First Look: Jori Finkel skims the May art (and fashion) magazines

Departures' annual "culture issue" has a big, glossy art-travel story on Instituto Inhotim, the Brazilian museum and sculpture garden once dubbed an "art zoo" for its collection of exotic projects.

Look for Robert Polidori’s spectacular shot of Chris Burden's "Beam Drop," made by dropping dozens of steel I-beams at different angles into wet concrete, which writer Stephen Wallis calls the “sculptural equivalent of the action paintings produced by Jackson Pollock." (Above is a photo of “Beam Drop” by Eduardo Eckenfels from the Inhotim website; Polidori's photo is even more striking.)

Am I the only one who sees Burden's Urban Light at LACMA as its American cousin?

(One small bug in the Departures program: Where is the article on "Tilda Swinton's art-house hit" blurbed on the cover? The editor's letter mentions “Io Sono L’Amore” (“I Am Love”) as something that did not make it into the issue. OK, fine, but maybe it should not have made the cover either?)

Monster Mash: LACMA's 'American Idol'; GLAAD winners named; London museum to display its fakes

-- New treasures: Patrons helped to buy five works for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in this year's Collectors Committee Weekend -- what LACMA director Michael Govan has called "the 'American Idol' of the museum world." (Los Angeles Times)

-- Prize winners: Octavio Solis' dark family drama, "Lydia," which appeared at the Mark Taper Forum in spring 2009, the movie "A Single Man" and the Fox series "Glee" were among the winners at the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards-Los Angeles, presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. (Theatermania)

-- Oops: The National Gallery in London will display more than 40 fake paintings it has mistakenly purchased over the years, including some whose technique has stirred admiration among gallery curators. (Independent)

-- Pricey pieces: An emerald brooch owned by Russia's Catherine the Great and a 39.5-carat diamond ring that once belonged to former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos will be the star attractions in a Christie's jewelry sale in New York. (Reuters)

-- Speaking of Imelda: A song cycle, "Here Lies Love," about Marcos -- recorded by former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne in collaboration with English DJ and beat architect Fatboy Slim and singers such as Natalie Merchant and Cyndi Lauper -- reportedly has piqued the interest of New York's Public Theater as possible material for a musical. (NPR)

-- Troubled times: The beleaguered head of the Aspen Music Festival says a no-confidence vote may be proposed against him during an upcoming meeting of the Colorado festival's trustees and faculty. (Aspen Times via ArtsJournal)

-- Distinguished career: Howard Dodson plans to retire next year after more than a quarter of a century as the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York -- the leading institution of its kind. (New York Times)

Also in the Los Angeles Times: Gustavo Dudamel faces high expectations as he leads the L.A. Philharmonic through a jam-packed spring and summer; music critic Mark Swed reviews Shen Wei Dance Arts' “Re- (I, II, III)” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center; theater critic Charles McNulty reviews the world premiere of "Girlfriend" at Berkeley Rep.

-- Karen Wada

Photo: Stephanie Beatriz and Carlo Alban in Octavio Solis' "Lydia" at the Mark Taper Forum. Credit: Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times

Battle is brewing over a proposed skate park near the Watts Towers*

Plans to build a large skateboarding park next to Simon Rodia’s folk-art masterpiece, the Watts Towers, has unhappy admirers of the towers girding for a land-use fight against high-powered opposition.

City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, whose district includes Watts, is a key proponent of the skate park, which also is being pushed by Circe Wallace, a manager for the L.A. sports marketing and management company, Wasserman Media Group, and two of her pro skateboarder clients, Terry Kennedy and Paul Rodriguez. Skateboarding star Tony Hawk has raised $44,000 toward its estimated cost of $350,000 or more.

Although acknowledging that youngsters in Watts need more recreational opportunities, opponents of the skate park, which would be longer than a football field and two-thirds as wide, are asking why it has to occupy a vacant parcel about 40 yards from the vulnerable towers.

They worry that a noisy attraction could interfere with visitors’ enjoyment of the towers and that the skate park could bring in graffiti taggers, drug users and violence, threatening both the physical safety of Rodia’s fantastical, ornately decorated structures and their potential to draw tourism.

ArtReview ranks Eli Broad, Michael Govan, Glenn Beck among 'Power 100'

The magazine ArtReview announced this morning its list of the art world's "Power 100" and several prominent L.A. names were among the illustrious, including Eli Broad (No. 7), Michael Govan (No. 40), Tim Blum and Jeff Poe (sharing No. 31).

One of the most notable inclusions in this year's list is conservative political commentator Glenn Beck, who came in at No. 100. Beck's place on the list is no doubt due to his recent controversial foray into art criticism, when he lambasted art created for New York's Rockefeller Center.

