It’s the first day of work for many of us -- and it pretty much sucks. Thank God it’s a short week. If you haven't gotten enough going out for the New Year, here’s what's going on around town tonight: more ›

Prior to the Melvins' eardrum-shattering and patriotically inspiring performance at the Echoplex, Buzz Osborne was kind enough to share his thoughts on the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, the digital revolution, and the potential for "peculiar" art in today's world. more ›

Have a taste for deliciously scary eye candy? Check out Christopher Ulrich's phantasmagorical paintings: Demoneater Series One in Santa Monica! more ›

Stage and screen choreographer Michael Kidd died this past Sunday in Los Angeles at the age of 92, according to the New York Times. From his beginnings in Brooklyn, Kidd moved over to Manhattan to dance and create dances for dance companies including Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan (1937), Eugene Loring's Dance Players (1941) and Ballet Theater, the predecessor to the American Ballet Theater (1942-47). more ›

One of the great things about Pedro are the cliffs, which provide beautiful views of the harbor. At the same time, the harbor is getting some beautiful views of the cliffs ( and the Point Fermin building). Here is a sea-lion's-eye view from Watt's kayak. A Watt's-eye-view. more ›

CLASSICAL: There's other classical music about town tonight besides Chanticleer. The Calder Quartet is the Colburn Conservatory’s first quartet-in-residence, and these new faculty members will show their chops with a program that includes Philip Glass, Quartet No. 2 “Company” by Philip Glass; Quartet in A minor “Rosamunde” by Franz Schubert and Terry Riley's “Cadenza on the Night Plain.” more ›

Some photographers are just lucky. They were in the right place at the right time. They were there to ride the crest of a burgeoning scene. Not so for Ann Summa. She may have been snapping away while LA's punk rock scene took its very first breath, but the timelessness of her photography is not sheer luck. Ann Summa's photographs could stand up to the best of them even if they were pictures of random people taken at the bus stop. Her use of lights and darks is striking, and she is able to capture the intensity of people like Tomata du Plenty and the cool detachment of Dianne Chai. more ›

As a send off to photographer, Ann Summa's Los Angelesshow, bands/performers from the bad old days of early L.A. punk played in the gallery. Dude, it was both awesome and bitchin. more ›

KITSCH: The Charles Phoenix Holiday Jubilee returns to REDCAT for the next four evenings. LA kitsch expert Charles Phoenix brings together an evening of live comedy, including the Bob Baker Marionettes, roller rink organist Dominic Cangelosi and a few other surprises. The entertainment's all in combination with his "Retro Holiday Slide Show," comprised of slides he found at area thrift shops and flea markets. more ›

Could you imagine Los Angeles without the Getty Museum? If that serene white chunk of Italian marble nestled above the 405 suddenly removed its bulk to some other parts, would you notice? Would you care? more ›

[O]ur friends at Found LA have decided to get together and throw us a party at their amazing gallery in Silverlake (Google Map here), with free drinks and a cake to boot. It goes from 8PM - 10PM this Saturday (12/15) and is bound to be a blast... more ›

Picasso. Giacometti. Kandinsky. Klee. Brancusi. So begins a list of 20th century artists whose works are part of the largest single donation to LACMA in over 40 years. Private LA art collectors Henri Lazarof, a composer, and his wife Janice, a daughter of the late S. Mark Taper, gave 130 paintings, sculptures, and other modernist works to LACMA this week. The gift is valued at an estimated $100 million plus according to the LA Times.... more ›

The Whole 9 is hosting their holiday party tomorrow (Tuesday) night from 6-9:30PM and would like to invite you to come! What started as an online community where creative, entrepreneurial open-minded people can meet and share, showcase their work and get work has turned into a creative space and art gallery in Culver City. The gallery has shows where the artists are selected from portfolios on The Whole 9 website. The host of the most... more ›

This house in Burbank has a giant Disneyesque tree stump in its front yard. Why is it there? Maybe it is permanent part of the cottage charm. Maybe it is a giant holiday yule log. Maybe it is a prop in the making that is refusing to cross the picket line. Or maybe there is a giant blue ox on the run somewhere in the city. Like most Angelenos, I stopped asking, "Why?" a long time ago. I just appreciate the whimsical unpredictability of living in LA. more ›

