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The Palette
Exploring Creative Santa Monica
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May 22, 2008
above: The Santa Monica
Symphony presents a free concert
on Sunday at 7:30.
For program details, click here. |
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It’s Memorial Day and you've got a whole extra day this
weekend to explore the arts in Santa Monica. And this
is a weekend with a lot to see! The Santa
Monica Museum of Art opens The
Puppet Show and as anyone will tell you,
openings at SMMoA are the grooviest
shindigs in town. DCA Gallery gives
you an insider’s look at figurative drawing and you’ll
find geishas and music from all over the planet at the
Santa Monica Main Library. The Santa Monica
Symphony, Cantori Domino and Jacaranda
offer us some of the best classical music you
could ever hope to find and the Powerhouse
hosts another world premiere performance. Finally, this
weekend, Highways will give you a whole
new perspective on riding the bus – trust me, cruising
down Santa Monica Boulevard on the Big Blue Bus
will never be the same!
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Cantori Domino spring concert Dulcis
Memoria on Sunday will include Maurice Durufle's
Requiem and Motet I by J.S. Bach. Click image
for information.
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The Puppet Show Opens at Santa Monica Museum of
Art |
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Dennis Oppenheim's work in The
Puppet Show |
The Puppet Show
Santa
Monica Museum of Art
Opening reception:
7-9 p.m.
Friday, May 23
Runs through August 9
Building G
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan
310/586.6488
Much discussion has taken
place on exactly when puppetry died. Some say
it was when Edgar Bergen and
Charlie McCarthy left the
stage. Others firmly believe it was
Howdy Doody's retirement that did it
in. And yet another group emphatically declares
Wayland Flowers and Madame were
last of the greats. But the truth is, they're
all wrong. As I write this, puppetry is alive
and thriving! And if you don't believe me,
check out the Santa Monica Museum of
Art's amazing exhibition funded in part
by a Santa Monica CO-ARTS Grant, a project of
the Santa Monica Arts Commission
Here's a list of the opening
night activities. But be mindful,
The Puppet Show contains adult
content and parents, caregivers and educators
are strongly advised to preview the exhibition
before bringing youth and children.
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The Puppet
Show, Main Gallery
The participating artists are:
Guy Ben-Ner, Nayland
Blake, Louise Bourgeois,
Maurizio Cattelan,
Anne Chu,
Nathalie Djurberg,
Terence Gower, Dan
Graham, Christian
Jankowski, Mike Kelley,
William Kentridge,
Cindy Loehr,
Annette Messager, Paul
McCarthy, Matt Mullican,
Bruce Nauman,
Dennis Oppenheim,
Philippe Parreno and
Rirkrit Tiravanija,
Thomas Schütte,
Doug Skinner and Michael Smith,
Laurie Simmons,
Kiki Smith, Kara Walker,
Andy Warhol, and
Charlie White.
On the way to Grandmother's house on a
bus with the big bad wolf!
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Park Studio: Shadows and
Gags
Three shadow puppet shows,
prints, and animations by 17 students
mentored by acclaimed Los Angeles-based
artists Lynn Jeffries,
Artemio Rodríguez, and
Paul Zaloom.
Park Studio is a free
outreach program offered to neighborhood
middle and high school students during
spring break supported in part by a
CO-ARTS Grant, a project of the Santa
Monica Arts Commission.
During the workshop,
Lynn Jeffries and
Paul Zaloom guided the students as
they wrote, shot, and recorded contemporary
versions of Little Red Riding Hood,
Jack and the Beanstalk, and The
Three Little Pigs. These videos reflect
a hilarious, clever, and fresh spin on these
classic fairy tales.
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Opening Night Workshop:
Puppets, Ages 6-11
While you're inside checking out whether
of not you should bring your kids in
they'll be able to create puppet
projects of their own with 18th
Street Arts Center resident
artist Nadia Reed
during the opening reception of The
Puppet Show. But space is
limited so an RSVP and pre-payment are
required. For reservations please
contact
Education Direction
Asuka Hisa via e-mail or by phone at
310/586.6488, ext. 118.
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The Creative Process: Live! |
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Live Draw! 2008
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
DCA
Fine Art
3107 Pico Boulevard
310/770.2525
Here's a chance to see
artists such as Alejandro Gehry,
Gus Harper, Barry
Markowitz, Katina Zinner
and more render nudes in a variety of
media/styles and have a chance to buy their
result right off the pad! Complete with a live
DJ and hot tapas the event is co-sponsored by
Art LTD Magazine and serves as a
fundraiser for SMASH. |
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Santa Monica Library: It's More Than Just Books |
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A World Journey On Keyboard
Junko Ueno Garrett
2:00 pm
Saturday, May 24th
Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium
Santa Monica Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles Philharmonic pianist
Junko Ueno Garrett will take us on
a junket around the world starting in Spain
with pieces composers Manuel de
Falla and Isaac Albeniz;
then off for a jaunt to France with
Gabriel Fauré; Ryuichi
Sakamoto escorts us to Japan; while
Sergei Rachmaninov brings us a bit
north to Russia; and finally we land in
Brazil with music by Heitor
Villa-Lobos. And the best part
about it - we won't have to wait three
months for a new passport! This concert is
free and all ages are welcome. Seating is
limited and on a first arrival basis.
