MOCA becomes a vintage movie theater this week, and Little Red Riding Hood becomes a wolf.

5. Station chief
As is often the case with the Getty's historical shows, this one about Union Station's past and future, held offsite in a regal space on the second floor of downtown's Central Library, feels like a textbook on a wall. But it's one of the better illustrated textbooks you'll encounter, and some of the plans drawn up by the station's chief designer, Edward Warren Hoak, are truly exquisite objects. 630 W. Fifth St., dwntwn.; through Aug. 10. (213) 228-7000, lapl.org.]
4. Big, bad wolf
In composer and artist Carolyn Chen's opera Hoods, the story of Little Red Riding Hood merges with that of Euripides' Hekabe, the aggressive mother figure from Greek myth. Women apparently turn into wolves and war footage plays while the opera unfolds. It will be at the Wulf for one night only. 1026 S. Santa Fe Ave., #203, dwntwn.; May 11, 7 p.m. (213) 488-1182, thewulf.org. 

3. Everyone needs a foot fixer
“New Car Smell,” artist Michael Decker's new show at Ambach & Rice, has a lot more old stuff in it than new stuff. But the vintage ads he's collected – such as the one for the outdoor heated kitty pad or the “Foot Fixer” massage machine – all promised newness at one point. Decker has assembled these ads, and some quirky products still in their plastic packaging, into big wall works that look like tapestries and hang in the gallery's biggest room. From far away, they're like frenetically colorful, yellowing abstractions. From up close, they're really funny. 6148 Wilshire Blvd.; through May 31. (323) 965-5500, ambachandrice.com.

2. Crying divas
Because Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli is a fanboy with the taste of a nostalgic diva, I'd rather see his work in a mansion like the one Norma Desmond lived in. His portraits of Old Hollywood actresses in star-shaped frames, with glittery tears dripping down their faces, could hang above fireplaces, while his hand-painted posters for imaginary movies in which Marlene Dietrich and tough textile artist Anni Albers feud could hang in stairwells. Even if it's not an ornate mansion, MOCA is a pretty good place to experience Vezzoli's new work, especially since heavy red curtains and old-fashioned theater seats have been installed in its galleries. 250 S. Grand Ave., dwntwn.; through Aug. 11. (213) 626-6222, moca.org.

1. The pig in town
Tarrah Krajnak placed snapshots of dark-haired girls, posing in white pants and a blue tube top, on top of what looks like black laminate with golden veins running through it. Then she rephotographed them and the results, on view in a group show called “Eternal Om” at artist-run space Metro PCS, are striking, mostly because they reframe and give you a reason to really focus on the run-of-the-mill sexy posing in those snapshots. Other work in the show is striking, too, like the video Txerri by French artist Bertrand Dezoteux. In it, an aggressive, overeager CGI pig runs around the village of Issary in Spanish Basque country. 422 Ord St., 2nd floor, Suite D, Chinatown; through May 24. metropcs.la.

Catherine Wagley on Twitter:

Public Spectacle, L.A. Weekly's arts & culture blog, on Facebook and Twitter:

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.