Raven Jake Dawes

Robolights 2016

Robolights is the artistic creation of Kenny Irwin (standing over there with me - we were lucky enough to spot him strollin' around), a lifelong Palm Springs resident who has been working on this masterwork for 30 years. Looking much like a dystopian Small World ride, Robolights examines the materialism that undermines spirituality and feeds the military industrial complex in a basically light-hearted way using mainly found and discarded materials. Or maybe I'm readin' too much into it, but that's what I got.

 

Anyway, Kenny's kinda like Noah Purifoy with about 10 million Xmas lights - 

good social consciousness and a wacky sense of humor. Go see his set up (it's at the family homestead in Palm Springs) if you're anywhere around the area. And please donate what you can. Kenny ain't exactly getting rich off his art projects and electricity costs a lot. Worse, he's having issues with the city planning commission over  his extension cords and to top it off, his dad. Kenny Irwin Sr., passed on back in July. Hasn't been an easy year for this guy. 

Salaam alaikum, Kenny! Hoping that you overcome these obstacles and have a happy, prosperous and creative 2017.

Robolights runs daily from 4-9:30 pm until Jan 1. 

Address: 1077 E Granvia Valmonte, Palm Springs, CA 92262

 

Phone: (760) 200-4143

Now Robolights is not a children's entertainment (but if your kids like robots, they'll lose their minds with happiness) and there's some adult content, so use your judgement. Over in the left column, there's a whole photo album from this year's Robolights. He switches it up all the time.

PS - Update: Kenny's still in trouble with the city, but now it's an inflatable Santa on his roof, and an if-fy wall over by the dovecote. Have a care if yer walkin' on a windy night. Also - the Robolights docents and volunteers are just awesome.

Photos © 2016 by Jane Pojawa.

 

24th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design at FIDM

I haven't been by my old alma mater, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for quite a spell, and that's kind of a shame because they have two terrific exhibits up now - the Oscar costumes and some gorgeous Victorian fans. 

Over there at the right, I'm hanging out with the costumes from The Revenant, but if that ain't your thing, they've got MacBeth, Cinderella, Crimson Peak, Hateful Eight, Mad Max and the main draw (according to our docent) is the costumes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Literally there is something for everybody. 

 

Dates: February 9, 2016–April 30, 2016

10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday

(Museum will be open on Monday, February 29 and closed on Friday, March 4)

Location: FIDM Museum

919 S. Grand AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90015

Admission: Free to the public

Creepy fun fact: The belt on this dress from Crimson Peak is made from human hair. It is not a special effect! 

 

Scott Hove at Think Tank Gallery

Scott Hove, responsible for Oakland's wonderful Cakeland, is shaking and baking things up here in LA in the heart of the fabric district. Get on down to the Think Tank gallery where you don't eat cakes - they eat you.  This is can't-miss installation art sure to put a smile on your face and also get you thinking - and the pink frosted cake maze is mandatory. Admission is free, but reservations are advised. They're also doing lots of specially-ticketed events, so keep an eye out in case one catches your fancy. 

Think Tank Art Gallery - 939 Maple Avenue. Second Floor. Los Angeles, CA 90015

 

Derrick's Gypsy Wagon

As I was strollin' from the tribal fusion haifa at Movement Art Space in Glassell Park up to the Verdugo Bar, I chanced to meet this feller and his astonishing gypsy wagon. Folks, I have a terrible recollection of names, but I believe his name is Derrick, his wife is Micah, and that they're building this lovely gypsy wagon out of stuff they found on the street. Warms my heart to see urban artists making something beautiful out of nothin.' Fantastic work, my friend. 

Noah Purifoy at LACMA

Y'all know from my previous posts that I'm a big Noah Purifoy fan. The Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum is one of the finest conglomerations of assemblage art there is, hands down, so I was mighty curious to see how that could be translated from large-scale pieces in the California desert  to an austere, interior white-walled museum setting. Disregard that orange wall over there, it's an anomaly. 

Noah's work (I've got to call him Noah - I might not have known him personally, but I feel like he's an old  friend) was inspired to  a degree by Sam Rodia's master work, The Watts Towers, but his stuff is smaller, funnier, and more about social message than beauty. It has funk. It's dirty. It's about taking what society discards and making something meaningful out of it. You can't look at his art and not smile.  

