For the rest of the best in art and culture this weekend, check out Flavorpill LA
Easier with Practice
To the Hollywood films that portray women as ball-busters, constantly demanding commitment from aloof men, director Kyle Patrick Alvarez's first feature offers a rebuttal. Sort of. In the Independent Spirit Award-nominated Easier with Practice, writer and sensitive soul Davy (The Hurt Locker's Brian Geraghty) is too stunted to navigate a normal romantic encounter. But after a random woman calls his motel room seeking phone sex, he enters into a strangely comforting, though purely auditory, relationship with her. When Davy is finally ready to meet, "Nicole" seems unwilling to reveal herself, leaving Davy with conflicted feelings, and some very reasonable questions.
- Jason Black
$10
Feb 26 - Mar 4
Daily
Laemmle's Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd
323.848.3500
Info
Travis Somerville: ...A Portion of that Field
Travis Somerville is one of the west coast's fastest-rising art stars, first coming to national attention as the winner of the PULSE Prize at the Miami fair in 2006, and following up with a series of remarkable installations at Overtones, Catherine Clark Gallery in SF, and most recently at Otis College in 2009. His omnivorous use of found and recycled materials doubles as both vintage, primary sources and politically-charged imagery expressing the volatile history of American race relations; and as juxtaposed elements in lively, engaging compositions. Mixed media collage, assemblage, and sculptural installation are his forte, as they give him multiple avenues for expressing humor, anger, and insightful correspondences between then and now.
- Shana Nys Dambrot
FREE
Opens Saturday Feb 27 (6-9pm)
Feb 27 - Apr 17
Wednesdays-Saturdays (noon-6pm)
Charlie James Gallery
975 Chung King Rd
213.687.0844
Info
Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
You may ask yourself how acoustics could be described as visual (or vice versa), and the person to answer would be the legendary late, great architecture photographer, Julius Shulman. Luckily for us, his legacy is brought to light in tonight's screening of Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, which illustrates how aesthetics, especially by way of architecture, resonate in a way that goes beyond "seeing." Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, the film shows how Schulman's documentation of the buildings that we build up, and sometimes tear down, is as much of an art form as the structures themselves. As explained by the master himself, "architecture affects everybody," whether or not we chose to notice it.
- Tanja Laden
FREE
Sunday Feb 28 (4pm)
Art Center College of Design
1700 Lida St
(see event description for alternate locations)
626.396.2200
Info