6 pm: Photography

Forty galleries and private dealers from throughout the U.S. will exhibit for sale more than 3,000 photographs by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Atget, Baldus, Cartier-Bresson, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Curtis, Weegee, Robert Mapplethorpe and others all weekend at Photo L.A. ‘98, the seventh Los Angeles photographic print exposition. Things kick off with an opening night reception hosted by filmmaker David Lynch to benefit DIFFA/Photographers + Friends Against AIDS. Other weekend events include book signings, seminars, panel discussions on buying and collecting, and a second preview night Friday.

* Photo L.A. ‘98, Butterfield & Butterfield, 7601 Sunset Blvd. Preview reception with David Lynch, 6-9 p.m. $35. (310) 652-6601 for today’s preview reception tickets. For general exposition information, (213) 937-5525. Friday reception, 7 p.m. $35. (310) 276-3747 for tickets. Exposition hours: Friday, 3-7 p.m.; Saturday, noon-7 p.m.; Sunday, noon-6 p.m. $10 a day or $15 for all three days.

8 pm: Music

Returning to Southern California, the American String Quartet, with guest violist Brian Dembow, plays the String Quartet No. 5 by Bartok, the Quartet in D minor, Opus 34, by Dvorak, and Mozart’s Quintet in E-flat, K. 614 in a program in Orange County. The ensemble appears Friday in a sold-out concert--and a different program--at the Doheny Mansion on the downtown Los Angeles campus of Mount St. Mary’s College.

* American String Quartet, Founders Hall in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $24. (714) 556-ARTS. Also Friday at the Doheny Mansion, 8 Chester Place, Los Angeles, Quartet in D, K. 499 (Mozart); Quartet in A minor, D. 804 (Schubert); Quartet in F (Ravel). 8 p.m. $52. (310) 954-4300. Sold out.

7 pm: Culture

D. Knowledge, Manazar Gamboa and Bluezeum are among the poets and musicians who will perform at “Poetic Melodies: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” The event is part of the Night Readings series of readings by poets and writers in the Gallery Theater at Barnsdall Art Park. (A roundup of Martin Luther King Day events, Page XX.)

* “Poetic Melodies: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 485-4581. Free.