The LA County Museum of Art [LACMA] is hosting an exhibit of some of Noah's select work until Sept. 27, so jump on it while you can.  They're calling it Junk Dada, which I guess is as good a term as any for his more surreal pieces.  Over on the right, you can see that they left a dove's nest in one of the sculptures, which is a nice touch, and they also anchored the pieces with a sandy base that touches on their desert home.  Other parts of the exhibit explore some wall-mounted items (calling them paintings or collages or quilts is a little too specific) plus some mention of his work in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Now, you've heard me harp about the Raven Jake Austerity Plan (there's going to be a lot of that this summer - I've got me some beer tastes on a water budget) and here's how LACMA is helping us out: On weekdays, after 3 p.m. to museum has free admission for LA County residents. If you go on a Friday, the museum is open til 8 and there's free jazz concerts. Grab a blanket, pack a picnic and you're all set for a romantic evening on the cheap. You can thank Jake later [wink]. 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323 857-6010 | 

http://www.lacma.org/

 

 

TwentyWonder Benefit for Down Syndrome

Folks, I’ve gotten behind on my posting, and my adventures. Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do. Now you might have noticed that just about every time you go to some fundraiser, no matter what the organization is, they follow the same dang format: hotel, conference center-style chicken marsala, boring speeches about said cause, lots of self-congratulating from the organizers. TwentyWonder ain’t like that.

Now we went last year and it was pretty terrific. And this year’s line-up was just as good. Instead of boring speeches, they have Mexican-style wrestling. Instead of chicken marsala, they have food trucks. Instead of a hotel, they have the Derby Doll Warehouse and an exhibition rollerderby match. Instead of self-congratulatory introductions they put the focus on the beneficiaries – adults with trisomy 21 aka Down syndrome. And then there are the acrobats. Can’t leave them out.

Shout out to Jim Hodgson, whose son Henry motivated him to start TwentyWonder five years ago. Jim’s now the full-time Director of the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles (DSALA), and still chief TwentyWonder wrangler. All proceeds for the event go to the DSALA for programs to support people with Down syndrome who are 18 years and older. There are a lot of programs to support school-aged kids with Down Syndrome, but few to support these folks and their families once they become adults. So the need is definitely there.

“TwentyWonder, a Carnival of the Mind” goes down like a 3-ring circus. The evening starts with roller derby, moves on to lounge acts in the Cool Room (which is also the room with air conditioning; it was a mite warm last night) then a stunning show by Cirque Berzerk, followed up by music and wrestling. In the meantime, there’s a midway in the main hall with lots of little booths and exhibits to inspire thinkin’ about science.

There’s a chair that magnifies your pulse 32,000x and features red flashing lights until you’re having a relaxed rave of one,  an entomologist with tarantulas to play with and lots of bug specimens, a couple of UCLA students explaining planetary mass, some presidential reinactors hosting Mad Libs (changed to mad liberties) Willie Wonka hawking benefit chocolates and golden tickets, a couple of bars, Tom Woodruff's batmobile and so much more.

You sure won’t want to miss it in 2015.

Last Weekend for Cirque-a-Palooza

The  historic Pasadena Playhouse has taken a significant departure in its offerings this summer by presenting "Cirque-a-Palooza." Instead of intimate plays and single-performer showcases, this production very loosely based on the material and performances popularized by Cirque du Soleil, features a huge cast, sideshow performances, magic and juggling and acrobatics and much, much more. It has a special appeal to families with young children and affordable ticket prices. Unfortunately, this is the last weekend to enjoy this very special opportunity in the beautiful setting of the Pasadena Playhouse..

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013
ROAD TO PALOOZA: A CIRQUE VARIETY SPECTACULAR
8:00 p.m. - Mainstage
BILLY'S UNSPEAKABLE ACTS
8:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre
WET THE HIPPO
10:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2013

TEN WEST
12:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre
STUDIO ZANNI
2:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre
AMY G.
4:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre
GRAND GUIGNOLERS
6:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre
ROAD TO PALOOZA: A CIRQUE VARIETY SPECTACULAR
8:00 p.m. - Mainstage
BUTT KAPINSKI
8:30 p.m. - Makineni Library
GRAND GUIGNOLERS
10:00 p.m. - Carrie Hamilton Theatre

Tickets to all CIRQUE-A-PALOOZA shows are available at The Pasadena Playhouse box office, online or by calling 626-356-7529.

