Farmlab + George Herms Team Up For "Opera Workshop"
Art Installation + Free Jazz Workshop
In August @ Beverly Hills 'Phantom Gallery'



"Opera Workshop" – Art Installation and Free Jazz Opera Workshop – Opens To Public
Project Features Collaborative Interplay Between George Herms & Farmlab
Takes place in ephemeral Beverly Hills "Phantom Gallery;" Reception 8/11/07


WHAT:
"Opera Workshop" is the umbrella title of two blended, process-based installations that set out to develop ideas and create a zone of play, flexibility, and collaboration in the heart of a busy commerce district. "Opera Workshop" consists of two projects:

*"Amaze,” by Farmlab Team; and
*"The Artist’s Life: A Free Jazz Opera” workshop by George Herms


WHEN & WHERE:
Phantom Galleries LA; 269 N. Beverly Drive; Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Dates & Hours: August 11-August 31, 2007; Thurs-Sat, 12-5pm, and by appointment
*August 11 @7-10pm: Opening Reception
*August 18 @ 7-9pm: Free Jazz Opera workshop performance by George Herms & jazz musicians
*August 25 @ 10pm: Free Jazz Opera performance by George Herms & jazz musicians

WHO:
Farmlab is a collective dedicated to the preservation and perpetuity of living things. More info @ www.farmlab.org

George Herms is a Los Angeles-based artist.

Phantom Galleries LA is a Los Angeles County-based organization that transforms unoccupied storefronts and spaces into temporary art galleries. More info @ www.phantomgalleriesla.com

MORE ABOUT "AMAZE":
Working inside the otherwise vacated "Phantom Gallery" space at 269 N. Beverly Drive, in Beverly Hills, Calif, members of the Farmlab team have set about creating, "AMAZE." This experimental labyrinth is a zone of play, flexibility, and collaboration located in the heart of a renowned commerce district where passers-by are offered constant opportunities to consume, but far fewer to build and make.

Utilizing a palette of salvaged materials (steel rods, telephone wire, kimonos, etc.), and inspired by the assemblage work and recycling ethos of George Herms – himself a recent Farmlab artist-in-residence – Farmlab team members have since mid-July been working to transform the large, ground-floor lobby area of this former bank building.

AMAZE aims to explore the idea of collaborative endeavors as the result of individual acts. Rather than decide every move together, Herms and Farmlab build separately, in different sections of the venue. The end result is a loose framework that likely – or not – will fit together.

Members of the public are invited to join in and add to the maze as they see fit, either by bringing in their own materials or using items already on-hand.

MORE ABOUT "JAZZ OPERA WORKSHOP":
George Herms’ Jazz Opera Workshop, set in the eye of the maze, mingles with the rollicking larger construction and is best viewed from a cocoon-like seating arrangement built within the maze's framework. Public workshops of two of the acts of this five-act opera, with accompaniment from leading jazz musicians, will take place on August 18 & August 25.

The opera's structure will ultimately consist of –

Act One, Scene One: A Sculptor's Studio; Act Two: Away; Act Three: Oops: Act Four; Evil (The taking down of the Serapeum); and Act Five: The Redemption Kiss.

MORE ABOUT PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON AUGUST 18, 2007 @ 7-9PM:
On this evening, Herms and musicians will workshop, "Act Two: Away." Jazz musicians joining Herms on 8/25 are: Roberto Miranda (bass), Bobbie Bradford (cornet), Vinnie Golia (reeds), Clayton Cameron (drums), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (viola).

MORE ABOUT PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON AUGUST 25, 2007 @ 10PM:
On this evening, Herms and musicians will workshop, "Act One, Scene One: A Sculptor's Studio," a salute to john Coltrane. A spiral staircase will be elevated, and a large spherical buoy played. Jazz musicians joining Herms on 8/25 are: Theo Saunders (piano), Adar Lawrence (tenor sax); Henry "The Skipper" Franklin (bass); Ramon Banda (drums); David Dalston (trombone). Levitation of the spiral staircase is courtesy of Bill Gray.

MORE ABOUT FARMLAB:
Farmlab's short-term multi-disciplinary investigations of land use issues related to sustainability, livability, and health are conducted by members of the team behind the recent Not A Cornfield project in Downtown Los Angeles. NAC project artist Lauren Bon is Farmlab's founder and Creative Director.

MORE ABOUT GEORGE HERMS:
"Like a lean jazz quartet, Herms sets the mood as much with what is there as with what is not. In an era where assemblage artists fixate on the cute essentials of thrift store finds, Herms abstracts the detritus of society into an improvisational solo encouraging the things to become something else within his sculptures and collages." – Mat Gleason, ArtScene, 2005

MORE ABOUT PHANTOM GALLERIES LA:
Phantom Galleries LA is a Los Angeles County-based organization that transforms unoccupied storefronts and spaces into temporary art galleries. Exhibits are curated by local arts organizations, Los Angeles-based galleries, independent curators, and Los Angeles-based artists. The project gives artists an opportunity to exhibit their work, while promoting the creative community to a broader audience and keeping the area looking vital and culturally exciting. The spaces are lit and on view 24 hours a day.

Phantom Galleries offers a special thank you to the City of Beverly Hills Economic Development Office for their continued support and assistance in launching the Beverly Hills Phantom Galleries LA program. "In Beverly Hills we believe that a vital economy needs an active art and cultural core." – Alison Maxwell, Director of Economic Development and Marketing for the City.

For more about the City's Public Art Program, log onto www.beverlyhills.org. For more about Phantom Galleries LA, contact Liza Simone, 213.626.2854; [email protected]

Photo, at top of page: Installation of "AMAZE" and "Jazz Opera Workshop" continues daily; here, a shot from late July

Farmlab Photo by James Goodnight

 



 

This Week @ Farmlab
News + Projects +
Salons + Exhibitions

August 2-August 8, 2007


Farmlab + Under Spring
Saturday August 4, 2007 @ 6pm-6am
Farmlab and Dublab Present | Accidentally on Purpose: Tonalism
Organized by Dublab, this all-ages, free-of-charge, all-night ambient music happening (6pm-6am) features
sounds from the likes of Dntel, Languis, Tropic of Cancer, Carlos Nino, Frosty, Mia Doi Todd and....full text

Exhibition Extended
Farmlab Team | Garden of Brokenness
Farmlab's Garden of Brokenness celebrates Los Angeles as a broken paradise. The project is proposed for Confluence Park, a location that has been described as one of the ugliest ..... full text

Farmlab Public Salons
Friday, August 3, 2007 @ Noon
Leonard J. Aube | Dolphin Tales: Portrait of a Troubled Sea
The San Pedro Channel -- the body of water between the Palos Verdes Peninsula mainland and Santa Catalina Island -- was once home to myriad and plentiful species of ..... full text

