Datebook: Canvases attacked, drums pounded and colors bleeding

A dance-performance about adolescence in the Bronx, an eight-hour movie about people at work, an installation that is all color, and talking-breathing-eating Instagram. It’s all happening in our smoggy, drought-y neck of the woods:

Okwui Okpokwasili, “Bronx Gothic,” at Show Box L.A. In a work that straddles spoken word, dance and performance art, Okpokwasili tells a story about the coming of age of two girls living in the Bronx through notes the two 11-year-olds share with each other. Her performances of the piece in New York drew a rave from the Village Voice (“evocative and fresh”) as well as the attention of the New York Times, which created a video of her performing a scene from the show. I’m excited to see this one. Three nights of performances Thursday through Saturday. Highland Park Ebell Club, 131 S. Avenue 57, Highland Park, showboxla.org.

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge talk, book signing and screening at the MOCA bookstore. P-Orridge is the artist (and member of the band Throbbing Gristle) who turned the concept of the cut-up on his/her own body. (The artist began life as Neil Megson, but in a long-running work of art that has involved multiple surgeries, he has transformed himself into a figure that evokes his late wife Jacqueline Breyer — get the full story here.) The talk will include a screening of “Bight of the Twin,” a film about the artist’s exploration into the origins of vodun, more commonly known as voodoo. Thursday, 6 p.m. MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles, moca.org.

Gina Osterloh, “Press Erase Outline Slice Strike Make An X Prick!” at François Ghebaly Gallery. Another genre-busting artist, Osterloh mixes performance, with photography with lots and lots of paper. She shreds and pricks and creates spaces that she then captures on camera. Opening night will feature an on-sight performance by the artist. Opens Saturday, 6 p.m. Through Aug. 16. 2445 E. Washington Blvd., downtown Los Angeles, ghebaly.com.

Instagram Mini-Marathon with Hans Ulrich Obrist at the Million Dollar Theatre. These days, the art world is all about Instagram: there’s an Instagram TV show, art Instagrams are featured on ArtInfo like some sort of artsy social diary, and it was alleged that artist Wade Guyton used the platform to try to destabilize the prices for his work. So it goes without saying that some sort of Instagram event would be in the works — and this is it: ForYourArt and globe-trotting curator Hans Ulrich Obrist will host a presentation of artists and others who will present found images from Instagram. I hope someone shows an Instagram photo of Instagram. That would be so meta-art-school-conceptual. Saturday, July 26, 7:30 p.m., 307 S. Broadway, downtown Los Angeles, foryourart.com. RSVP and a nominal processing fee are required in advance.

JEFF&GORDON, “Day Job,” at Monte Vista Projects. Andy Warhol shot the Empire State Building for eight straight hours. And in a piece that is all about labor (as much for the artists as the viewer) the Long Beach performance artists known as JEFF&GORDON shot an eight-hour video of themselves working. This will be shown in split screen at Monte Vista Projects. Can’t wait to see the parts with the meetings. Opens Saturday, 8 p.m. Through Aug. 10. 5442 Monte Vista St., Highland Park, montevistaprojects.com.

Taiko Nation at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. In the event you need to kick-start your energy levels, might I recommend this performance of traditional Japanese Taiko drumming — a form that is as physical as it is musical. Want a taste? Check out this video. Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. 244 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo, jaccc.org.

Sean Duffy “Paintings” at Susanne Vielmetter Projects. At a show in 2013, this L.A.-based artist asked viewers to attack a corner of a gallery with darts. For this new show at Vielmetter, Duffy is the one who is getting violent, combining paint with guns — BB guns, pellet guns and even a shotgun — to produce canvases that bear the evidence of all his pent-up aggression. Through Aug. 23. 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, vielmetter.com.

Robert Swain, “The Form of Color,” at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Stare at Swain’s colored grids long enough and you’ll feel lines evaporate and colors bleed — color as bodily experience rather than simply a visual one. (The LA Weekly has a good write-up on the show.) Through August 23, 2525 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica, smmoa.org.