According to the magazine, entrants are "ranked according to a combination of influence over the production of art internationally, sheer financial clout (although in these times that’s no longer such a big factor) and activity in the previous 12 months – criteria which encompass artists, of course, as well as collectors, gallerists and curators."

The No. 1 spot this year goes to Hans Ulrich Obrist, who is co-director of exhibitions and programs and director of international projects at London’s Serpentine Gallery. ArtReview described him as "a tireless advocate for contemporary art who operates close to the centre of a network of influential thinkers and agenda-setters. "

The highest-ranking artist on the list is Bruce Nauman, who earlier this year received a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.

ArtReview, which is based in the U.K., said that a third of last year’s entries have fallen off the list and were replaced with newcomers. Damien Hirst fell from first place last year to 48th this year, while Charles Saatchi also fell significantly.

Click through to peruse the entire list...

Monster Mash: Gustavo Dudamel thrills Hollywood Bowl; Tony Roberts falls ill; Annie Leibovitz's prize

-- Big welcome: Gustavo Dudamel made his debut Saturday as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's new music director to a packed Hollywood Bowl crowd.

-- Brain trust: LACMA's Michael Govan has joined an advisory panel for the long-planned Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.

-- Theater illness, part one: Actor Tony Roberts falls ill during a preview performance of "The Royal Family" on Broadway, forcing the cancellation of the matinee show.

-- Theater illness, part two: Actor Michael Gambon withdraws from Alan Bennett's play "The Habit of Art" at the National Theatre in London due to illness.

-- Packing her bags: Controversial artist Tracey Emin is threatening to leave Britain for France in protest over tax policies and the government's attitude toward the arts.

-- Hardly a drag: The stage adaptation of the 1994 movie "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" is scheduled to open on Broadway in the spring of 2011.

-- Fiscal hard place: The Port Huron Museum in Michigan is considering deaccessioning certain works to help remedy a budgetary shortfall.

-- Belated premiere: A long dormant play by the late filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder finally makes its debut in Germany.

-- Confession: A former Marine pleads guilty to the 2007 theft of works by Picasso and Chagall from galleries in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Fla.

-- Consolation prize: Debt-ridden photographer Annie Leibovitz will receive an award from the Georgia O'Keefe Museum as part of its Women of Distinction series.

-- David Ng

Photo: Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Save Film at LACMA plans to hold gathering Saturday

Save Film at LACMA clearly has no intention of going away.

The grassroots organization has been a thorn in the side of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art ever since the institution revealed in July that it was closing down its weekend film series.

Though donations have extended the life of the program through June 2010, there remains considerable  uncertainty as to how the museum will go about raising the $5 million to $6 million the museum's press office said is needed to save the program.

Save Film at LACMA said it will hold a gathering on Saturday evening in conjunction with the museum's previously announced screening of a new print of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "A City of Sadness" (1989). The group is designating the evening as "Save Film at LACMA Night." 

Organizers told Culture Monster that they are using the screening as an opportunity for cinephiles to meet and show their support for the museum's film program.

The group said it has also asked Michael Govan, the museum's director, to attend the screening, but he has not confirmed if he will or not.

Earlier this month, Save Film at LACMA met with Govan to discuss the museum's plans for its film department. During the meeting, Govan said that he had met with Martin Scorsese, whose open letter in The Times criticizing the museum's decision received widespread public attention.

"A City of Sadness" will screen only once at LACMA, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from Hou's "A City of Sadness." Credit: LACMA and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Los Angeles

Monster Mash: L.A. Times editorial board sounds off on LACMA controversy; KUSC says it's the tops; artists, filmmakers protest Toronto Film Festival

-- Reeling: The Los Angeles Times editorial board believes LACMA and film go together, and describes the museum's original decision to close its weekend screening series as "shocking and depressing."

-- Strong signal: L.A.'s KUSC-FM (91.5) says it is the most listened-to public radio station in the country.

-- Israeli controversy, Part 1: A group of artists, filmmakers, actors and writers is protesting the Toronto Film Festival's focus on the city of Tel Aviv.

-- Israeli controversy, Part 2: The AP is involved in a dust-up around a photo exhibition depicting violence in the Middle East.

-- Don't touch: A security guard at the Seattle Art Museum has been fired after her decision to alter a work by Yoko Ono.

-- This old house: Sydney Opera House is looking to raise about $500 million for renovations. 

-- Backlash: Public outcry has forced the government of British Columbia to restore money cut from arts groups.

-- Cutting back: The Rochester (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra is changing its 2009-10 season to save money.

