurant with a wrap-around terrace that provides wide views of the garden and grounds below. It seats 300 people, inside and outside, and will serve pizzas, salads, soups as well as specials each day.

--A visitor center that tells the story of the home and gardens that belonged to railroad magnate and rare book collector Henry Huntington. There's a map of the original garden design for the property as well as pictures that show the gardens in 1915 and present day.

And there's a model of a Red Car, the popular trolleys that were part of Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway in Southern California.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/califo...401-story.html

[dragonsky]

Petersen Automotive Museum Gets its New Skin




http://urbanize.la/post/petersen-aut...s-its-new-skin

[dragonsky]

At OCMA: a history of attempting to build -- but at what cost?

For three decades, the Orange County Museum of Art, which began life as the Newport Harbor Art Museum, has been trying to build a bigger space so that it might have space to show its collection on a permanent basis and not have to close down for installation between shows. This ambition to grow is what was behind the recent layoffs of five staffers, including chief curator Dan Cameron.

As the museum’s board president Craig Wells discussed with me on Tuesday, OCMA must break ground on a new building at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa by June 2017 or lose title to the donated land. The downsizing was done with the intention of slimming the museum’s budgets in preparation for the construction at Segerstrom of a new, bigger OCMA designed by Morphosis’ Thom Mayne.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...07-column.html
https://www.facebook.com/notes/archi...on/87453746900

[dragonsky]

LACMA's '50 for 50' gifts to go on public view Sunday

"There's nothing better than knowing that the big gala fundraiser is lasting in the form of '50 for 50,'" Govan said.

One of the pieces that Govan said he is most excited about is a wooden serpent headdress from the Republic of Guinea that is estimated to be from the late 18th century. It's a promised gift of businessman Bobby Kotick, and for years it was in the studio of painter Henri Matisse.

"It's one of the most beautiful pieces of African art that I've ever seen," Govan said.

Other notable works in the exhibition include Taddeo Gaddi's "Crucifixion with the Madonna and Saint John the Evangelist" (circa 1360), "Christ Blessing" by Renaissance master Hans Memling (1480-85) and a bronze sculpture called "Flying Mercury" (1580s) by the Mannerist sculptor Giambologna, who was appointed court sculptor for the Medici family in 1565.

A marble bust titled "Portrait of a Gentleman" (1670-75) is by Italian Baroque sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. And spanning three centuries: Rococo painter Francois Boucher's playful "Leda and the Swan" (1742), Impressionist master Edgar Degas' "At the Cafe Concert: The Song of the Dog" (1875) and the brooding "T.V." (1964) by Latvian American artist Vija Celmins.

The gifts reflect the diversity of LACMA's collection, and as such the exhibit could not be designed in a conventional way, Govan said.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...421-story.html

[dragonsky]

LACMA then, now and in the future







http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...htmlstory.html

[dragonsky]

NASA gives California Science Center museum last remaining space shuttle fuel tank

The California Science Center is the only museum in the nation that planned to make its space shuttle exhibit with as many authentic parts as possible, set up as if it's ready to launch.

There was a problem. The enormous orange external fuel tank, which attaches to the shuttle's belly, is always burned up in the atmosphere shortly after liftoff. Museum officials figured they'd have to settle for a replica.

But in a coup for the Science Center, NASA has agreed to give the last remaining external fuel tank to the state-run museum's Endeavour exhibit, officials are announcing Thursday. The move is set for late this year, and would happen in November at the earliest.

The fuel tank is huge. At 153.8 feet in length, it is taller than a 15-story building and longer than Endeavour's 122 feet. But it is skinnier, with a diameter of 27.6 feet, because it has no wings, which will make it generally easier than the shuttle for movers to navigate the streets of Los Angeles.