Friday, August 10, 2007 @ Noon
Deborah Kaufman | "Thirst" -- Discussion & Documentary Film Screening
Deborah Kaufman, along with Alan Snitow, have produced and directed three films, including their latest, "Thirst." The pair, along with co-author Michael Fox, wrote the related book, "Thirst: Fighting ...... full text

News + Projects
Ag Bin Ramblas
An Under Spring Walking Tour
Forty-two paces. With this blog's gait, anyway,that's the length between void and verdant. Between litter and lush. Between asphalt and agriculture.Thirty-one ag bins ..... full text

The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park
An 'Eco-Econ' proposal from Farmlab
Visit www.farmlab.org for a complimentary download of this new report written by Michael Woo; as well as for video and podcast of related July 13, 2007 remarks by Farmlab's Lauren Bon, Al Nodal, and Woo ..... full text

 



 

Ag Bin Ramblas
An Under Spring Walking Tour



Forty-two paces.

With this blog's gait, anyway, that's the length between void and verdant.

Between litter and lush.

Between asphalt and agriculture.

Thirty-one ag bins.

Planters, really, boxes of wood, now brimming with pumpkin, chilies, squash, bananas, corn, avocados, guava, mint, beans, berries,tomatoes, marigolds, sugar cane, and other abundant examples of fellow flora.

For now, call it, "Under Spring Jardin."

Coming soon, maybe call it, "Ag Bin Ramblas."



What's all this about?

Since May, Farmlab Artist-in-Residence Gerardo Vaquero Rosas has filled a fleet of these approximately six-foot-by-three-foot-by-three-foot boxes with soil and seeds -- the latter of which hale from the former South Central Farm. These past months, Rosas has gently watered, he's pruned, he's vigilantly fretted.

Now, five weeks into summer, the results are apparent: Two rows of the bins, marching down gutter and metal fence, sandwiching an all-but-ignored sidewalk; vegetables sprouting, almost leaping like they were chlorophyll fountains; vines wrapping around barbed wire to one side and the wooden latticework above, seeking light, providing a canopy's shade.

The crop ought to remain strong until January, Vaquero Rosas reports. Whether the current cocooning sensation of strolling, forty-two paces or otherwise, lasts that long is an open question. See for yourself next time you're at Under Spring.



What's the bigger picture?

Ag bins have been a fundamental tool in the materials pallete for Farmlab team members since they housed kernels, ears, and silk from the Not A Cornfield crop. The bins served as massage tables during, "The End: A Party." Then, more seriously, they became a unit of measurement, of sorts, as Farmlab attempted to conceive of an alternative solution to the then-seeming end of the South Central Farm.

If, for example, property owners are willing to allow farmers temporary use of land, then what if fleets of ag bins were delivered to those sites, or offered to those who would populate them? In that case, when it was time to move on, the bins -- whether on wheels or otherwise -- could be redeployed at the next temporary farming location. That could mean less chance of a loss of community; less chance of a loss of soil and crops; and perhaps, less contention.


Related Farmlab Links:

  • Memorial to, of, and by the trees of the South Central Farm


  • Ag bins delivered to Skid Row



  • Farmlab photos by James Goodnight

     



     

    What You Missed Last Saturday Night



    A crowd of 300 or so people gathered Under Spring Saturday night, July 28, 2007 for The Camel's Back, part of Farmlab's "Accidentally on Purpose" series that celebrates summer and spontaneity.

    Folks who came were treated to the likes of a collaborative performances by guitar hero Nels Cline, bassist Jesske Hume, and butoh dancer extraordinaire, Oguri; and, as if that wasn't spectacular enough, the premiere of composer Yuval Ron's work, "Maya." That piece featuring both wind instrumentation and the playing of an enormous "earth harp" -- a massive string instrument made of thick wires that stretched nearly the complete length of Under Spring.

    More music followed by Arnie Saiki's band, Obakesan, featuring dance by Robert Scott; and a solo dance piece by Miles Tokunow.





    Captions: The "Earth Harp," being played (top), and installed (bottom); and butoh dancer Oguri, performing under Spring, to the musical accompanyment of Nels Cline and Jesske Hume

    Farmlab photos by James Goodnight

     



     

    Junker Car Garden Movie

     



     

    South Central Farm - Huntington flight CCA2

     



     

    Agbins on Skid Row CCA 1

     



     

    This Week @ Farmlab
    News + Projects +
    Salons + Exhibitions

    July 25-August 1, 2007


    Farmlab + Under Spring

    Saturday July 28, 2007 @ 7:30pm
    Farmlab and Under Spring Presents | Accidentally on Purpose: The Camel's Back
    This evening of music and dance features performers such as Nels Cline, Oguri, Robert Scott, Jesske Hume, and Yuval Ron's installation and performance of a giant harp .... full text (coming soon)

    Saturday August 4, 2007 @ 6pm-6am
    Farmlab and Dublab Present | Accidentally on Purpose: Tonalism
    Organized by Dublab, this all-ages, free-of-charge, all-night ambient music happening (6pm-6am) features sounds from the likes of Dntel, Languis, Tropic of Cancer, Carlos Nino, Frosty, Mia Doi Todd and... .... full text (coming soon)

    Exhibition Extended
    Farmlab Team | Garden of Brokenness
    Farmlab's Garden of Brokenness celebrates Los Angeles as a broken paradise. The project is proposed for Confluence Park, a location that has been described as one of the ugliest ..... full text (coming soon)

    News + Projects

    The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park
    An 'Eco-Econ' proposal from Farmlab
    Visit www.farmlab.org for a complimentary download of this new report written by Michael Woo; as well as for video and podcast of related July 13, 2007 remarks by Farmlab's Lauren Bon, Al Nodal, and Woo ..... full text (coming soon)

    Farmlab Public Salons

    Friday, July 27, 2007 @ Noon
    Matthew Moore | From Agriculture to Suburbia: Cultivating the Oasis
    Join earthworks artist Mathew Moore for a discussion of his work. He is a fourth generation farmer whose land and life is quickly being overcome by suburban sprawl ..... full text (coming soon)

    Every Friday @ Noon
    Complete Farmlab Public Salon Schedule
    August 3, 2007 Leonard Aube on the polluted, biologically diverse San Pedro Channel | August 10, 2007
    Deborah Kaufman "Thirst" -- Discussion & Documentary Film Screening..... full text (coming soon)

     



     

    Mushroom Project Update

    The Farmlab Team continues to negotiate for permissions required to begin a local public pilot project involving mycoremediation techniques. In the meanwhile, muchroom growing continues at the Farmlab warehouse.

