Artist Juan Gris is the latest Google Doodle art star [video]

Google has a gained a reputation for offering users a quick artistic education. Today's Google Doodle is dedicated to Spanish artist Juan Gris on the 125th anniversary of his birth.

Gris was born in Madrid on March 23, 1887, and followed the lead of more celebrated Cubist counterparts Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Gris found recognition in his own right in part because of his portrait of Picasso exhibited in 1912, although the two may have had some friction in their relationship. Instead of showcasing "Homage to Picasso," Google opted for a rendering of a trio of Gris' works melding guitars, violins and mandolins in place of the search engine’s logo.

A week ago, Akira Yoshizawa was a Google Doodle honoree. The origami artist, who would have turned 101 on March 14, was known for turning paper and water into elaborate sculptures. And late last year, Google Doodle honored the artist and social activist Diego Rivera on what would have been his 125th birthday.

Watch below for a 50-second video that tells more about Friday’s Gris/Google collaboration and a few facts on how Cubism came to be.

 

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— Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: A screen shot of the Google Doodle featuring Juan Gris' works. Credit: Google.com.

Damien Hirst's new website features live streaming art-making

Ever wanted to watch a great artist (or his assistants) mid-masterpiece? Damien Hirst recently launched a new website showing his team at work in his studio.

The backdrop of the site features a live feed of what appears to be a couple of young English blokes at work on a piece similar to Hirst's pinwheel paintings.

Those who tune in have the options of two views, from the front and overhead, while pair work (rather nervously) at a circular table in front of the lens.

The website, damienhirst.com, also has links to Hirst's exhibitions, projects and shop, as well as a series of videos featuring the artist. Not surprisingly, Hirst was nowhere to be seen in the live feed. 

The camera seems to be on 24/7. When we tuned in after hours, there was nothing to watch except a dark studio with a cart of supplies in the corner, which as you might expect, is even less exciting than watching paint dry.

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--Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: A screenshot of Damien Hirst's darkened studio being streamed on his website. Credit: Damienhirst.com

ForYourArt opens its first public space--and seeks proposals for it

It's never been easy to pigeonhole ForYourArt, which has variously functioned as an arts website, a gallery and museum guide publisher, a cultural marketing firm and an event producer. But that task is about to get even harder, as the small but influential L.A. firm founded by Bettina Korek six years ago is opening its first public space at 6020 Wilshire Blvd.

The idea is a highly flexible, hybrid space devoted to arts programming in the broadest sense--"anything from talks to installations to publication launches to performances," said Korek, 33. One thing not to expect: traditional six-week-long, gallery-style exhibitions.“It's really about temporary projects, which last 0 to 7 days,” she said. Also not in the works: any plans to scale back the company’s Web or Twitter presence.

The new space, an 1,850-square-foot storefront across the street from LACMA, will open March 24 with an event pegged to a museum screening of Christian Marclay's blockbuster video “The Clock.” While Korek declined to give specifics, she described the opening event as "a 24-hour show that reflects the way we want to encourage participation in museums."

Chouinard, the influential L.A. art college, is revisited online

Chouinard Art Institute has come to life for the third time in 90 years -- this time on the Web, where the high overhead costs that eventually sank the original, highly influential school in 1972 and blunted an attempted revival during the 2000s no longer will be a factor.

The Chouinard Foundation website is devoted to telling the story and documenting the influence of the art college (pictured) that a war widow named Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (pronounced shuh-nard) launched near downtown L.A. in 1921, continuing for more than 50 years until it was contentiously consumed in the creation of CalArts. 

The Chouinard alumni roster includes Robert Irwin, Ed Ruscha, Larry Bell, Allen Ruppersberg, Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, graphic artist John Van Hamersveld (designer of “The Endless Summer” film poster and the Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour” and the Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main Street” album covers) and the "Nine Old Men," the crew of animators who played vital roles in the triumph of Walt Disney.

The site offers videos, news articles and historical background on Chouinard’s initial run and the activities of the Chouinard Foundation, which began improbably in 1999 after Dave Tourje, an artist, guitarist and construction company owner, bought Nelbert Chouinard’s 1907 home in South Pasadena as a fixer-upper without knowing much about her, then became enthralled with the notion of restoring her legacy along with her former domicile.

Google Doodle honors photography pioneer Louis Daguerre

Google put up one of its periodic Google Doodles Friday, a homage to Louis Daguerre on his 224th birthday –- and a reminder to web-surfing shutterbugs, photo-oglers and moving picture buffs everywhere to say a thank-you to photography’s most widely celebrated parent.

The first known photograph, “View from the Window at Le Gras,” actually was created by Daguerre’s fellow Frenchman, Joseph Nicephore Niepce, in 1827, when he coated a metal plate with bitumen and put it in the window of his country home -– creating a hazy silver and black image that he dubbed a “heliograph.”

Before his death in 1833, Niepce began collaborating with Daguerre, who built on his partner’s earlier work and, by 1839, had found a way to fix permanent images onto a plate (Englishman William Talbot was simultaneously making similar strides). Daguerre dubbed the result a daguerreotype -- represented by Google in its drawing, above -- launching a rage for taking, posing for, collecting and telling stories with photographic images that continues unabated.

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Into the light

-- Mike Boehm

Photo: Google Doodle for Friday, Nov. 18. Credit: Google.com

Autism and romance mix in live-via-Internet 'On the Spectrum'

"On the Spectrum,” a new play by veteran Los Angeles screenwriter Ken LaZebnik, will achieve two rarities for a live drama during its premiere run through Nov. 27 at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. It is a love story about two young people with autism, and its Nov. 22 performance, at 5 p.m. PST, will be accessible worldwide to anyone with a computer, streamed in live video over the Internet.