California Institute of Abnormal Arts

Folks, I'm almost ashamed to say that I ain't heard of the California Institute of Abnormal Arts until last night, when Jane, Sigrid and Greg "forced" me into goin' out for dinner and a show. An old acquaintance  of ours, Zamora the Torture King, was making a rare L.A. appearance. That's him over at the right. Eatin' fire. He also swallows lightbulbs, walks on broken glass, lies on a bed of swords while having a cinder block smashed on his chest; all of those old sideshow acts - he's done it.

Joining Zamora was one of his co-stars from Knott's Scary Farm, Dr. Odd. Mike Odd is also the lead vocalist of Rosemary's Billygoat. He's been studyin' up on the snake oil, though, and has apparently invented some sort of tonic. Or maybe it's an elixir. Anyway, if it don't cure you, it'll surely kill you. Either way, problem solved. Dr Odd's electric chair short circuted during one of his therapy sessions (below) but he seemed just fine. Probably on account o' all that "medicine."

Now the California Institute of Abnormal Arts, [CIA] which is nestled among the head shops and auto repair places in North Hollywood, is the brain child of one Carl Crew. Carl, much like myself, likes his entertainment with a sideshow twist, and that's why he's known as "The Barnum of Burbank Boulevard." His institute has the look of a Wunderkammer, or an old-time museum, and the performance space is kind of a circus tent / burlesque stage / speakeasy with broad strokes of pirate-clown set dressing.

Going through the gate (Carl handles the tickets himself) he manages to personally meet and greet each person coming through the line. Unfortunately, his hand stamping device is a little old fashioned and it gives you a hell of an electrical shock and kicks up quite a racket. Maybe he'll just get an ink stamp some day, but I wasn't going to pay another $12 for in/out privileges. 

From there, you start through a creepy maze of semi-permanaet shrines, sitting areas, tiki bars and suchnot. A skinny cat popped out to meet up, and I got a fondness for the sort of casual atmosphere that encourages curious critters to put in an appearance. 

Anyhow, it was a great venue, a fun show and a terrific night out. It's kinda hard to tell, but over at the left, I'm hanging out with a Feejee Mermaid. Down below, I'm hangin' out with Mike Odd. Discerning readers will immediately be able to tell the difference. 

 

 

Raven Jake at Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Art Museum

I'm rarely taken with a place as much as I am with Noah Purifoy's Outdoor Desert Art Museum. There's so much stuff to look at that I'm gonna need three or four visits just to take it all in. Matter of fact, I might just move in as one of the displays. Now, I don't know too much about Noah, 'cept he lived in Watts for a spell, as did I. So I'll let his website tell it:

Born in Snow Hill, Alabama in 1917, Noah Purifoy lived and worked most of his life in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, California, where he died in 2004. He received an undergraduate degree from Alabama State Teachers College in 1943 and a graduate degree from Atlanta University in 1948. In 1956, just shy of his fortieth birthday, Purifoy received a BFA from Chouinard, now CalArts.  His earliest body of sculpture, constructed out of charred debris from the 1965 Watts Rebellion, was the basis for 66 Signs of Neon (1966), a landmark group exhibition on the riots that traveled throughout the country. As a founding director of the Watts Towers Art Center, Purifoy knew the community intimately. His 66 Signs of Neon, in line with the postwar period’s fascination with the street and its objects, constituted a Duchampian approach to the fire-molded alleys of Watts. This strategy profoundly impacted artists then emerging in Los Angeles and beyond, such as David Hammons, John Outterbridge and Senga Nengudi, who all worked with him. For the twenty years that followed the rebellion, Purifoy dedicated himself to the found object, and to using art as a tool for social change. In the late 1980’s after eleven years of public policy work for the California Arts Council, where he initiated programs such as ‘Artists in Social Institutions,’ which brought art into the state prison system, Purifoy moved his practice out to the Mojave desert, where he lived for the last fifteen years of his life creating ten-acres full of large-scale sculpture on the desert floor. Constructed entirely from junked materials, this otherworldly environment is one of California’s great art historical wonders.

The mission of the Noah Purifoy Foundation is to preserve and maintain Purifoy’s outdoor museum of assemblage sculpture as a permanent cultural center and park, and to promote greater public appreciation for the values embodied in Purifoy's work.

 

The Magik Bus of the Joshua Tree Saloon

Shout out to Gerard Ledonne from the Joshua Tree Saloon,  the artist/owner of the Marrakesh Express here; it is truely a sight to make you smile. I've been assured that the "Hippy Bus" is in good working order and I sure would love to see it trolling Highway 62 sometime.