    From Farmab Team member and mycology project manager Jaime Lopez Wolters:

    "Farmlab's last round of mushroom growing began June 18, 2007. We inoculated about 50 bags of corn straw with fresh oyster mushroom spawn, spen[t] mushroom bags and inoculated burlap sacks. Not all the bags have been fully colonized, with many succumbing to green mold, but the bunker spawn in burlap sacks is doing well. We are still learning the way of the fungi. We have set up a space that will function as a mushroom laboratory, complete with a laminar flow hood donated to us by the San Fransisco Exploratorium."

     



     

    Teatro Workshops
    Viente Pasos acting technique
    Sept. 11, 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9 @ 7-9pm

    About the Teatro Workshops
    Explore your potential. Discover a new path that could help lead you into being a conscious creator of your everyday. Use your life's energy congruently with your heart, mind, body and spirit -- that most of all, is what the "Viente Pasos" technique imparts to its participants.

    This technique was created through the collective process of the core members of El Teatro Campesino and is based on Mayan philosophy. It utilizes improvisation, theater exercises/games, breathing, music, creative writing, and exploratory body movement.

    Instructor Olivia Chumacero asks that those who plan to participate commit themselves to the duration of this five-part series, without exception. Sessions will begin promptly at 7pm; please come in workout attire.

    A brief note for all potential participants: These sessions will be physically demanding.

    To attend, RSVP by e-mailing info [at] farmlab [dog] org by September 14, 2007. Please type, "RSVP: Teatro" in the subject line.


    About Olivia Chumacero
    Olivia Chumacero developed her skills as writer/director/actor during the thirteen years of participation with the world renowned El Teatro Campesino, which is currently based in San Juan Bautista, California. Chumacero was one of a core group of individuals who created the acting method known as the "Viente Pasos." Those interested can read about this technique and about Chumacero in Dr. Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez's book titled, El Teatro Campesino.

    Chumacero carries the title of El Teatro Campesinos ambassador, and has taught this acting technique in locations including Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia; Vaxjo, Sweden; Paris, France; Beijing, China, Soledad, California, Anchorage, Alaska;and New York City.

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Robert Gottlieb
    Friday, December 7, 2007 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge


    Reinventing L.A.: Nature and Community in the Global City


    About the Salon

    Join Robert Gottlieb (and likely some other folks from the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute) for this Farmlab Public Salon.

    Los Angeles -- perceived to be the place without a sense of place -- might seem inhospitable to efforts to connect with nature and community. This Salon -- Reinventing L.A.: Nature and Community in the Global City -- drawing on the recently published book with that same name, will describe how a handful of imaginative and innovative social movements have coalescaed around issues of water, cars and freeways, land use, immigrants, and globalization, to seek to create a more livable and just region.

    About the Salon Participant

    Robert Gottlieb is the Director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) and Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy at Occidental College. He is the author or co-author of eleven books, including Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement; Environmentalism Unbound: Exploring New Pathways for Change, and The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City. He is currently working on a new book on the topic of Food Justice, with his colleagues at the Center for Food & Justice, which is a division of UEPI.

    Image of ArroyoFest courtesy Robert Gottlieb, from the cover of his forthcoming book.

     



     

    Free Flyers For 'Accidentally on Purpose' Programs -- July 28 & August 4

    Click Here For More Information







    Click Here For More Information

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Judith Lewis + Friends
    Friday, November 16 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge


    "Avant-Garde Environmentalism: From Bioneers to Burning Man to Bunnies that Glow Green."


    About the Salon

    Among the art at Burning Man 2007 was a machine that turned carbon into algae food and algae into fuel, a creature that turned garbage into hydrogen and a 90-foot effigy of an oil derrick surrounded by metal supplicants. And on the movie screens this summer was a Leonardo DiCaprio documentary featuring pollution-fighting mycologists, radical zero-waste architects and advocates of sustainable consumption. Does all of this herald a new communion among art, popular culture and fringe technology for the sake of the planet? And how can we continue to harness progressive art to halt the squandering of our resources and the toxifying of our planet?

    About the Salon Participants

    Judith Lewis is a staff writer for the LA Weekly. She blogs at Another Green World.

    Simone White, singer-songwriter. Her new record "Jam the Man" is currently being featured on "Sounds Eclectic" and other radio shows around the country, *and* she's got on a song on it about sustainable farming.

    Laurie Kaufman,organizer, activist and writer. Kaufman is a former Bioneers staffer and has worked in the environmental and social justice fields for more than 10 years in areas including urban forestry, organic farming, community self-reliance, youth-at-risk and children of incarcerated parents. Laurie has written for the Journal of the Society of Municipal Arborists, the Daily Breeze, Southern Sierran, Santa Monica Mirror and Resurgence magazine. She recently produce a short video about the Griffith Park fires and worked on the award-winning video "Hawaii in Transition: Vision for A Sustainable Future" (Sheila Laffey, Director).

    Jason Keehn, aka Cinnamon Twist, of The Learning Party, is also on the bill.

    And, David Newsom, who organized an event on Bill McKibben's "StepItUp '07" day last spring, will be on hand as well.

    Photo:Guardian of Eden, by Nightshade
    (Courtesy the photographer)

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    'Save Sheldon' by Kristina Haddad
    Friday, August 31 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge



    SAVE SHELDON


    Join Farmlab for this special presentation of actor/writer and environmentalist Kristina Haddad's 45-minute-long, one-woman play titled, "Save Sheldon." The performance is part of the weekly Farmlab Public Salon series, held every Friday @ noon.

    About 'Save Sheldon'
    “What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
    - Henry David Thoreau

    Save Sheldon follows the journey of environmental activist and performer Kristina Haddad as she attempts to save the
    ancient tree, Sheldon, from the hands of the fictional Hawley Development Company. In this solo show Haddad encounters roadblocks, friends, foes, and drops of inspiration in order to save Sheldon from his demise.

    On the journey to save Sheldon we meet an eclectic mix of characters – Johnny Pink, the well intentioned hot dog vendor
    who’s part of the witness protection program; Pia Von Dinkle – the fashion obsessed potential donor; Mary Sanchez - a
    resident of the polluted A-town, Olga the Russian judge who’s decision will ultimate determine the fate of Sheldon and many
    more.

    Save Sheldon weaves in the story of saving Sheldon with the story of saving the planet and ultimately the human race and
    shows the lengths one activist will go to a beloved tree named Sheldon.

    Save Sheldon has been performed throughout the western United States both as a benefit and to general audiences. Save Sheldon has been performed as a benefit for the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Ebbetts Pass ForestWatch, and the Sequoia ForestKeeper.



