Must See Art

Simon Evans, “Humble Junkatarian Seeking White Frame” at Jack Hanley Gallery

Pro skater Simon Evans turned to writing short stories when he moved to San Francisco. Eventually, he started making drawings and collages as a way to visualize his stories; the work, which involved a lot of text, tiny pieces of paper, and Scotch tape, landed him a show at Jack Hanley’s SF space in 2003. In this new show, Evans focuses on what seems to be a boyhood journey, complete with ships and maps. Medals and Ribbons is a drawing of badges with cheeky phrases such as “fine art receptionist” and “I feel bad for them,” and Diary is just that, with fears and anxieties meticulously recorded and arranged in a dense colored-ink list. Most impressive is a large, elaborate aerial view, in Scotch tape and red and blue ink, of a distorted Disney World.

945 Sun Mun Way, Chinatown | (213) 626-0403 | www.jackhanley.com | Wed.-Sat. noon-6 p.m. | Through December 29

Ari Marcopoulos, “The Chance Is Higher” at MC

Ari Marcopoulos is best known for his photographs documenting artists and youth culture in NYC in the ’80s and ’90s, as well as skaters and snowboarders. In this new series of large black-and-white Xeroxed photographs, several are wheat-pasted onto plywood, an effect that makes them at once less precious and more urban objects. The step of photocopying removes the images even further from the moment, blurring the actual event documented and pushing it more toward memory. Here we see images of Marcopoulos’ family, skaters, graffiti artists, and city streets and buildings. There are also two video pieces in the show: one a black eye shot both close up and far away, another of Marcopoulos’ longhaired teenage son Cairo reciting monologues from the films Gladiator and Six Shooter.

6086 Comey Ave., L.A. | (323) 939-3777 | www.mckunst.com | Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. | Through January 12