-- Film commitment: Hank Azaria has pulled out of the stage production of "An Evening Without Monty Python," which is scheduled to play in Hollywood and New York.

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from "Gone With the Wind," which has screened at LACMA's film program. Credit: Warner Bros./MGM/UA

Monster Mash: LACMA talks revamped film program; 'Spider-Man' musical could resume production; Jeremy Piven explains fish defense on TV

-- Talking big: LACMA's Michael Govan lays out specifics on a re-envisioned film program, but movie fans aren't buying all of it.

-- Action-hero rebound: Broadway's "Spider-Man" musical is rumored to be back on again despite lingering money problems.

-- Contemporary classic: Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" will receive its first New York revival off-Broadway in 2010.

-- Auteurs chime in: Filmmakers James Gray, John Landis, Roger Corman, Paul Schrader and more recall LACMA's venerated film program.

-- Facing the law: James von Brunn, who is charged with killing a security guard at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. earlier this year, appears in federal court today.

-- Sounds fishy: Jeremy Piven went on TV to discuss his early withdrawal from the Broadway revival of "Speed-the-Plow" last season.

-- Another screen-to-stage production: La Jolla Playhouse will stage a musical adaptation of the popular 1997 documentary "Hands on a Hard Body."

-- Award winner: Painter Ed Ruscha is one of this year's honorees recognized by Americans for the Arts.

-- Public remembrance: Angela Lansbury will host a memorial for her late "Mame" costar Bea Arthur in New York on Sept. 14.

-- Stage mishap: Cate Blanchett was injured during a Sydney performance of "A Streetcar Named Desire" when a prop landed on her head.

-- Coda: Conductor Erich Kunzel, who led the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, had died at age 74. 

-- David Ng

Photo: A scene from "Citizen Kane," which has screened at LACMA's film program. Credit: Warner Home Video

LACMA reveals plans for revamped film program, but fans are skeptical

 

Michael Govan, the director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, took a few hours out of his busy schedule Tuesday to meet with members of Save Film at LACMA. On the table was the fate of the museum's 40-year-old weekend film program, which the museum said in July it plans to shut down.

But the meeting, nicknamed the "popcorn summit," has evoked mixed reviews from the L.A. movie buffs who attended.

Govan laid out for the first time a set of proposed budget figures for what he sees as a revamped film department at LACMA. He said that he would like to increase the program’s annual budget to $500,000 from its current level of about $350,000. He also said he is looking to raise between $5 million and $10 million in endowments for the re-imagined film program.

Members of Save Film at LACMA said they were impressed with Govan’s enthusiasm but expressed concern that his big-budget vision for the film department emphasized big donors at the expense of loyal ticket buyers.

You can read the entire story here. The Times also spoke with several prominent filmmakers in Hollywood and beyond for memories of their beloved LACMA screenings series.

-- David Ng

Credit: Filmack Studios

Related stories

$150,000 pledged to save LACMA film program

Martin Scorsese: An open letter to Michael Govan and LACMA

Monster Mash: Soprano Hildegard Behrens dies; Shepard Fairey upset about article; Monty Python reunion

-- Passing: Legendary soprano Hildegard Behrens died yesterday while traveling in Tokyo. The Wagnerian opera star was 72.

-- Investigation: Federal agents are cracking down on illegal practices in the trade of Native American artifacts.

-- Sounding off: Shepard Fairey is upset about what he sees as shoddy reporting in a community newspaper about his Echo Park offices.

-- Comedy time: Monty Python will stage a reunion in New York this fall to commemorate its 40th anniversary.

-- Jet-setter: Times art critic Christopher Knight notes that LACMA's Michael Govan spent 10% of his time in New York.

-- Fancy footwork: Dance class enrollments are rising thanks to the popularity of TV shows like "So You Think You Can Dance."

-- New museum: Russia's cultural minister has revealed plans for a $94-million contemporary art museum in Moscow.

-- Garage sale: The National Geographic Society is looking for private and institutional collectors to buy photographs from its archives.

-- Some hope: Detroit cultural institutions managed to raise $3.75 million online despite technical glitches.

-- Curtain: Texas' Metropolitan Classical Ballet has eliminated the bulk of its upcoming season, save for holiday performances.

-- Different approach: A new online venture seeks to raise extra revenue for museums and galleries in Britain.

-- Public art debate: PETA is challenging Kansas City, Mo.'s decision to ban a circus-protest sculpture that  depicts a chained and weeping baby elephant.

-- David Ng

Photo: Hildegard Behrens and David Kuebler in a 2001 rehearsal of "Jenufa." Credit: Associated Press