Culture Monster’s things to do on President’s Day
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Not everyone has Monday off for Presidents Day, but for the lucky ones looking for something to do, here are a handful of suggestions.
Make it to MOCA: Mondays are often the best days to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art, if only because lots of museums are closed that day, recuperating from busy weekends, so MOCA offers an alternative. If you haven’t seen the current, first-rate mega-survey of 500 works from its permanent collection (including’s Jasper Johns’ ‘Map,’ above), installed in celebration of MOCA’s 30th anniversary, it’s reason enough -- and it’s also large enough (filling both the Grand Avenue and Geffen buildings) to require a couple of hours. Added bonus: There’s now a Metro stop across the street from the Geffen (take the Gold Line to the Little Tokyo/Arts district station).
-- Christopher Knight
Wheel now, wheel later: No great American president was born on Feb. 15. It is a fake holiday, a product not of history but corporate convenience. No important classical concert is scheduled on this slow Monday. But the weather forecast is for a warm sun. Get out and ride your bike and get in shape for a real Presidents Day – the following Monday. Feb. 22 is Washington’s birthday. And that is cause for celebration. A Tour de France-sized peloton of bicyclists, bells and whistles at the ready will ride down Grand Avenue for Mauricio Kagel’s “Eine Brise: Transient Action for 111 Cyclists,” part of a Monday Evening Concert tribute to the quirky Argentine avant-gardist at the Colburn School. A circus stage and bondage are also promised.
-- Mark Swed
Free art: You can have a Presidents Day art outing while observing that great American tradition – enjoying freebies – at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which is waiving the usual $12 general admission fee, courtesy of a sponsorship from Target Corp.
--Mike Boehm
California artists: While yearning for contemporary California to spawn leaders like Washington and Lincoln to tackle our woes, art lovers can make a Presidents Day outing to the Laguna Art Museum and glimpse a time when the Golden State seemed more, well, golden. “Artists in California: Early Twentieth Century,” culled from the museum’s collection, features works by William Wendt, Joseph Kleitsch, Matteo Sandonà, Charles Rollo Peters, Frank Cuprien, Granville Redmond, Donna Schuster, and Mabel Alvarez, among others.
-- Mike Boehm
The controversial Bronze: The ongoing legal battle for one of the Getty Museum’s most prized possessions took another twist on Thursday when a judge in Italy ordered the confiscation of the ancient statue. As the museum plans its appeal, you can take the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the bronze at the Getty Villa, which is open on Presidents Day. The statue is on display in its own climate-controlled gallery on the second floor. A museum spokesman said that there are no plans to remove it from public display in the foreseeable future. (The Villa offers free admission but visitors are required to obtain timed reservations in advance.)
-- David Ng
