Recommended: In Wonderland at LACMA

This past weekend, I finally got a chance to see "In Wonderland: The Surrealist Adventures of Women Artists in Mexico and the United States," which is on view at the LACMA only until May 6!  Ever since I read the description for this art exhibit I had been wanting to check it out.  In part it read:  "While their male counterparts usually cast women as objects for their delectation, female Surrealists delved into their own subconscious and dreams, creating extraordinary visual images. Their art was primarily about identity: portraits, double portraits, self-referential images, and masquerades that demonstrate their trials and pleasures."

The show has been very widely promoted on streets all over Los Angeles with large ad-banners featuring a self-portrait of Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. (A detail of which is seen here on this blog). As I knew this was going to be group show featuring many artists, I was a bit worried that this show would only have one of Kahlo's pieces in the collection, but I was very happily surprised that they had seven of her paintings--including one of her most famous (and larger pieces), Los Dos Fridas, which is a real treat to see up close.

With over 170 paintings, sculptures, photographs in this exhibit, it was a great opportunity for me to discover new artists that I had never heard of before.  One of the artists that stood out the most to me was Remedios Varo, a Spanish-born artist, who worked in Paris before fleeing to Mexico during the Nazi Occupation.  She had a couple of beautiful paintings in the exhibit, including one titled, Papilla estelar (Celestial Pablum), which was very dreamy, but also evoked some sadness.

By the time some of you read this, it may already be too late to see this exhibit.  However, there is a companion book, and although it is pricey ($60) it is worth purchasing and is available in English, Spanish and French.

Recommended: Asco at the LACMA

There are many things to like about the current Asco exhibit at the LACMA, "Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972–1987." For one, it is the first major retrospective of this pioneering Chicano art collective.

Second, it is good, quality, high-brow art that was doing new (crazy) things in the art world--and doing a lot of them in public! (In the streets of East L.A. nonetheless).

Third, there is the historical side of it. I, for one, was very giddy to see photos and art that featured early East L.A. punk bands, Los Illegals and The Brat. (Also, a treat to see pics of a young Marisela Norte, an L.A. poet).

The exhibit itself is very wild, as it tries to capture the essence of the group. A lot of different mediums, like paintings, video, costumes, but mostly, photographs make up the exhibit. An article from the NY Times best explained their style in the following manner:

Asco’s method was a kind of bombastic excess and elegant elusiveness that would have made Tristan Tzara proud, not to mention Cantinflas and Liberace. The Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight wrote that the group “brought Zurich Dada of the late-1910s to 1970s Los Angeles.” But it was a distinctly Chicano brand of Dada, by way of David Bowie and Frank Zappa, drag and Pachuco culture, telenovelas and oddball UHF television stations, and New Wave and silent movies.

Exhibit closes December 4, 2011.