L.A. WeeklyFrom the best and worst of found VHS tapes to the height of haute French fashion, the opening of the L.A. Art Show, a celebration for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the Women's March, here are the 12 best things to do in Los Angeles this week!
fri 1/18
ART/MUSIC
Neapolitan Shake
Back in August, the Mayfair Hotel reopened with much fanfare, aiming to become one of downtown L.A.'s go-to locations for art, entertainment and music by blending them all together as part of different event series. The historic hotel, whose interior was designed by Gulla Jónsdóttir, has been a sweet party backdrop ever since, boasting work from revered local artists and live music performances. For the new year, the Mayfair is out to bring even more to the mix with the aptly named Milkshake. Presented by Walk Talkin, Marcus the Artist and She's Kevin every third Friday, the special industry showcase is serving up a multitude of ingredients: live acts, photo exhibits and even fashion designers, hosted by KG Superstar and She's Kevin. For the launch, there's a DJ set by Marcus the Artist, soulful live sounds from Introverted Funk and Dom Elias, a fashion pop-up from Mata Gal and Simone Morais, and photography by RedHeartMedia and Jessica Magana Photography. Mayfair Hotel Library Bar, 1256 W. Seventh St., downtown; Fri., Jan. 18, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.; free (21+); RSVP required. Milkshake.splashthat.com. —Lina Lecaro
ART
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Gonzalo Lebrija is one of Mexico's most renowned contemporary artists. He is known for working along a fluid continuum of materials including but not limited to painting, sculpture and video — examples of all of which will be on view at his exhibition opening this weekend at Kohn Gallery. A suite of new paintings explores his origami-based formal abstraction, while a sculpture of a monumental Bic lighter references the eternal-flame motif, and a video installation also on view at Mexico City's Museo Rufino Tamayo enacts a poetic exploration of the abstract sensuality and problematic politics of tobacco smoking in cultural contexts. Kohn Gallery, 1227 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood; opening reception Sat., Jan. 19, 6-8 p.m.; thru March 30, Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; free.(323) 461-3311, kohngallery.com. —Shana Nys Dambrot
18th-century French undergarments; Credit: The J. Paul Getty Museum
sat 1/19
ART
The Price of Fashion
Is beauty pain? Find out when costume historian Maxwell Barr reveals unto you just how involved it was for the haute and the haughty to dress up in 18th-century France. Artist-at-Work: French Fashion is Barr's salon, in which he'll dress a live model and unveil the daily undertaking required to assemble ensembles the coordination of which rivals any NASA rocket launch. After that, take a deep breath, go see the exhibition “18th-Century Pastel Portraits,” and thank your lucky stars that your concept of couture isn't something bordering on the suicidal. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood; Sat., Jan. 19, 1-3 p.m.; free (parking $15). (310) 440-7300, getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev_2456.html. —David Cotner
ACTIVISM
On the March
Two years into Trump's presidency, the third annual L.A. Women's March: Truth to Power might be its most hopeful gathering yet. Providing a model for mobilization, advocacy and resistance in the wake of the 45th POTUS' win, the march started a movement that has resulted in more gender and racial diversity in the House of Representatives and a focus on accountability, unity and solidarity for protecting the rights of women and other marginalized groups in the United States. The two prior Women's Marches saw stunning numbers of participants — about 700,000 each year — taking to the streets with colorful, clever and comical signs calling out everything from the president's discriminatory policies to his questionable Russian relations to his dishonesty and shady business practices. A stage erected in front of City Hall will feature celebrity speakers and live musical performances. Vendors and informational booths provide merchandise (T-shirts, the famous knit “pussy” hats, etc.) and literature about important causes and voter registration, which, of course, is the most powerful way to make opposition heard and ultimately create change in the White House. The march starts at Pershing Square and ends at City Hall. Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive St., downtown; Sat., Jan. 19, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; free. womensmarchla.org. —Lina Lecaro
Credit: Courtesy Found Footage Festival
FILM
You Won't Want to Fast-Forward
The Found Footage Festival can be understood two ways. For you academic-minded folks out there, please enjoy this postmodern bricolage of sourced vernacular media, performing cultural archeology utilizing obsolete technology, with a hint of schadenfreude and nostalgia. For the rest of us, just deal with the random realness and hilarity that ensues as Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher troll yard sales, flea markets, Goodwill and dusty basements in search of the weirdest professional, amateur, artsy and commercial VHS tapes ever, so you don't have to. The FFF is based in New York, but lucky for us, sometimes takes its show on the road. This new edition features fresh finds and even some where-are-they-now updates on the tape titles' VCR superstars. The Lodge Room, 104 North Ave., Highland Park; Sat., Jan 19, 7 p.m.; $16. foundfootagefest.com. —Shana Nys Dambrot
sun 1/20
OPERA
Feline Revenge
The Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Black Cat” is already a disturbing but engrossing tale of a man who drunkenly murders his pet cat, only to be haunted by its spirit and his ultimately damning and maddening sense of guilt. But this classic fable is taken to even greater extremes in the U.S. premiere of Long Beach Opera and Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra's surreal operatic adaptation, which mashes together the traditional melodies of J.S. Bach and the darkly foreboding modern music of former Japan frontman David Sylvian. Feline dancers Sylvia Camarda and Jean-Guillaume Weis torment and tease tenor Nicholas Mulroy in a thoroughly bizarre multimedia presentation helmed by conductor Martin Haselböck and director Frank Hoffman. Beverly O'Neill Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach; Sat., Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 20, 2:30 p.m.; $49-$150. (562) 470-7464, longbeachopera.org. —Falling James