    About Kristina Haddad
    Kristina Haddadis an accomplished writer and performer who is passionately dedicated to performance and the art of storytelling.

    She has appeared in dozens of plays around the Los Angeles area including the acclaimed satire, "OJ Law", which garnered significant media attention, as well as the political satires, "Media Whores", "Scary Monsters" and "Traditional American Values." She has also performed in "Hatful of Rain", "The Maids", "Museum" and other more well known plays. In 2004 Kristina won 2nd place at Theater CRAM a 48 hour theater festival that was judged by top industry professionals including film director Roland Joffe and former studio head David Kirkpatrick. She has performed her one person environmentally themed show “Save Sheldon!!” throughout the Western United States. Most recently she performed in J.D. Lewis' politically charged critically acclaimed play "AmerWrecka" which had its debut at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has had subsequent runs in Los Angeles and at the 2006 Unfringed Festival in Limerick, Ireland.

    Haddad co-wrote, produced and performed in the poetry performance piece "Unveiling the Gypsy Soul" and had her first play, "The Honey Pot" produced at the Santa Monica Playhouse. She co-starred in the critically acclaimed independent film "Staccato Purr of the Exhaust" (Sundance Film Festival, Winner Florida Film Festival Grand Jury Prize) and has also appeared in several other independent films including "Without a Map" (AFI Film Festival), "Pool" (USC First Look Festival), "The Groom" and "Moving Alan". She was one of the founders of the Re-Assembled Parts Theatre Company and is a past member of the Ark Theatre Company. Haddad will be appearing in the Adam Sandler movie, "You Don't Mess with the Zohan."

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Andrea Azuma and Elizabeth Medrano
    Friday, Sept 28 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge


    Food Access in South and Central Los Angeles:
    Mapping Injustice, Agenda for Action


    About the Salon

    Attention to the obesity epidemic in the United States often focuses on individual eating behavior. However, it's not easy to find healthy and affordable foods in every neighborhood, including areas of Los Angeles. Project CAFE (Community Action on Food Environments) is a collaborative, community-based project that has mapped food access in 3 neighborhoods in Central and South Los Angeles.

    Partners at the Center for Food & Justice, Blazer Learning Center, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, the Healthy School Food Coalition, USC, and Childrens' Hospital Los Angeles are working together to identify these issues and implement solutions. In the 3 areas where we worked, we found that about 30% of all food establishments are fast food/to-go restaurants, about 22% are convenience/liquor/corner stores, and less than 2% are supermarkets.

    These convenience/liquor/corner stores are missing many foods needed for a healthy diet and generally have higher prices than supermarkets. In this salon, we’ll share the process and results of this food assessment and discuss ways to engage residents, policymakers, and business owners in creating neighborhoods where everyone can access healthy, affordable foods.

    About the Salon Presenters

    Andrea Azuma has worked at the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute for 6 years and currently serves in multiple capacities. She is project manager for Project CAFE at the Center for Food & Justice, charged with overseeing project implementation with five partnering organizations in three LA neighborhoods to improve food access. As UEPI research
    director she helps to plan and implement research and evaluation of various projects under UEPI's umbrella and serves on the institute's "core staff." Andrea has a bachelor's degree from Occidental College and a master's degree from Cornell University.

    Elizabeth Medrano's active community involvement began in 1997, a few years after migrating from central México. Since, she has worked with low-income immigrants and other communities of color to address issues such as public transportation, the environment and the lack of health care through education and organizing efforts. As an organizer for the Center for Food and Justice, Elizabeth works with parents and other community allies to improve access to quality meals through the implementation of the recently approved Cafeteria Improvement Motion within the Los Angeles Unified School District. Elizabeth is the mother of a 7-year-old boy.

    Photo caption:
    A familiar site for shoppers -- an abundance of chips on the shelves of local stores. Photo courtesy Center for Food & Justice

     



     

    La Ofrenda
    November 2 @ Sunrise - November 10 @ Sunset
    Free Admission
    Community Participation Encouraged



    La Ofrenda 2007 Schedule

  • Sunrise Ceremony: Friday, November 2 @ 6:14am (Sharp!)
    Location: Cornhenge, the metabolic sculpture inside the Los Angeles State Historic Park
  • --MORE INFO.

  • La Ofrenda Opening: Saturday, November 3 @ 7:30pm-midnight
    Location: Under Spring / Farmlab

  • La Ofrenda Viewing: Sunday, November 4-Saturday, November 10
    Location: Under Spring / Farmlab

  • Related: Tongva Cultural Workshops --MORE INFO.

  • Related: Mask-Making Workshops -- MORE INFO.


  • About La Ofrenda

    From La Ofrenda cooridinator Olivia Chumaceo:

    "In every culture that exists in the world, people acknowledge and memorialize their dead. While some cultures are very private and don’t even speak the deceased’s name ever again, in the Indigenous culture of Mesoamerica it was and is observed in a manner that celebrates life.

    "For the second year now Farmlab will honor the ancestors by transforming the Under Spring area into a celebration of life, with hundreds of marigolds, candles, music, art, the beauty reflected in our cultural diversity. We designate this time as the day of La Ofrenda, which translates to The Offering. In collaboration with the, 50/500 Indigenous Elders, the Chinese youth dance ensemble, the Andean song and dance troupe from Bolivia, the Tongva people with their Ancestor Pole ceremony, the Japanese sacred flute music and many other groups from the surrounding, Farmlab invites you to partake of this heartfelt and magical Ofrenda day."



    :You are welcome to set up your own offering here at UnderSpring. Farmlab will gift you with marigolds, candles and a space for your offering. Please contact us with plenty of lead time. Or, come to the event at sunrise Friday, November 2 to participate with the Tonvga people as they honor with their Ancestoral Pole ceremony at the Yangna village site commonly known as the California State Historic Park. Otherwise join us for a full evening of La Ofrenda, on Saturday, November 3 from 7:30 p.m. to midnight in the Under Spring area."



    Photos from the 2006 La Ofrenda. Farmlab Photos by Sarah McCabe.

