Bold and witty takes on music, celebrities, classic literature, the environment, and politics will be on display in Ralph Steadman: And Another Thing, from Saturday,  March 28, through Saturday, May 9, at the Torrance Art Museum. 

The exhibition spans more than 60 years of Steadman’s life and work with a selection of 149 original artworks, including the artist’s sketchbooks, children’s books, magazines, personal photographs, and handwritten notes, and traces the 89-year-old’s artistic practice from his early years as a student to his political illustrations, social commentary, and activism.  There will also be illustrated editions of literary classics like  Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Steadman’s legendary work with maverick journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson created  Gonzo journalism, a new way of storytelling. It made its debut in 1970 with the June publication of Steadman and Thompson’s first joint effort, The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved, in Scanlan’s Monthly.  Later, Thompson’s drug-fueled Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas changed the American literary landscape forever. 

Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman, Fear and Loathing in Elko for Rolling Stone Magazine 1991, ink on paper (Courtesy Torrance Art Museum)

Modernism Week in the greater Palm Springs area is in full swing with tours and events through Sunday, Feb. 22.

Discover the next generation of visionaries at the inspiring St. Theresa School Modernism Projects and step back into midcentury history with stories from the 1964 World’s Fair, vintage home movies, celebrity secrets from a legendary Palm Springs maître d’, and how the Aloha Coat came to define island style. There’s also a fresh look at modernist landscapes, from the Coachella Valley’s unique terrain to golf courses and urban spaces.

 Modernism Week’s CAMP (Community And Meeting Place) will provide a central hub for Modernism Week at the  Hyatt Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive with free underground parking. Entrance into CAMP is free and open to the public every day during Modernism Week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is the depot for arrivals and departures of all of Modernism Week’s Double Decker Architectural Bus Tours.

CAMP will include talks and films, free events, an information desk, all-day food and beverage offerings from Hyatt Hotel, complimentary daily coffee provided by Koffi, and a pop-up store and events by Destination PSP, including multiple book signings.  Find the full schedule here. 

SoCal Museums’ Museums Free-for-All will celebrate free arts and culture in Southern California on Sunday, Feb.  22.  From Santa Barbara to Orange County to Palm Springs, cultural institutions will welcome audiences for a free day of art, design, cultural heritage, film, natural history, science, political history, and more.

The calendar of free days can be found at socalmuseums.net/free.

Ralph Steadman

Ralph Steadman, “In the Beginning from Animal Farm” 1994, ink on paper (Courtesy Torrance Art Museum)