mon 1/21
HOLIDAYS
Celebrate Civil Rights
Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the legacy of the civil rights movement have taken on heightened importance in recent years as insidious and selfish forces have chipped away at the hard-fought victories for which so many Americans sacrificed so much. The California African American Museum's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration offers a chance to both brush up on history and look forward. You'll have the chance to build and decorate your own megaphone (too late for the Women's March, but fear not, President Trump and company are practically experts at sparking protests) and listen to the reverend's inspiring words. There will be a panel on inspiring the next generation of civil activists, as well as a Children's March where you'll get the chance to see said generation in action. DJs and the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles will provide the day's soundtrack and, as befits any L.A. celebration, there will be food trucks. California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park; Mon., Jan. 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; free. caamuseum.org/programs/current/martin-luther-king-jr-day-celebration-2019. —Avery Bissett
Bernadette Peters; Credit: Courtesy the artist
tue 1/22
MUSIC
Broadway Baby
Bernadette Peters has done it all in her starry career, writing children's books and appearing in numerous films and TV shows and even more stage productions. Most recently, she starred in the title role of Hello, Dolly! on Broadway, along with her recurring roles in Mozart in the Jungle and Smash. Among other things, the chanteuse has a long affinity for the music of Stephen Sondheim, and at tonight's performance she will imbue tunes by the composer, including selections from Gypsy, with her own distinctively personal touch. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown; Tue., Jan. 22, 8 p.m.; $59-$132. (323) 850-2000, laphil.com. —Falling James
“Sara Berman's Closet” installation view; Credit: Courtesy Skirball Cultural Center
wed 1/23
ART/TALKS
Out of the Closet
Devotion becomes genetic when Words and Ideas presents An Evening With Maira and Alex Kalman. The Kalmans are the guardians of the minimalist folk-art repository of their late mother, Sara Berman — the titular subject of the exhibition “Sara Berman's Closet,” which consists of the preserved remains of her Greenwich Village studio apartment closet. Having pared away the detritus of her marriage and a former life in Tel Aviv, Berman left behind an all-white wardrobe — now an exhibition of ready-mades about which her children hold forth tonight in conversation with Onassis Los Angeles executive director Paul Holdengräber. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Brentwood; Wed., Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m.; $15, $10 members. (310) 440-4500, skirball.org/programs/words-and-ideas/evening-maira-kalman-and-alex-kalman. —David Cotner
ART
Be Arty for the Party
The L.A. Art Show has been growing and evolving with every iteration for all of its more than two decades in existence, and 2019 is no exception. Of course its foundation is still the hundreds of eclectic galleries from Los Angeles and around the world, all bringing their best and brightest to greet our city. This year's curatorial advancements include large-scale installations highlighting the central role of Latinx visual culture in Los Angeles, an elevated urban art fair-within-a-fair, a section dedicated to the historical and modernist roots of contemporary California art, and a specially curated design section. The fair continues Thursday through Sunday, with general admission tickets at just $30, but the opening-night party is a perennial highlight of the season, with epic food and people-watching as folks take the opportunity to get gussied up in their artsiest finery. L.A. Convention Center, West Hall, 1201 S. Figueroa St., downtown; Wed., Jan. 23, 7-11 p.m.; Thu.-Sat., Jan. 24-26, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., Jan. 27, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $125-$250. (310) 822-9145, laartshow.com. —Shana Nys Dambrot
Four Larks' katabasis; Credit: Courtesy the Getty Villa
thu 1/24
DANCE
Descent Into the Underworld
Postponed by November's ravaging wildfires, which precipitated a two-week closure of the Getty Villa, Four Larks' katabasis finally arrives to take over the museum halls and grounds with a distinctive blend of immersive theater, dance, music, song and ritual. An exploration of the afterlife, katabasis translates from the Greek as “descent into the underworld” and is presented in conjunction with “Underworld: Imagining the Afterlife,” an exhibition of Greek and Italian funerary depictions. Led by Four Larks co-founders Mat Sweeney (creator/composer) and Sebastian Peters-Lazaro (designer/choreographer), Katabasis promises a participatory ritual procession with the dancers, singers and musicians expanding ancient musical elements and mythic themes into their world folk and art pop music. With no seating, comfortable shoes are advised. Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades; Thu.-Sat., Jan. 24-26, 7:30 p.m.; $30. getty.edu/museum/programs/performances/villa_premiere_presentation.html. —Ann Haskins
ART
Girls Who Create
Think of arts collective Femmebit as the indie-culture version of Girls Who Code — a nonprofit organization promoting female empowerment and control of the structures of social identity across the arts and tech continuum. Femmebit is currently raising both awareness and funds for its upcoming media festival, an “experimental screen-based event” with panels, creativity sessions, VR streams and more. Tonight's IRL benefit party features highlights of previous video programs, limited-edition merch and a pop-up art show. NAVEL, 1611 S. Hope St., downtown; Thu., Jan. 24, 7-10 p.m.; $10. facebook.com/events/2109284875790452. —Shana Nys Dambrot
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.