Remember when Charlie Brown had a bad case of S.A.D. and after he gave Lucy a nickle, she tells him that he needs more "involvement." Then they put on a nativity play and well, you know the rest. It's December and Los Angeles is rife with holiday plays and musicals. Just because you're too old to land the starring role in the Christmas pageant, or don't happen to have kids who are performing in one, don't think you get to skip your seasonal dose of fabricated sentiment. Afterall, when it's 80 degrees outside, we Angelinos can use all the holiday cheer (or parodies there of) we can possibly stand. more ›

This Saturday night, high art meets sex with the release of Grafuck, a book featuring some of the best artists out there creating 208 pages of erotic imagery to titillate your creative urges. To celebrate the release, Gallery Nucleus is having a book signing and art show, featuring the artists and the work they've created for the book. more ›

I almost didn’t go to see Ann Summa’s Los Angeles punk photo exhibition at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica. No offense to the once, raw obscure photographers who happened to be at the right place at the right time 30 years ago, snapping amazing images of once, raw obscure bands. Your recognition is well past due. It’s just that there’s been a plethora of punk picture/art/flyer/book exhibitions in the past few years and I’ve seen most of them and on the night in question, I was running late from an earlier art opening and thought, “maybe I’ll just skip this one.” Thankfully, I came to my senses and hauled my lazy ass over to Bergamot Station. On the way in, I was greeted by the nostalgic sight of a drunk-off-her-butt teenager being half carried through the parking lot by friends. I took it as a sign from the gods of punk rock. more ›

Occasionally it doesn’t totally suck to work my weekend job on the Westside. Especially if there are art openings going on. I got to use that: “Well, I’m in the neighborhood anyway.” excuse last Saturday night. After a “hearty” Krishna carbo load at Govinda’s Restaurant, I and fellow art crawler, MXL, hit Mark Mothersbaugh’s Rugs During Wartime and Peacetime exhibition cum warehouse sale at the Scion gallery in Culver City. (Yep, that Mark Mothersbaugh, co-founder of the band, Devo.) more ›

Natalia Fabia tackles the world’s oldest profession in her fun solo exhibit Hooker Safari: A Glamorous Jungle Pageant. Giving new meaning to the term “wildlife”, her oil on panel paintings depict frequently tatted babes in various scenarios alongside safari animals. more ›

Last weekend my dad accompanied me to see the Salvador Dali exhibit at LACMA (although, to avoid a $20 cover and massive crowds, I’d opt for the $17 weekday peek). Nonetheless, and as expected, the exhibit was absolutely astonishing. more ›

Join the Arroyo Arts Collective this Sunday for their 15th annual tour of artists’ studios & homes in the Highland Park, Eagle Rock & Mt. Washington areas. more ›

This is the last week to step into the doomful fairy land of Camille Rose Garcia at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery. Her latest collection, Escape to Darlingtonia, is another chapter in Garcia’s cartoony nightmares. more ›

I have never been an improv fan. Another empty back room? Another watered-down drink? ANOTHER bunch of folks asking me to “name a city” so that they can squeeze some cheesy hilarity out of it? No thanks. Me and my Friday night are gonna hang out on the solo tip. more ›

Edward Weston. One of the most brilliant photographers of the 20th Century. Viewing the LACMA exhibit many years ago, I was enamored instantly. The buildings, the nudes, the everyday objects, and his link to Los Angeles stirred up emotions in me that I’ve never forgot. more ›

I spent last Halloween on a sort of ad hoc art crawl. Our first stop was John Matkowsky's dkrm Gallery, located in the Capitol Studios Building in Glassell Park. This cool old building is also home to Another year in LA and Shotgun Space so you can hit more than one opening at a time. We mostly hung out in the gallery, chatting with other people there. It was a nice place, and could probably handle some pretty big parties. more ›

Replace 'Please' with Fast & 'Thank you' with Good, a new show at Lab 101. more ›

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Lisa Congdon's new show Charming Creatures opens Friday, November 2nd at Firefly in Venice. more ›

By Henry David for LAist.com... more ›

A brief overview of the new Takashi Murakami exhibit at the MOCA. more ›