Monday 2/20 @ ZLA Pop-Up Shop
ZLA's "human bean" is an urban creation drawn from the streets, destined to survive the city's tough times. The anonymous designer's latest pop-up show, Strength in Numbers skillfully utilizes graphic design, animation, and "Bean" himself — a compelling example of synchronicity and the power of collaboration in everyday life. Confused? It all makes sense, provided you make it down to the opening party, which features drinks, refreshments, and an appearance from the elusive artist him/herself.
Coming Up
Today @ Cliff's Edge
While Cliff's Edge in Silver Lake is renowned for the excellent food served on its gorgeous terraced patio, the interior, now known as The Bar at Cliff's, is destination worthy in its own right. The striking room features a high ceiling, skylights, Moroccan chandeliers, and a frequently-updated, well-curated cocktail menu. The new winter cocktails include The Cliff's Manhattan and The Bitter Pill. The former, an update on the classic, is enlivened with the addition of black walnut bitters and Ramazzotti to the rye whiskey, while the latter is an enticing concoction of Zaya rum, Fernet Branca, lime juice, brown-sugar syrup, and egg whites. Nightly from 6pm they feature a beer special and a cocktail special from a rotating list of $3 beers and $7 specialty cocktails. It's an elegant but easy place to stop in for a drink or two, with the option of ordering superior bar bites, such as French fries with gorgonzola sauce, a charcuterie plate, or a grilled shrimp brochette.
Today @ LACMA
While their male counterparts' focus was diverted with masturbatory hallucinations of women as objects, the female Surrealists delved freely into the internal dream world. Akin to Alice, these North American artists and European expats went on personal journeys of exploration. See their subconscious-driven portraiture in a thematically organized group show spanning 175 works from 1931 to 1968, featuring icons like Louise Bourgeois, Frida Kahlo, Lee Miller, and lesser-known heroines including Maya Deren and more.
Today @ Museum of Contemporary Art
Kenneth Anger is usually associated with his scandalous Hollywood Babylon oeuvre, but while the books are legendary, his filmic eye is every bit as impressive. MoCA hosts the first major retrospective of Anger's work in his hometown of Los Angeles, featuring films from his Magick Lantern Cycle, along with personal memorabilia such as photographs, scrapbooks, and other items that give the public a better understanding of a classically complex, but no less compelling, film icon.
Today @ Various Los Angeles theaters
An art documentary that's compellingly filmed with a 3D camera, Pina is a film of big ideas: dance as inner discovery; the interpretation of dance by filmmaker; and the documentary's invigorating narrative, which profiles the artist Pina Bausch through her work. Wim Wenders' film is also a breathtaking experience that will leave you exiting the aisles stunned — the film re-invigorates modern conceptual dance by taking it off the stage and inside natural and urban environments. A woman flexes her lover's muscles at a train station; male dancers form man-made waterfalls; and performances begin and end on gliding monorails, construction sites, and empty castles. By film's end, its subject remains as gloriously mysterious as at the beginning.