     



     

    This Week @ Farmlab
    News + Projects +
    Salons + Exhibitions

    July 18-July 24, 2007

    News + Projects

    The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park
    An 'Eco-Econ' proposal from Farmlab
    Visit www.farmlab.org for a complimentary download of this new report written by Michael Woo; as well as for video and podcast of related July 13, 2007 remarks by Farmlab's Lauren Bon, Al Nodal, and Woo ..... full text

    A Visit to the Owens Lake and Mono Lake Region
    Links, photos, and a recap
    Various stops included a fledgling fish hatchery, the Dr. Suessian, limestone tufa, and a geothermal operation. The trip was also an extended watershed study..... full text

    Farmlab Public Salons

    Friday, July 20, 2007 @ Noon
    Helen Lessick | Lay of the Land
    Join Helen Lessick for a discussion and workshop. Learn to see California soil as a canvas for nature, culture and social experimentation; see how soil affects.... full text


    Friday, July 27, 2007 @ Noon
    Matthew Moore | From Agriculture to Suburbia: Cultivating the Oasis
    Join earthworks artist Mathew Moore for a discussion of his work. He is a fourth generation farmer whose land and life is quickly being overcome by suburban sprawl ..... full text

    Farmlab + Under Spring

    Saturday July 28, 2007 @ 7:30pm
    Farmlab and Under Spring Presents | Accidentally on Purpose: The Camel's Back
    This evening of music and dance features performers such as Nels Cline, Oguri, Robert Scott, Jesske Hume, and Yuval Ron's installation and performance of a giant harp .... full text

    Saturday August 4, 2007 @ 6pm-6am
    Farmlab and Dublab Present | Accidentally on Purpose: Tonalism
    Organized by Dublab, this all-ages, free-of-charge, all-night ambient music happening (6pm-6am) features
    sounds from the likes of Dntel, Languis, Tropic of Cancer, Carlos Nino, Frosty, Mia Doi Todd and .... full text

    Exhibition Extended
    Farmlab Team | Garden of Brokenness
    Farmlab's Garden of Brokenness celebrates Los Angeles as a broken paradise. The project is proposed for Confluence Park, a location that has been described as one of the ugliest ..... full text

     



     

    PDF, Video and Podcast

    "The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park"



    The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park represents Farmlab’s most recent investigation into creative sustainable urban land use.

    Since completing the Not A Cornfield project, the Farmlab team has given considerable thought to the rich and varied potential of sustainable urban parks. One such model that we find especially insightful is described in "New Ideas," which was written by Michael Woo and published by Farmlab.

    The report provides a conceptual plan for a 31.5-acre park and working farm that combines a demonstration garden, a resource center, educational programs, a café, a conference center, and a gift shop, all with a mandate that the plan achieve both ecological and economic viability.

    Farmlab believes considerable creativity and vision can be brought to bear on the use of public space.

    Project funding courtesy of the Annenberg Foundation

     



     

    News Report:
    New Ideas Report is "Do-able Alternative"

    Archinect.com was among the news media outlets with a representative in attendance during the Friday, July 13 introduction of the Farmlab-produced report, "The Cornfield: New Ideas for a Sustainable Urban Park."

    Orhan Ayyuce, a senior editor of the site, writes that, "The plan for a 31.5-acre park provides a do-able alternative to high budget proposal that a recent competition produced."

    Click here for the full Archinect post, which includes ten photos taken at Farmlab and Under Spring.

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Lucas Reiner
    Friday, October 19 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge



    Pollarding in the New World


    About the Salon

    Join artist Lucas Reiner as he discusses his on-going fascination with trimmed trees -- and the photographs, paintings, drawings, and film that have resulted from this.

    Of particular interest to regular Farmlab Public Salon attendees might be On Alameda Ave. #1 (SCF). Reproduced above, this 2007 oil on canvas painting by Reiner was commissioned by Farmlab, and features as its subject matter the venerable, intertwined California Black Walnut trees that were the iconic symbol for the former South Central Farm.

    About the Salon Presenter

    Lucas Reiner is an artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. Since the Fall of 2001 he has been painting urban trees, trimmed by the Department of Transportation. He has exhibited his paintings, drawings, and videos in galleries in Los Angeles, Houston, New York, London, Munich, Milan, Mexico City, La Paz, and Buenos Aires. Art in America described his paintings as "resonating with emotion, poetry and gritty reportage". In 2004 he received a Lester Horton award for scenic design for Helios Dance Company. He is currently exhibiting work at "Pocket Utopia", an exhibition/salon/social space run by Austin Thomas in Brooklyn.

    About Farmlab and the trees of the South Central Farm

    For more information, please click the various links located on this page.

    Above:
    Lucas Reiner
    On Alameda Ave. #1 (SCF)
    Oil on Canvas
    2007

     



     

    Agbins on Skid Row Update:
    'Gardens are Green and Thriving'



    After bringing a group of Southland Master Gardeners-in-training to the various spots on downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row where 25 flora-filled Farmlab agbins -- a.k.a. planters -- were delivered three weeks ago, Farmlab team members Pete Natividad, Olivia Chumacero, and Jaime Lopez Wolters filed the following dispatch:

    [PREVIOUS POST: WHAT IS THE AGBINS ON SKID ROW PROJECT?]

    "The incredible thing to report is that the agbins are being taken care of by the community, with open arms. The gardens, in general, are green and thriving.

    "Of all the agbins, the only two that suffered any damage were the ones on the corner of 6th Street & Crocker Street. (These bins, unlike all the others, are not directly connected to a sponsoring organization.)

    "However, one of the individuals from the Lamp Village organization has volunteered to water and maintain those two agbins. This means he will be carrying buckets of water to make sure the plants have a fighting chance of surviving. The Master Gardeners-in-training also are pairing up with the organizations to assist in maintaining the agbins throughout the growing season.

    "At the Lamp Lodge site, the agbins were lusciously green and overflowing with foliage. One gentleman, whom we'll call "Elvis," has been watering, and nurturing the four agbins -- and it shows. He told us that the word has been passed around the downtown grapevine that these agbins are for everyone.

    "Some people have even brought packages of seeds of their favorite vegetable or flower that they wish to see grow. We heard stories that Row residents, same as Farmlab team members, are curious to see the future development of the agbins, as the plants begin to produce red tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, chili peppers, corn, daisies, mint leaves and –- can’t you just smell that pungent aroma? -- fresh basil.

    "The agbins, we hope, have brought a least some small measure of beauty to the neighborhood’s often bleak surroundings. These small wonders, these silent gifts of nature, are perhaps bringing slight new hopes in very private moments to an underserved community."





    Photo captions:

    Top of page: Thriving agbins on Standford and 7th Street;

    Above: "Elvis," the caretaker of the agbins at LAMP Lodge, shows off recent vegetable growth; and, since their delivery three weeks ago, the agbins by H2CLA have been colorfully painted.

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Mike Blockstein & Reanne Estrada
    W/ Special Guest Aurora Flores
    Friday, September 7 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge



    "Commitment Issues and Cross-Disciplinary Entanglements"
    Featuring Mike Blockstein & Reanne Estrada of Public Matters; and Aurora Flores, of the Healthy Eating Active Communities Initiative


    About the Salon

    This week's Farmlab Public Salon asks: Do you have chemistry? Are you compatible? What does it mean to step outside your comfort zone? What does it take to make meaningful, long-term relationships thrive? And how do multiple partners figure in their success?

