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Israel's artists of the Imagination: Orit Raff and Nir Evron
Art — both making it and enjoying it — seems a luxury in times of war. Yet the work of two Israeli artists, Orit Raff and Nir Evron, showing at the contemporary art space LAXART through Aug. 23, is not only a worthy distraction from the psychic weight of current events but also a testament to the power of art to transcend national identities, challenge assumptions and transport viewers to landscapes heretofore unimagined. The exhibition is supported by Artis, a… -
Jewish Heroes of the Great Patriotic War
“On the Way to the Patriotic War,” artists V. Vinogradov, Y. Nikolaev; postcard. Photos courtesy of the Blavatnik Archive Foundation “On the Way to the Patriotic War,” artists V. Vinogradov, Y. Nikolaev; postcard. Photos courtesy of the Blavatnik Archive Foundation At the University of Southern California (USC), in the lobby of the Doheny Library, a giant story of Jewish history has been writ large in a small exhibition titled “Lives of the Great Patriotic War: The Untold Story of Soviet… -
Judy Fiskin: The Hammer's Summer Blockbuster
Judy Fiskin’s video “I’ll Remember Mama” is a witty, complex story of the artist’s relationship with her mother. Photo courtesy of Judy Fiskin In keeping with summer being the season for superhero sequels, the Hammer Museum is presenting “Made in L.A. 2014,” its second biennial selection of contemporary artists working in Los Angeles. Organized by the museum’s chief curator, Connie Butler, along with independent curator Michael Ned Holte, the exhibition features a diverse and eclectic mix of 35 artists working… -
Jackson Pollock's 'Mural': Masterpiece or Macho Outburst?
[caption width="584" align="alignnone"] Jackson Pollock (American, 1912-1956); “Mural,” 1943; medium: oil and casein on canvas. The University of Iowa Museum of Art, Gift of Peggy Guggenheim, 1959. Reproduced with permission from The University of Iowa.[/caption] Rarely do we see singular artworks that, even as they represent an exact moment of transition between art historical movements, are also masterpieces in their own right. Yet that is exactly what can be seen now at the Getty Museum, which, until June 1, is… -
The Strength of Ma'aleh Film School
A scene from the documentary film, “The Strength to Tell.” A black-and-white film shows a trial being called to session. In less than a second, it’s obvious this is the trial of Adolf Eichmann, in Jerusalem in April 1961, with Eichmann in the bulletproof glass booth. We watch as a witness takes the stand. We pull back now, in color, to a present-day room where a group of teenagers are watching the footage. A man asks them, “What does the… -
My Prediction for 2014: Peace in the Middle East
This year, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will secure a peace agreement in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian State. I understand that no one believes this will happen. Not the Israeli officials who are dismissive of Kerry; not the Palestinian officials who bristle with each proclamation Netanyahu makes. Certainly not the news media pundits who traffic in naysaying. Yet if recent history has proven anything, it is… -
We are all ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’
“Inside Llewyn Davis,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film, is the fictional story of one week in the life of a folksinger in Greenwich Village in 1961. The title character, played with total conviction by Oscar Isaac and supplied with credible material by the maven of American music, T-Bone Burnett, is acknowledged to have been inspired, in part – at least as a jumping off point -- by the late folkie Dave Van Ronk. Ethan Coen describes Llwyn as “not… -
Danny Sanderson in L.A., celebrating 40 years of Israeli pop music
If you’ve been to Israel in the last 40 years or heard Israeli popular music, then you probably know Danny Sanderson, who will be performing with his band at the Gindi Auditorium at American Jewish University on Dec. 8. Sanderson was a founding member in 1973 of Kaveret (literally Beehive; also called Poogy), a band often referred to as “the Beatles of Israel.” Although Kaveret broke up in 1976, they have reunited successfully on several occasions. Last summer, for their… -
The Wallis: Now that it’s built, will they come?
A giant risk is being taken with The Wallis — as the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills is being called, and for which the 1934 Beverly Hills Post Office on Santa Monica Boulevard, between Canon and Crescent drives, has been rehabbed to pristine beauty. The former post office building holds a theater school, the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater — a multifunction black box theater — and administrative offices, and it is now attached to architect… -
What Jonathan Alter Thinks about Our President
June 18, 2013 Jonathan Alter’s “The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies” (Simon and Schuster), an account of the president’s reelection campaign and the challenges posed by the Republican’s obstructionist politics, has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for several weeks. We recently spoke to the columnist for Bloomberg View about the president, the 2012 campaign and the future of political journalism. The following is an edited version of our conversation. TOM TEICHOLZ: Three years ago, you… -
The Remarkable Life and Times of George Plimpton
The groundbreaking journalist taught me one of life's most important lessons: You never have to be afraid to be yourself June 17, 2013 Recent months have seen a resurgence in all things George Plimpton (journalist and founding editor of The Paris Review), with the release of a documentary, "Plimpton!" as well as the paperback edition of "George Being George." Why should we care? What makes Plimpton so interesting to us now? For one thing, we have Plimpton to thank for… -
Etgar Keret: The Long and Very Short of Fiction
Posted: 11/04/2013 4:32 pm Etgar Keret, with his collections The Nimrod Flip-Out and the recently published Suddenly, a Knock on the Door, reinvigorated the short story (and the short, short story). The author, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Zoetrope and on This American Life, recently spent a day in Los Angles, at UCLA, as a guest of the Israel Studies department, and at a reception in his honor at the home of Sharon Nazarian, president of the…