At about 66,000 pounds, it is less than half the weight of Endeavour.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...528-story.html

[ocman]

The Getty is acquiring a rare Bernini bust. And it's a very good bust. LACMA just got one recently but this one is exceptional.

http://news.getty.edu/press-material...on-bernini.htm

[dragonsky]

The Getty Museum snaps up a Bernini bust, adding heft to L.A.'s Baroque holdings

Three months ago, there were no major Bernini works in Los Angeles museums. Now there are two: The J. Paul Getty Museum is set to announce Wednesday that it has acquired a Bernini bust of Pope Paul V that has been hidden from public view since the late 19th century.

The Getty's purchase follows the announcement in March that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art acquired a late-period Bernini bust depicting an unidentified man in honor of its 50th anniversary.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...617-story.html

[dragonsky]

Academy Museum moves to production with City Council's green light

The film capital of the world is finally getting a museum to showcase cinema history.

On a 13-0 vote, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday gave final approval for a $300-million museum to be built on the former May Co. department store site on Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue, adjoining the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Scheduled to open in 2017, the 290,000-square-foot Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will feature a treasure trove of Hollywood memorabilia and a 1,000-seat domed theater for screenings and events.

Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the project is being built by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with contributions from an array of film industry heavyweights, including Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, David Geffen, Dolby Laboratories and China's Dalian Wanda Group.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...625-story.html

[dragonsky]

The Broad museum announced some operational nuts and bolts Wednesday — opening hours, advance ticketing, parking rates and such — for the $140-million contemporary art showcase opening Sept. 20.

But the eye-opener — and don’t blink — was the fact that visitors will have “approximately 45 seconds” to experience one of the Broad’s recent acquisitions, Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room — the Souls of Millions of Light Years Away.”

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...825-story.html

[dragonsky]

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts has launched a $68-million campaign to reach a broader, more diverse public, centered on reconfiguring its outdoor plaza to make it busier and more attractive, with stepped-up free events and a shady, "town square" atmosphere.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...828-story.html

[dragonsky]

Early in 2016, work will begin on the central plaza, between Segerstrom Hall and Judy Morr Theater on one side and the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater on the other. The plaza will be renamed the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, after the patrons who have given the largest donation so far to the project, $13.5 million.

Plans call for an outdoor stage along the south side of Segerstrom Hall for performances and community events that could range from free concerts to college graduation ceremonies.

Currently, the plaza is the spot for about half a dozen free events a year, including popular outdoor movie screenings, Dwyer said. With the new plaza, the center plans to host outdoor events at least 30 weekends a year, including a jazz series and performances by Southern California bands. Details of the programming have yet to be worked out, Ginger said. The plaza work is expected to be finished by fall 2016.

Around the plaza stage will be three separate, shaded green spaces with flowering pear trees, seating and walking paths. A circular grand staircase will link Segerstrom Hall’s mezzanine level to the plaza level below and end at a cafe with outdoor seating.

DANCE CENTER AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

The second part of the initiative is the Center for Dance and Innovation, to be housed in a renovated Judy Morr Theater and upgraded studios. The theater will get a more visible and accessible garden-like entrance featuring a curved ramp around a large tree, possibly a Jacaranda, leading to the entrance and a small outdoor balcony where receptions could take place. The Center will include the Segerstrom Center’s American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, set to start its first full-curriculum, 36-week program in September, and eventually adult dance classes for other genres, Dwyer said.

Work on the Center for Dance and Innovation also is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/c...rom-plaza.html

[dragonsky]

Eli Broad calls his collection 'unique in the world,' says building 'exceeded' expectations

In the skewed perspective of a longtime art writer, it felt like a historic moment. After three decades of interviewing philanthropist and art collector Eli Broad about his involvement with the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and other institutions, I was going to talk to him about the museum that he and his wife, Edythe, had built for their own collection. As I entered the lobby of a Century City high rise, stepped into a private elevator and ascended to his 360-degree-view complex on the 30th floor, I reflected on dozens of past encounters — quick conversations by telephone as well as face-to-face meetings at his home and various Westside offices.