    Relationships between artists and community-based organizations are complex organisms. For the past nine months, Public Matters has been working in partnership with HEAC to develop and integrate place-based youth media projects with the group’s health policy and community initiatives, positioning the youth as active community health leaders. Public Matters has worked with a group of high school students at The Accelerated School (TAS) to assess health disparities and create short videos about the reasons underlying poor access to fresh produce and nutritious foods in South L.A. These videos are closely integrated with broader policy and community actions.

    For instance, given the scarcity of supermarkets and groceries in the area, students are leading the effort to convert and “green” a South L.A. corner store to carry healthier food choices. This “market makeover” will serve as a model for other neighborhood stores and will help HEAC establish a partnership of corner stores that will increase their collective buying power for healthy produce. The student videos will also be featured and set the tone for a broader community forum on public health issues in South L.A. co-produced with the office of Councilwoman Jan Perry in District 9 this fall. These actions ensure that Public Matter’s work doesn’t end with a well-meaning youth media project that few will ever see, but in fact extends and realizes HEAC’s civic goals and gives the HEAC youth a prominent leadership role in the community.

    These issues—creating cross-disciplinary projects with depth and the link between creative acts, civic engagement and policy initiatives—are key to not only both Public Matter’s and HEAC’s work, but also to realizing effective civic impact. At the heart of this Salon are the questions of sustainable projects, length of commitment and depth of integration. What are the impact of short and long-term projects and interventions? How can these be understood from the artists’, practitioners’ and community’s point of view?

    About the Salon Presenters

    Public Matters is a recently formed group of artists, educators and media professionals who integrate civic engagement with interdisciplinary neighborhood-based art, media and educational projects. It aims to train community leaders who are creative, media savvy problem solvers and critical thinkers who have a deep understanding of their neighborhoods. Public Matters generates innovative, artistic, place-based projects that build creative, civic and social capital in communities. Public Matters’ goals are to build social capital, bring forward unknown aspects of community life, and give future leaders a diverse and effective set of skills to work on behalf of their communities.

    The South L.A. Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative is a diabetes and obesity prevention initiative including health, education, advocacy, civic and media/advertising entities supported by The California Endowment. Creating healthy eating and physical activity environments in low-income and resource-poor communities requires the adoption of policies, practices and norms that make healthy foods and physical activity opportunities available and appealing. HEAC aims to demonstrate how collaborative approaches can change environmental risk factors.

    Mike Blockstein is a visual artist, educator and the Principal of Public Matters. He works in community-based art that explores the intersection of cultural narratives, artistic process and civic engagement. He has created and led place-based interdisciplinary projects nationally, working with youth, community leaders and organizations to reflect on, understand and shape their physical, social and political geographies. Projects include A Chinatown Banquet, a collaborative multi-disciplinary project about Boston Chinatown and Custom Mobile Commerce, an exploration of street vending in Los Angeles. Committed to civically-based art, Mike also holds a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

    Reanne Estrada is an internationally exhibiting visual artist whose diverse practice includes installation, performance, video and public art. She worked for nine years as an educator and in cause-related marketing, design, and curatorial programming at Creative Growth Art Center, an internationally recognized studio and gallery for artists with disabilities. Currently working on a project in Historic Filipinotown, her public art projects emphasize a collaborative approach and focus on community narratives in Asian American communities. Reanne has an A.B. in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University.

    As Project Coordinator for South L.A. HEAC, Aurora Flores plays a lead role in engaging policy makers, collaborative partners, community residents and youth leaders to promote safe, healthy environments. Ms. Flores has more than 10 years of experience as a public health practitioner. Her areas of expertise encompass health promotion and disease prevention, program planning and implementation, and training and technical assistance in HIV/AIDS, tobacco policy, and cancer control. Ms. Flores holds a B.S. in Health Science with an emphasis in Community Health from California State University, Long Beach and received her Master in Public Health from the University of Southern California.

    Photo:

    Ignacio Coronado, owner of the Coronado Market, located at 42nd and Avalon. Owned by the Padrino (Godfather) of HEAC student Magali Bravo, the market is going to be the first South L..A. corner store to undergo a makeover by the HEAC students to highlight healthy food options and enhance the market's appeal. It will be a model for the other neighborhood markets to follow and is tied to HEAC's policy efforts. Photo courtesy Mike Blockstein

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Cara Baldwin
    Friday, October 5, 2007 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge



    Wasted


    About this week's presentation

    Join Cara Baldwin for "a belligerent celebration of the ways artists and activists endlessly consume and reclaim ourselves, one another and our environment." Hot punk transcendentalists, ecstatic environmentalists and sticky precisionists will talk and take a walk about cultural constructions of / responses to notions of waste, excess, surplus, transformation and reclamation, particularly in western post-industrial society.

    About the presenter

    Cara Baldwin is a queer feminist artist, editor, media activist, educator and author. A 2001 graduate of CalArts MFA program and recipient of the Soros Foundation Open Society Grant for the establishment of the Los Angeles Independent Media Center, Ms. Baldwin is also a founding member and co-editor of the Journal of Aesthetics & Protest editorial collective whose activities include the a print and online publication, Journal Press, a public lecture series, curatorial work, public art projects, and activist organization. Its serial publications are distributed internationally and are available online. With the editorial collective of the Journal, Baldwin has contributed to Civic Matters, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles; Fine Print: Alternative Media, P.S.1, New York; Atlas Project, Pist Prota, Copenhagen, Denmark; and the documenta 12 Magazine Project Archive, Kassel, Germany. She has also presented work in museums, universities, art colleges, and recently in the international Mexico City Book Fair, A Los Angeles Llegaron y por Hollywood se Pasearon. In 2007 she participated in The Performing Archive-Restricted Access, an exhibition by Suzanne Lacy and Leslie Labowitz. Her work was published in the periodicals Bedwetter, InterReview, and MAKE_shift, as well as exhibition catalogues for Poetics of the Handmade, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. 45 years of Art and Feminism, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Through her work in MOCA's Curatorial department she contributed to the realization of several exhibitions of contemporary art with explicit political content including: WACK! Art and The Feminist Revolution, Poetics of the Handmade, and the upcoming Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas. Links to selected collective and community-based art and media projects include:

    www.theoctobersurprise.org
    www.la.indymedia.org
    www.journalofaestheticsandprotest.org

    Photo by Mandy Becker

     



     

    A Visit to the Owens Lake and Mono Lake region



    Recently, members of the Farmlab team joined colleagues from the Annenberg Foundation on a fact-finding trip to the Owens Lake and Mono Lake region of California's Eastern Sierras.

