LAM promises a fun February with performances, programs and new exhibitions
A few of the Art & Nature exhibitions are still on view at Laguna Art Museum, featuring groundbreaking, immersive exhibitions including Pyramidion by artist Kelly Berg and Five Summer Stories: The Exhibition. The museum has added public programs, including innovative workshops.
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Photos courtesy of LAM
From the Stuart and Judith Vida Spence Collection: “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art” by John Baldessari, 1971 lithograph
On February 4, the exhibition featuring Southern California Contemporary Art Gifts from the Stuart Spence and Judith Vida Spence Collection opened and continues through July 2023. For more than 30 years, the Spences collected and lived with contemporary art in their home in Los Angeles, as well as lending pieces to exhibitions and making significant donations to art museums – most notably LAM.
This major gift by Judy and Stuart Spence to Laguna Art Museum includes artworks from the 1970s to the present spanning California Conceptualism, West Coast Pop and Los Angeles’s Lowbrow art movement.
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Kelly Berg’s “Pyramidion”
Pyramidion is an interactive sculptural experience that invites viewers to contemplate the layered history and unique geology of Laguna Beach. The Big One by artist Robert Young is thought to still hold the record as the largest painting ever created in Laguna Beach and is on display in the California Gallery. Pyramidion and The Big One are on view through February 12.
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Visitors have until March 12 to see the “Five Summer Stories” exhibition
Five Summer Stories: The Exhibition, presented in partnership with MacGillivray Freeman Films and Coast Film Festival in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the iconic surf documentary, includes a sneak peek of the film and historic imagery, along with clothing and items from the era of the film. The exhibition is on view through March 12.
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Live! at the Museum, February 9, Douglas Masek
–Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.
Live! at the Museum, Douglas Masek and Bryan Pezzone
Join this duo consisting of a saxophone and keyboard as they perform in the museum. Please arrive early and enjoy the museum’s exhibitions and social time. Live! at the Museum is presented in partnership with Laguna Beach Live!
Laguna Live! concerts are partially funded by the lodging establishments and City of Laguna Beach. Advance tickets recommended. Laguna Art Museum members and Laguna Beach Live! Members: Free, Non-members: $14 per person. For tickets, click here.
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Collage Workshop
–Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m.
Jo Situ Allen leads Mixed Media Collage Workshop
Inspired by Robert Young’s painting, The Big One, local artist Jo Situ Allen (aka Dirty Eraser) will lead a mixed media collage workshop using found images, objects and reproductions of marine life from The Accidental Naturalist, her book on native California species. She will share some insights about the wonderful species found just off the beaches of Laguna. Energized by the intuitive flow of the ocean, students will create their own magical underwater landscape through colors, forms and textures. The Oceanic Flow workshop will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase through the Laguna Art Museum website and the cost is $20 for museum members and $30 for non-members. Children under 12 can attend the workshop for free, but must be accompanied by at least one paying adult. Supplies for the workshop are included with the ticket.
For tickets, click here.
Storytime Saturday
–Saturday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m.
Storytime Saturday, The Day You Begin
Bring literature to life during a participatory story time that will have you making and moving! We’ll craft a storytelling experience inspired by a museum artwork or exhibition to foster children’s understanding of art’s role in their lives. Read-alouds will be supplemented with mindfulness exercises, art-making projects, or in-gallery activities that promote meaningful connections with caregivers and others. Sessions are designed for PreK–2 learners and their families.
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A special Storytime celebrating Black History Month featuring The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson with an activity that encourages us to see the beauty in what makes us unique. All children receive free admission. Tickets are required for accompanying adults only. Museum members: $7, Non-members: $14. For tickets, click here.
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Black Beach Culture
–Sunday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m.
Black Beach Culture
Join historian, Alison Rose Jefferson, where she will share stories about how African Americans from the 1900s to 1960s created recreational and relaxation spaces at Southern California beaches and other places. In the process sometimes, they were able to form community and created business projects at these sites. These stories are drawn from her recent book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era and other work. She will also share how some of these stories are being used in contemporary public history remembrance and public policy actions.
As leisure was gaining centrality as part of the American Dream, Black Californians were working to make it an open, inclusive reality for all. African Americans fought for dignity, equal access and the full range of human experiences and fulfillment in exploration of California’s offerings as they contributed to the state’s development and the broader freedom rights struggle in the United States. Advance tickets recommended. Museum members: $7, Non-members: $14. For tickets, click here.
For more information about the 10th Annual Art & Nature Festival and Laguna Art Museum exhibitions and programming, visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org.
Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach.