A Titus Kaphar exhibit, a mesmerizing Morton Feldman piece and more L.A. arts this weekend
Temperatures have finally cooled, but the local arts scene is just heating up. I’m arts and culture writer Ashley Lee, here with a new weekend edition of Essential Arts with my colleague Jessica Gelt, full of the headlines you might have missed and The Times’ top picks for heading out and about.
Best bets: On our radar this week
1. “Exhibiting Forgiveness”
Gagosian is showing new paintings by Titus Kaphar ahead of the Oct. 18 theatrical release of “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” the artist’s semiautobiographical narrative film starring André Holland as an accomplished painter who finds himself reuniting with his estranged father. It’s a direct extension of “The Jerome Project,” Kaphar’s painting series and documentary about his relationship with his own estranged father. This fictionalized, onscreen approach “gave me a cover to be able to tell more truth,” he told Times film reporter Mark Olsen at the film’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The paintings, which preceded the film and are featured in it, depict figures, neighborhood façades and personal objects, all meant to challenge conventional representation and spur reflections of family, community and memory. Through Nov. 2. Gagosian, 456 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills. gagosian.com
2. “Three Voices”
Times classical music critic Mark Swed has been looking forward to this mesmerizing Morton Feldman piece, sung live along with two other parts prerecorded by the singer. The Resonance Collective’s season kickoff production includes a staged realization and the addition of two dancers, directed and choreographed by Zoe Aja Moore. “This tour de force contains an hour’s worth of haunting, intertwining phrases that feel like a combination of Requiem and Kaddish,” said Swed in his list of must-see shows this season. “Several singers have attempted it, and the latest will be Laurel Irene, a master of repetition, endurance and trance-inducing resonance.” 7:30 p.m. Saturday. First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. resonancecollective.org
For the record:
8:01 a.m. Sept. 13, 2024An item in the Sept. 9 newsletter incorrectly stated that Lita Albuquerque’s “Earth Skin” includes a painting from her “Auric Field” series and rock sculptures dusted with white pigments. It is actually a new series of paintings revolving around the gestures of the body and ancient marks.
3. “Hamilton”
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musicalized account of our country’s earliest days just hits different in an election year. For me, last week’s opening-night performance was both a reprieve from the contentious headlines and a galvanizing reminder of what’s always been at stake at the ballot box. (Audiences who want more from this national tour’s top-notch cast needn’t go far: Blaine Krauss, who stuns in the title role, headlines the Catalina Jazz Club on Sept. 24 with a 12-piece band, and Schuyler sister standby Jisel Soleil Ayon takes over the Bourbon Room on Sept. 16 with an intimate set.) “Hamilton” runs through Oct. 13. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com
— Ashley Lee
The week head: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
Mariachi Herencia de México The Grammy-nominated ensemble features young musicians taking the traditional form in new directions.
7:30 pm. Aitken Arts Plaza at Chapman University, 415 N. Glassell St., Orange. muscocenter.org
SATURDAY
2024 Ballet Festival Hollywood Ballet, the Realm Company, Anaheim Ballet and other local dance troupes perform in this SoCal Ballet Scene event.
2 and 7 p.m. Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. socalballetscene.com
A Good Guy The world premiere of David Rambo’s drama explores gun violence in the classroom.
Through Oct. 13. Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. roguemachinetheatre.org
Green Day The band plays its LPs “Dookie” and “American Idiot” in their entirety; the Linda Lindas, Rancid and the Smashing Pumpkins open.
5:30 p.m. Sofi Stadium, 1001 S. Stadium Drive, Inglewood. sofistadium.com
Carín León The Mexican singer-songwriter performs on his Boca Chueca tour.
8 p.m. BMO Stadium, 3939 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. bmostadium.com
SUNDAY
Jennifer Koh The Colburn Chamber Music Society presents the versatile violinist in a program featuring both classical and contemporary works.
3 p.m. Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu
Life on Earth: Art and Ecofeminism The exhibit explores the effect of feminist activism and theory in opposition to the exploitation of the natural world via a group show featuring 35 international artists working across media.
Through Dec. 21. The Brick, 518 N. Western Ave. the-brick.org
Please Come to Boston Times contributor Gary Goldstein talks about his third novel, published this week, a coming-of-age dramedy centered on a love triangle among 1970s college students that then flashes forward 50 years.
2:30 p.m. Diesel, A Bookstore, 225 26th St., Suite 33, Santa Monica. dieselbookstore.com
World Cinematic Jazz & Dance Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre, the Benny Rietveld Band and singer Andy Vargas come together for an eclectic blend of Latin, African, jazz, funk and more.
6 p.m. The Alex, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. pbdtla.org
Culture news and the SoCal scene
The Getty Villa is in its 18th year of presenting live theater on its outdoor stage. This year’s offering is a world-premiere play called “Memnon,” about the mythological Ethiopian king who aided the Trojans when Troy was about to be destroyed by the Greeks. Written by Will Power and presented by the Getty Villa in collaboration with the Classical Theatre of Harlem, “Memnon” “represents an act of cultural recovery,” writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty, adding, “The resulting work reminds us that the classical world was more culturally and racially diverse than is often credited.”
The songwriting duo that won a Tony Award for penning the original score to hit musical “Dear Evan Hansen” in 2017 has achieved EGOT status. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul joined the exclusive club of artists who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony when they nabbed an Emmy last weekend for the original song “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?” co-written with Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman for “Only Murders in the Building.” Ashley Lee has all the details.
Founded in 2020, the Chapter House in Echo Park is “a casual, artistic community space with year-round programming” that represents and engages Indigenous Angelenos. There are community gatherings, and also plenty of art. This summer featured an exhibit of Kimberly Robertson’s work, “Diary of a Native Femme(nist).” Renée Reizman profiles the space and the people who gather there.
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British pop artist Derek Boshier, who created work for musicians including David Bowie and the Clash, has died. He was 87. Boshier created cover art for two Bowie albums, “Lodger” (1979) and “Let’s Dance” (1983). Boshier was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1937 and attended London’s Royal College of Art alongside David Hockney. He moved to L.A. in 1997.
German installation artist Rebecca Horn has died. She was 80. Known for intricate creations often combining musical instruments and bird feathers, Horn was associated with the Fluxus movement, which pushed the boundaries of interdisciplinary, experimental and performance art. Instruments such as piano and violin played a prominent role in her work, which also included literary texts and screenplays.
British artist Tacita Dean has been named ambassador for the Blake Cottage Trust. The organization is working to raise more than $5 million to restore the former home of the famed Romantic poet with the goal of making the modest 17th century structure into “a permanent place of inspiration and learning for [William] Blake. There’ll be space for resident writers, musicians, painters, printmakers etc. to find refuge and create a stream of creativity and imagination,” said cottage trustee Sharyn Wortman in a news release.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
What a gift that the 1987 Tony Awards aired this performance clip of the late James Earl Jones and a young Courtney B. Vance in August Wilson’s “Fences” so that we can rewatch it as needed. And it is needed.
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