    The group was shown around in part by the good folks at the Mono Lake Committee. Various tour stops included a fledgling fish hatchery, the Dr. Suessian, limestone tufa, and a geothermal operation.

    Among other related topics, the trip was an extended watershed study. The area's H2O, of course, had long-since -- and controversially -- been depleted by the city of Los Angeles. The epic story, known by most Angelinos and certainly by Sierra residents, involves legendary Zanjera William Mulholland, spectacular feats of engineering, land speculation, anger, lawsuits, and other 20th century recriminations.

    Last December, as this recent newspaper story recounts, Los Angeles began diverting -- or re-diverting, perhaps? -- some water to the Lower Owens River.

    Please check back to this Farmlab.org blog in the coming weeks for more text, as well as for photos and audio, from the visit.



    Photo captions

    At the top of the page, the famous tufa of Mono Lake; also, visible in the lower right-hand corner of the shot, the flies that line the lake's shorline.

    Immediately above, a dry patch of the lakebed.

    Farmlab photos by Kate Balug

     



     

    This Week @ Farmlab
    July 4-July 10, 2007

    Farmlab Public Salons
    Friday, July 6, 2007 @ Noon
    Lauren Bon | Bees & Myth
    Join Lauren Bon, Farmlab project artist, for a discussion about her new cycle of works focusing on Bees and Meat, and based on the Greek myth of Aristeaus ..... full text

    Friday, July 13, 2007 @ Noon
    Jane Usher, Diego Cordoso, and Michael Woo | Do Real Planning: 14 Ways to Make L.A. a More Sustainable City
    Join Los Angeles City Planning Commision President and two Commissioners as they discuss the Commission's
    recently-announced set of guiding principles ..... full text

    News + Projects
    Farmlab and Friends Deliver Agbins To Skid Row
    Photos From June 16, 2007
    On a recent sunny Saturday the Farmlab Team -- along with many new and longtime friends -- delivered 25
    ag bins filled with vegetables and flowers to Skid Row, in downtown Los Angeles. ..... full text

    Farmlab and Under Spring Present Accidentally on Purpose
    A Series of Four Summer Evenings of Music, Movement, Dance, Puppetry, and Film
    The free-of-charge evenings will celebrate summertime and spontaneity; performers scheduled to include Nels
    Cline, Oguri, Dublab, Yuval Ron, Puppets (After Dark), EPFC, and.... full text

    Farmlab Exhibition Center
    How To Make A Junker Garden
    Exhibition Runs June 4 - July 6, 2007
    Sharing their process for turning a junker car into a garden, Farmlab presents an exhibition and demonstration of ‘How to Make a Junker Garden’. Junker Gardens grow from the ..... full text

    Exhibition Extended
    Farmlab Team | Garden of Brokenness
    Farmlab's Garden of Brokenness celebrates Los Angeles as a broken paradise. The project is proposed for Confluence Park, a location that has been described as one of the ugliest ..... full text

     



     

    The End of SoCal Lawns? Record-Low Rainfall?
    You Heard It Here, First

    Okay, well maybe not "first."

    But for anyone who is both a regular attendee of free-of-charge Friday @ noon Farmlab Public Salon (complete schedule), as well as a reader of the Los Angeles Times, then at least a pair of stories in the Thursday, July 5, 2007 edition would be old news.

    First, there's a huge piece on the cover of the weekly Home section, headlined, "Public enemy No.1?" Teaser text preceding the headline says, "Lush lawns are a Southern California obsession. But with rainfall at historic lows, a turf war is heating up. Critics wonder if grass is always greener."

    That story brings to mind the comments and work of -- among others -- Fritz Haeg, he of GardenLab and the Edible Estates projects. Here's a brief write-up of Haeg's December, 2006 Farmlab Public Salon appearance.

    Also, in today's California section was a chart detailing the "Driest L.A. rain season on record." As in, the past year, only 3.21 inches of rain was registered in downtown. That's about a foot less than average -- though as Farmlab Public Salon attendees will recall, when JPL climatologist extraordinaire Dr. Bill Patzert stopped by in late March to deliver his always candid and colorful remarks, Patzert reminded the crowd not to take that statistical norm too much to heart -- in short, don't expect that amount of precipitate.

    L.A.'s rainfall has traditionally been more boom and bust. Of course, without the local wherewithal to capture and capacity to store runoff from those occasional winter water deluges, then at least from this blogger's understanding, those 'booms' are more like the sound of one-hand-clapping.



    Above: A site not seen much since -- post-rainfall, downtown Los Angeles, from September, 2005

     



     

    Farmlab and Under Spring To Present,
    "Accidentally on Purpose,"
    A Series of Four Summer Evenings of Music, Movement, Dance, Puppetry, and Film



    [click image to enlarge]

    Farmlab and Under Spring will play host in the coming months to "Accidentally on Purpose," a series of four free-of-charge evenings celebrating summertime and spontaneity, and featuring live music, movement, dance, puppetry, film, and more to be announced.

    Each of the programs will take place at Under Spring, the performance venue located adjacent to Farmlab.

    The series will be divided into two parts.

    "Accidentally on Purpose: Part 1" will consist of the following two programs:



  • The Camel's Back
    July 28, 2007 @ 7:30pm
    An evening of music and dance organized by Roxanne Steinberg. On the bill: Jesske Hume with Nels Cline (music, percussion) and Oguri (dance); Robert Scott and Arnie Saiki (music); Miles Tokunow (dance); and a world premiere by Yuval Ron (music, earth harp composition).




  • Tonalism
    August 4, 2007 @ 6pm-6am
    Organized by Dublab, this all-night event of ambient music featuring numerous musical, artistic, and other collaborators. More information to be announced soon.


  • "Accidentally on Purpose: Part 2" will consist of the following two programs:

  • Sustainable L.A.
    Date TBA - Please check back this space in mid-July
    This film screening is organized by the Echo Park Film Center, and also features other local icons, Fallen Fruit, Scoops, and more to be announced soon. Bicyclists are invited to turn the screening into “bike-in” theater.

  • Puppet Slam
    Date TBA - Please check back this space in mid-July

    This remarkable evening of puppetry is organized by Frank Langley – he of Club Puppet and Puppet (After Dark) fame, and features Glank, among other stars of the local and thriving Los Angeles puppeteering scene. More information to be announced soon.

  •  



     

    Where Do Our Ag Bins Come From?

    For those of you who have inquired...

    Farmlab's ag bins come to us thanks to the Ventura-based Fillmore-Piru Citrus Association (FPCA).