LaZebnik’s credits include co-writing the 2006 film, “Prairie Home Companion,” with Garrison Keillor, and scripting television episodes of “Star Trek: Enterprise” and “Touched By An Angel.”

His play’s title stems from autism disorders falling on a “spectrum” that ranges from the profound social and mental limitations that Dustin Hoffman portrayed in “Rain Man,” to people like Tim Page, who won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for his classical music criticism in the Washington Post, is now a professor at USC, and wrote an acclaimed 2009 memoir, “Parallel Play: Growing Up With Undiagnosed Asperger’s.”

Dead Sea Scrolls go online, thanks to Google, Israel Museum

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a popular draw whenever fragments of the ancient manuscripts are displayed at museums around the world. Now you can get a close-up glimpse of the scrolls with a few keystrokes on your personal computer.

Google and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem have partnered to launch a new website that allows the public the ability to examine the Dead Sea Scrolls in fine detail. The site provides searchable, high-resolution images of the scrolls, plus explanatory videos and background on the foundational texts.

The initiative is part of the Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project between the museum and Google. The museum has so far digitized five scrolls in its collection -- the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll and the War Scroll.

The Dead Sea Scrolls remain a controversial subject. Some Palestinian officials believe that the scrolls were illegally obtained by Israel when it annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. In 2007, the San Diego Natural History Museum hosted a selection of the scrolls in a six-month show that was a popular draw.

Discovered between 1947 and 1956, the scrolls are attributed to an isolated Jewish sect, referred to in the scrolls as "the Community," whose members settled in Qumran in the Judean desert. 

In the past, Google has launched similar online initiatives with other museums through the Google Art Project.

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Photo: The War Scroll. Credit: Israel Museum

Monster Mash: Supreme Court won't hear Norton Simon case; China seeks millions from Al Weiwei

Rejected: The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to take up an appeal from Marei Von Saher, who is trying to wrest a 480-year-old painting from the Norton Simon Museum. (Los Angeles Times)

No stopping: China has asked dissident artist Ai Weiwei, who was recently released after two months in detention, to pay 12 million yuan ($1.85 million) in back taxes and fines. (Reuters)

Local roots: Pop singer Alicia Keys is one of the producers for the Broadway mounting of Lydia R. Diamond's "Stick Fly,"  which had been seen in 2009 at the  Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. (Broadway World)

High tech: The J. Paul Getty Museum is teaming up with Google on a new project to provide information on hundreds of paintings from the museum's permanent collection. (Los Angeles Times)

Staying put: An effort to send the Mona Lisa on a temporary visit to Italy has been dismissed by gallery chiefs in France. (Telegraph)

Remembrance: The New York Philharmonic will hold a free memorial concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Times)

Rock legend: A contested statue of musician Chuck Berry has been approved in St. Louis. (Reuters)

Stepping down: Brent D. Glass, who has served as director of the National Museum of American History for the past nine years, will retire in July. (Washington Post)

Shelved: A proposed Hong Kong museum honoring the late movie star Bruce Lee has been canceled. (Hollywood Reporter)

Inheritance: The late Huguette Clark has bequeathed a painting from Claude Monet’s "Water Lilies" series to the Corcoran Gallery of Art. (Washington Post)

Passing: British stage and screen actress Margaret Tyzack has died at 79. (BBC News)

And in the L.A. Times: Art critic Christopher Knight on the Ardabil Carpet on display at the L.A. County Museum of Art.

-- David Ng

Photo: The Getty Center in Brentwood. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Takashi Murakami helps Google celebrate summer (and winter) solstice

Takashi Murakami is famous for his brightly colored, Superflat creations that draw from manga, anime and other aspects of Japanese pop culture. On Tuesday, Murakami contributed designs featured on the Google homepage to celebrate both the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and signifies the first day of summer. It occurs when the Earth's axis achieves its greatest tilt toward the sun. Conversely, the winter solstice occurs in the opposite hemisphere on exactly the same day.

Tuesday's Google doodles feature Murakami's signature alien-like creatures rendered in his trademark style. In 2007, L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art held a retrospective of Murakami's artwork. The exhibition, titled "Copyright Murakami," drew record crowds to the museum's space at the Geffen Contemporary.

Other recent culturally themed Google doodles include homages to Martha Graham, Dizzy Gillespie, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky and Frida Kahlo.

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Images: Google

Shakespeare not a hit with voters in online charity contest

William Shakespeare would be a front-runner if experts were to vote on the greatest creative artist of all time, but he was just an also-ran in the Chase Community Giving competition, an online charity-by-popular-vote contest that ended Wednesday night.

JPMorgan Chase will donate $3.125 million to the top 25 vote-getters; the other 75 -– including the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, which finished 51st  -- get $25,000 each for making the final round of 100. In all, Chase will donate $5 million based on voters’ clicks for the charitable “Big Ideas” posted on its contest’s page on Facebook.

Whatever else the Bard may be, he isn’t Jewish -– and the get-out-the-vote campaign was strongest in some sectors of the Jewish community, which led to five of the top 10 finishers, and seven of the top 15 being Jewish-affiliated organizations, six of them schools. The top prize of $525,000 will go to the New York-based Chabad of Argentina Relief Appeal, whose “Big Idea” is a program to help Argentine youngsters who are at risk of child abuse.

The top Los Angeles-area finisher, the Conejo Jewish School of Thousand Oaks, came in sixth and will get $125,000 for its area-wide initiative against bullying, which includes developing online videos and other teaching materials to be circulated in schools. The foundation that supports the Arcadia Unified School District gets $45,000 for finishing 21st.