The actor/comedian is also a noted art collector and now he's curating a show of work by Canadian painter Lawren Harris; El Teatro Campesino collaborates with Center Theatre Group and Boyle Heights residents for a show at Grand Park; Jafar Panahi is banned from making films in his homeland, but that hasn't stopped him.
Steve Martin uses a 'taboo word' to describe paintings by Lawren Harris
"Awesome" and "beautiful" aren't words that art critics or museum curators usually use to describe art, but they are exactly the words that Steve Martin uses when he talks about the paintings of Lawren Harris.
The comedian, performer, essayist, playwright and Grammy Award-winning banjo picker is guest curator of "The Idea of the North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris" — an exhibition at The Hammer Museum.
Of the word beautiful, Martin says...
It's a taboo word in art criticism and discussions at the highest levels of art. You would almost never find the word beautiful in a contemporary essay about an artist. But I'm an independent person. I can use it.
Curating an art exhibition is a first for Martin, but it's not exactly a stretch. He's a long-time art collector and it was his love of Harris' work that first drew the attention of The Hammer. (Martin owns three pieces by Harris that are not in the show).
Martin has been traveling to Canada for work and vacation for much of his adult life and first encountered Harris' paintings in person 10-15 years ago. He says that when he walked into a room full of Harris' work, he was amazed.
It looked like what I think heaven will look like — big sky, big mountains, clouds, ethereal, striking.
And this week at The Hammer, when Martin first stood in the gallery among the paintings he'd chosen for the exhibition, he said they were "simultaneously calming and thrilling."
Unlike other artistic endeavors that Martin undertakes, curating an art show is impermanent. Yes, there is a beautiful hardcover catalogue that can be purchased. But the exhibit itself is ephemeral. It'll be at The Hammer for three months and then go on to other cities.
Art shows and theater are one of the few remaining analogue experiences. You have to go there and see it to get the full power. So it's still a very social and personal experience to come see the show.
El Teatro Campesino comes to LA to celebrate 50 years of community theater
Fifty years ago this year, Luis Valdez founded the theater company known as El Teatro Campesino on the picket lines of Cesar Chavez’s United Farmworkers Union.
Valdez’s son, Kinan, is now the producing artistic director of El Teatro Campesino.
In the first weeks of the company’s existence, there was a flier that was handed out that spoke about wanting to form this company for and by farmworkers. And at the bottom of the flier it said if you can act, walk, sing, stand, hold a picket sign — this company is for you. No experience required. And that’s the basis of the work that we’ve been doing for the last 50 years — inviting community members into the creative process itself.
On Oct. 10-11, Teatro Campesino continues its tradition of community theater with “Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven,” an original play produced in collaboration with L.A.’s Center Theatre Group and the community of Boyle Heights.
“In the last 50 years there’s been this really strong community sense of cultural activity that is quite prominent and present in Boyle Heights," says Valdez, "and I think Center Theatre Group was interested in partnering with their neighbors right across the bridge."
A retelling of the Mayan creation myth, “Popol Vuh,” will feature live music under the direction of Ozomatli guitarist Raul Pacheco, choreographed dance and puppets up to 15 feet tall.
Director Kinan Valdez works with the Grandfather puppet during a rehearsal. (Photo Credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)
Center Theatre Group’s prop makers worked with Teatro Campesino to fashion the skeletons for the puppets. “And that design was used for some of the puppets in this particular production, based on the wood people, which are these 10-foot walking puppets that represented the first failed human beings that were created on this planet,” Valdez says.
As actors narrate the story and perform the voices of mythological Mayan characters, participants from Teatro Campesino’s Boyle Heights workshops will operate the giant puppets. Valdez says controlling the giants requires a full body approach. “They have to embody and become the spirit of each of these puppets, and in some cases they need to work together as an ensemble,” he says. “Some puppets are three-person puppets.”
Puppets Grandmother, Heart of Sky and Grandfather in rehearsal. (Photo Credit: Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging)
It takes one person just to move one hand of the towering creatures. Miguel Roura is among the puppeteers.
“It’s a synchronization of not only movement, but also with music and with the narration, we’re having to listen to our cues with our movements,” Roura says.
And many of the play’s performers not only control the puppets, they also made them. Tadie Acosta helped craft one of the pieces she’ll wear in the show. Acosta was drawn into the production from one of the workshops and became attached to the art she made there.
“That’s how this whole thing started, because I knew about the workshop,” Acosta says. “Then, right after the mask was done they said, ‘Well, if you want to be part of the show...’ And I was like, ‘Yeah because I want to wear my mask.'”
Several people involved with “Popol Vuh” have a relationship with Teatro Campesino that goes deeper than the recent workshops. Diane Rodriguez is an associate artistic director with Center Theatre Group. She helped produce this weekend’s performance, but she also spent her formative years as a member of Teatro Campesino.
“I learned how to act on stage, but also [learned to be] an activist,” Rodriguez says. “So to be able to connect the two places that have been my theatrical home has been a real life moment.”
Miguel Roura says he too has a history with the company.
“I’ve been a big admirer of the work that they’ve done, basically because they were working with Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers,” says Roura. “So it was my cause when I was a student.”
Kinan Valdez says, for him, seeing multiple generations of families take part in his play has been the most rewarding.
“It’s something that’s near and dear to my heart because I grew up as a young child floating on the periphery of the theater with my parents," he says. "And then once I was invited to participate in that adventure it became a lifelong journey. And so to see that happen once again with these young children and their family is quite precious and beautiful.”
“Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven,” will be presented by Center Theatre Group and El Teatro Campesino for two performances only, October 10 and 11 at 3:30 p.m. in Grand Park, downtown Los Angeles. Performances are free but reservations are recommended. More info at Center Theatre Group's website.
Censored filmmaker Jafar Panahi defies Iranian government to release 'Taxi'
Earlier this year director Darren Aronofsky awarded Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi the Berlin Film Festival’s highest award for his latest movie, “Taxi.” Now, the film is opening in the U.S.
In the movie, Panahi poses as a taxi driver in Tehran, picking up passengers from all walks of life. A series of cameras mounted on the dashboard capture the action and the conversations that take place inside his cab.
Accepting The Golden Bear was Panahi’s 11-year-old niece, who has a memorable role in “Taxi.” Panahi couldn’t be there to accept it himself because he’s banned by the government from leaving Iran — he’s actually banned from making films too. Despite that, he continues, andthis is the third film he’s made since the ban.
When Akrami joined The Frame, we had him start by explaining how the Iranian government is trying to keep Panahi from making films.