    The wooden crates are part of a no-longer-used packing system that once utilized some 3,000 bins.

    Farmlab team members became familiar with the bins during the Not A Cornfieldproject.

     



     

    Farmlab and Friends Deliver
    Agbins To Skid Row
    Photos From June 16, 2007

    On Saturday, June 16, 2007, the Farmlab Team -- along with many new and longtime friends -- delivered 25 ag bins filled with vegetables and flowers to Skid Row, in downtown Los Angeles.

    Ag bins -- short for "agricultural bins" -- are wooden cartons; they've been a part of Farmlab's materials pallette since the Not A Cornfield project.

    For basic information about the purpose of the project, list of participating agencies, and a map of the delivery route, please click here.

    Below are newly posted photos from the day. See the bottom of the page for captions.










    Captions - From Top to Bottom

    Farmlab Artist-in-Residence Gerardo Vaquero Rosas sits on a flatbed truck otherwise loaded with ag bins, as Derby Dolls and other bus riders prepare to board the double-decker bound for San Julian Street.

    Local bicyclists from Midnight Ridazz, along with deejays from killradio.org, peddle along Alameda, en route from Farmlab to Skid Row. The cyclists and deejays, along with area musicians, skaters from the L.A. Derby Dolls, a representative from Urban Farming, a newspaper writer, and various other good folks, participated in bin delivery.

    The weekend prior to the ag bin delivery, the wooden cartons stood, freshly watered, Under Spring, outside of the Farmlab facilities.

    A new friend shows off seeds -- part of the week's before planting.

     



     

    The Salon of Found (and Stolen) Dance
    Friday, September 14, 2007 @ 8pm
    Free-of-Charge



    RELATED:
    OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - DEADLINE 9/5/07 @ 2PM PST


    About the Program
    An evening of live movement demonstrations, video footage, performance and conversation of, on and around the topics of appropriation, inspiration, transformation, and stealing. And, of course, refreshments will be served.

    Curated by choreographer Melinda Ring through an open call to other artists, and using the following definitions:
    Dance = people, animals or objects that appear to move in an organized manner.

    Found Dance = An episode of movement not choreographed by you, that someone else consciously or unconsciously created, or that just happens to exist in the urban or natural environment, and that you find curious, intriguing, amusing, or inspiring.

    Salon = a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and performance.

    About Melinda Ring
    New York-based choreographer MELINDA RING regularly collaborates with visual artists creating work for video, installation projects, and theater as well. HUH?(2007), was commissioned by The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, and was made for Martin Kersels’ sculpture RICKETY. BEAUPORT CYCLE(2004) was made specifically for his installation SLEEPER’S DREAM at MASS MoCA. She choreographed a gestural language for DEFINITION (2005), Tirtza Even and Brian Karl’s multimedia installation, which showed at the Skirball Cultural Center (L.A.), The Jewish Museum (N.Y.), and The Contemporary Jewish Museum (S.F.). Ring has appeared in many of Paul McCarthy’s video and film projects.

    She was a 2005 - 2006 Movement Research artist-in-residence. Her work has been supported by Headlands Center for the Arts, the J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions(LACE), Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects, The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, The Puffin Foundation, Movement Research, and La Boca Space at the Sunshine Mission for Women. Recently her work has been seen at The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce Soho, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Beyond Baroque, and the University of Colorado Boulder.

    THE SALON OF FOUND (and stolen) DANCE was originally conceived of for “Movement Research Festival Spring 2007 - Reverence (Irreverence).”

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Andy Lipkis
    Friday, August 24 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge



    Helping Nature Heal Our Cities


    Join Andy Lipkis, founder of Tree People, for a discussion about all things urban and arboreal.

    Farmlab Location

    Farmlab / Under Spring, 1745 N. Spring Street #4, LA, CA 90012
    Across the street from the site of the Not A Cornfield project, in a warehouse colocated at Baker Street and N. Spring Street

    Salons are always free-of-charge, all ages welcome.
    Refreshments will be served.



    Photo by Melinda Kelley, courtesy of TreePeople

     



     

    Farmlab Public Salon
    Adolfo V. Nodal
    Friday, September 14 @ Noon
    Free-of-Charge


    L.A. CITY ARTS:
    Notes on Cultural Planning in the City of Los Angeles During the Last 20 Years and into the Future


    About the Salon
    Come join Adolfo V. Nodal as he discusses ideas and proposals for cultural planning for Los Angeles during the past few decades, and about where we are heading with this new "Mayor for the Arts" and changes in the city's Cultural Affairs Department management. An extensive question-and-answer period will follow Nodal's remarks.

    Opening Remarks by Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick.

    About the Speakers
    Adolfo V. Nodal, Farmlab's Executive Director, is also the President of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commision. Nodal was appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to lead this commision into a new era of activism for the City's cultual community. This appointment is historic in that no commision has ever been headed by a previous General Manager of the same department. Nodal served as General Manager of DCA from 1988-2001. During his tenure, he created the City's first comprehensive arts master plan and oversaw the delivery of millions of new dollars for the arts in our City.

    Nodal is also the past: Executive Director of The Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; Vice President for Management, The MacArthur Park Foundation; Director of Exhibitions, The Exhibition Center, Otis Parsons School of Design; and Executive Director, The Washington Project for the Arts.

    Laura Chick is the Los Angeles City Controller. The following is excerpted from her biography posted on www.lacity.org:

    "The 17th Controller of the City of Los Angeles, Laura N. Chick was re-elected on March 8, 2005, with an astounding 82% of the vote. Having called Los Angeles home since 1952, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from UCLA and a Master's in Social Work from USC. Controller Chick is the first and only woman in the history of Los Angeles to hold citywide office....

    "In December, 2006, Los Angeles Magazine named Laura Chick one of the most influential people in the City. The Daily News recently editorialized, "…as City Controller, she's often been downtown’s lone champion of good government." A Los Angeles Business Journal feature said, “Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick has emerged as a central voice in the ongoing debate over how the City handles its contracts.” In a May, 2004 feature article, Los Angeles Magazine states, "Where others couch and evade, she is Ms. Blunt."...

    "Prior to becoming Controller, Laura Chick served as Councilmember, Third District, in the west San Fernando Valley, from 1993-2001. Chick served as the first woman to ever chair the City Council’s Public Safety Committee."

    Farmlab Location
    Farmlab / Under Spring, 1745 N. Spring Street #4, LA, CA 90012
    Across the street from the site of the Not A Cornfield project, in a warehouse colocated at Baker Street and N. Spring Street

    Salons are always free-of-charge, all ages welcome.
    Refreshments will be served.