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A Geisha's Journey
Reading and book signing by Komomo
12:30 pm
Sunday, May 25
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Auditorium
Santa Monica
Public Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd.
The library observes Asian-Pacific
Heritage Month, with a brief
performance of dance and music by Kyoto
geisha, Komomo followed by
a signing of her book A Geisha's
Journey: My Life as a Kyoto Apprentice.
This fascinating tome is the story of
Komomo, a contemporary
Japanese teenager who discovered in herself
the will and the commitment to endure the
many years of apprenticeship necessary to
become a Geisha. The book
documents Komomo's five
year journey in her own narrative with lush,
colorful photographs by artist
Naoyuki Ogino. Admission to this
event is free also and all ages are
welcome. Seating is on a first arrival
basis.
For more information on this and other Library
events, contact the Santa Monica Public Library
at (310) 458-8600;
or visit the Library's web site. |
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Take The Ride of Your Life! |
Go Metro...
Highways Performance Space
8:30 pm
May 23rd and 24th
Friday and Saturday
1651 18th Street
310/315.1459
Choreographer Jamie Benson and
Fashion Designer Andrae Gonzalo
return to Highways with another
dance comedy evening inspired by their
experiences in L.A.'s public transportation
system. Embracing everything from vaudeville
shtick to contemporary dance forms, this
eclectic event promises to be the ultimate
antidote to L.A.'s traffic problem. . . and
totally worth the drive but you really should
take the bus!
But how do you take the bus to Highways?
Well, you'll have to walk a bit, but remember
what good exercise walking really is! Here's
how you do it: Take Santa Monica/Metro Bus 4 to
Santa Monica and 20th and the walk south to
Olympic and then west to 18th. Or take the BBB
#5 to Colorado and 19th and then walk south to
Olympic and west to 18th. Or, last but
certainly not least, you can take the BBB #7 to
Pico and 17th, walk north to Olympic and then
west to 18th. And if this confuses you as much
as it does me, just go to
Metro Trip Planner, type in your address and
Highways' address, tell them when you want to go
and they'll plan the trip for you! |
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World Premiere at Powerhouse |
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I Gelosi
World Premier Performance
Los
Angeles Theatre Ensemble
8:00 pm
Friday
Continues Thursdays – Saturdays through June 14
The
Powerhouse Theatre
3116 2nd Street
310/396.3680 x3
click here for tickets
Inspired by true events,
I Gelosi tells the story
of Italy's first great traveling theater
troupe. This world premiere production from
critically acclaimed Los Angeles Theatre
Ensemble uses masks, music and costumes
from the 16th Century
lovingly recreating the world of the commedia
dell'arte and the actors whose lives' work
consisted of portraying the vivid archetypes
Pantalone, Arlecchino, Il Capitano and others.
Yet dwelling beneath the glittering comedy of
the play lies a vital question: is the theater
merely an entertainment, or is it a voice for
the dispossessed?
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Memories
at Jacaranda |
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Speak Memory
Jacaranda
8:00 pm
Saturday, May 24
First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica
1220 Second Street
Twelve singers, ten winds,
nine brass players, seven strings, six
percussionists, three soloists and two
conductors will raise the roof to celebrate the
climax of Jacaranda's Fifth Season!
Speak Memory will take you to places
exhilarating and sublime with intricacy, wit,
and sheer unmitigated power. Memories, tributes
and gifts from generation to generation make up
this kaleidoscopic season finale.
And in that spirit, one of
our oldest and finest pre-professional
orchestras, the American Youth Symphony
("superb" - The New York Times),
partners this evening with the busy young
professionals of Jacaranda to
speak memory - like the corners of my
mind...all alone in the moonlight ... misty
water-colored memories... I was beautiful
then... I'm sorry, that's a whole
different genre. I seriously doubt they'll be
performing a medley from Cats
and The Way We Were.
But if they did, I'd be there, ‘cause if
Jacaranda performs it, you know it's going to be
good! |
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And that
wraps it up for this edition of the Palette - your guide
to the best in Santa Monica!
The
Palette |
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SAMOHI seniors are exhibiting their work
at the school's Roberts Art Gallery
through June 6. |
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