But this was different. The subject was "more personal," as he put it. And he was up for it. Having bounced back from a series of back surgeries in time to enjoy the museum's opening festivities, Broad, 82, was more relaxed than usual. But he isn't one for small talk. When I told him that I had questions, he said: "Let's get to work."

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...913-story.html

[dragonsky]

Eli Broad, white knight and lightning rod, gets ready to open his own museum

The opening of the Broad museum on Sept. 20 will complete a 36-year bank shot in which founder Eli Broad bounced from one major L.A. art museum to another, with controversy at every stop, before concluding that the collection of contemporary art he has amassed with his wife, Edythe, should have a home of its own.

The 120,000-square-foot museum on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles offers free admission — a benefit made possible because Broad, 82, has promised to add an endowment of at least $200 million to the $140 million paid for construction. There may be future charges for special exhibitions, but admission to the permanent collection galleries will remain free.

The Broad's first flock of visitors in coming months will see more than 250 highlights, including works by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jasper Johns, Cindy Sherman, Takashi Murakami and scores of other art world luminaries from the 1950s to today. The collection of about 2,000 works has cost the Broads untold additional millions.

The building has 50,000 square feet of galleries and a modest area for its business offices and a 200-capacity events and lectures space. It also enfolds a huge "vault" that will store the art that's not on display. Visitors ascending and descending by stairs or an elevator can get a glimpse inside through a picture window.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...913-story.html

[dragonsky]

Hammer Museum to expand as UCLA acquires Occidental Petroleum property

The Hammer Museum at UCLA is expanding its footprint in Westwood, taking over five floors of the Occidental Petroleum office tower that will give the contemporary art institution more than 30% additional exhibition and administrative space.

Until recently, the Hammer had leased its space from Occidental. Officials at the Hammer and UCLA said Monday that the expansion is part of a recent real estate deal in which the university has become the Hammer's new landlord.

UCLA said it has acquired a full city block of property from Occidental that includes the office tower and the museum building, both of which had belonged to the oil company. The acquisition also includes the 634-space underground parking garage.

The museum said the additional 40,000 square feet of footage will allow the Hammer to upgrade and expand its existing gallery space and to create dedicated galleries for the Hammer Contemporary Collection and works on paper.

In addition, the Hammer said it plans build a new study center for the UCLA Grunwald Center Collection. Additional spaces will include a classroom and support spaces.

Currently, the Hammer occupies 121,000 square feet of space.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...026-story.html

[dragonsky]

USC has expanded its footprint around its main location south of downtown by moving nonacademic programs away from campus, leasing more space downtown and upgrading a shopping center it has owned for years.

But as the campus has steadily grown, one piece of property around the school's main hub — between Jefferson and Exposition boulevards — has stayed out of the Trojan portfolio: the United University Church on 34th Street near Trousdale Plaza.

USC administrators said they have asked church leaders periodically if they were willing to sell, but the church always declined. But, last year, United University officials began to reconsider their stance. And last month, USC agreed to acquire the church site.

http://www.latimes.com/local/educati...108-story.html

[dragonsky]

How L.A.'s size and diversity make it one of the world's best cancer labs

For more than four decades, this team has been stalking the killer's every move, trying to identify patterns of attack. They collect and store evidence, filling drawers and file cabinets.

The detectives: researchers at USC.

The bad guy: cancer.

In the late 1960s, university scientists began the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program, one of the oldest such registries in the world.

It monitors and logs every case of cancer in the region — 1.7 million and counting.

A database may not seem like the most formidable opponent, but it's a powerful tool for understanding cancer: to know who's getting it, to calculate survival rates for a population and to track which treatments are and aren't working.

In short, registries are how societies try to prevent people from getting, and dying of, cancer.

http://www.latimes.com/local/great-r...111-story.html

[dragonsky]

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[dragonsky]

Tinseltown's comeback: Los Angeles' resurgence as America's cultural capital

With new prestige museums, high-profile art events and a proliferation of bands, record stores and hangout spaces, the city’s cultural life is booming

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddes...ic-museums-art

[dragonsky]

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