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Laguna Art Museum

Noguchi- California Legacy at Laguna Art Museum

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Noguchi – California Legacy is closing tomorrow, Oct. 2nd. If you get a chance head down to Laguna Beach tomorrow and make it a Sunday outing. It’s a small but really beautiful exhibit. The photographs don’t do justice to experiencing the sculptures ‘real life’. Standing in the room with the Akari light sculptures and taking in each one of them, makes you feel like standing in a sanctuary of peace and tranquility.  Should you miss to see the Noguchi exhibit at the museum  look for the sculpture garden ‘California Scenario’ at the South Coast Plaza Town Center.

So pay Laguna Beach and its museum a visit and make it a day of art at the beach tomorrow. Happy weekend!

Music And The Arts in Southern California – CaliforniaGermans Weekend Suggestions

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Have already plans for the weekend? If still undecided or in need of some more ideas, look over our CaliforniaGermans‘ eclectic suggestions:

According to the weather forecast this weekend has some colder summer temperatures in stock for us. Perfect weather for checking out some of Southern California’s cool museums. So after a quick and windy visit at the US Open for surfing in Huntington Beach, you might want to drive down south along PCH and pay a visit to the Laguna Art Museum and its exhibit  Art Shack that OC Weekly calls  a “cooler-than-cool” exhibition. Open until Oct 3rd one can explore “…surf shacks, tattoo huts, retro shanties and more… Art Shack is presented by Hurley.”

Keep going south and stop by the San Juan Capistrano library later on for their Music At The Library Event on Saturday evening, featuring Steve Riley and the three-time Grammy-nominated Mamou Playboys. There will be two shows with the first one starting at 6:30pm and the second at 8:30pm. Location: San Juan Capistrano Regional Library, 31495 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano, CA  92675

On Sunday, don’t miss OCMA’s (Orange County Museum of Art) Target free second Sunday Family event. Not only is admission free on the second Sunday of every month but a whole program of activities is offered throughout the day, form hands-on projects to film shorts for kids screenings, and more. The program is from 11 am to 4 pm.  

Going north along the coast brings us not only to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, which is always a lot of fun, but Long Beach is also home to a great museum , that my family always enjoys:  MOLAA. The Museum of Latin American Art which is the only museum in the western United States that exclusively features contemporary Latin American Art.  MOLAA is now offering free admission on Sundays. Apart from great contemporary art exhibits and a noteworthy 15,000 sq. ft. sculpture garden, this Sunday, August 8th, will also kick off the Colombian Cinema Showcase which will present screenings of the best in contemporary Colombian film. These screenings will include a variety of features, documentaries, and short films. The opening reception is free and open to the public, will include tours of the galleries, live music and a free screening. Call for details – 562-437-1689

More Latin Sounds are offered at LACMA in Los Angeles which is presenting Adonis Puentes this Saturday, August 7,  at 5:00 pm. The concert will be at Hancock Park and entrance is free.  On Sunday LACMA will have its free Andell Family Sundays from 12:30–3:30 pm with bilingual gallery tours and programs designed especially for families. Special Tip: Richard Wagner fans might want to visit the exhibit Myths, Legends, and Cultural Renewal: Wagner’s Sources at that time as well since it will be closing on August 16, 2010.

More music but this time especially for kids can be found at the Getty Center. This free concert series in the Central Garden is for kids and their families and features some of the best children’s musicians from across the nation:  August 7 and 8- Dance with Milkshake, a band sure to have you and your kids on your feet with their rock ‘n’ roll tunes. From 11:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. there is also free family fun with tours especially designed for children, art workshops, hands on projects and much more.

Despite the predicted cooler summer nights this weekend, I have to mention the Flights & Sounds Summer Festival at the Orange County Great Park. With free dance lessons at 7:30pm and concerts starting at 8pm the Orange County Great Park Corporation presents in partnership with the Irvine Barclay Theatre free Saturday night concerts and Friday Night Dance Parties.

The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles presents Skirball’s free Sunset Concerts, celebrating musical traditions from around the globe, every Thursday evenings, July 22–August 26. All concerts begin at 8:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Free admission; no reservations.

Last, should you care for some German theatre, right from Berlin. Franz Kafka’s: A Report To an Academy is playing in German with English subtitles at The Ivy Substation (The ACTORS GANG) in Culver City, 9070 Venice Blvd. Tickets are $20/$15 and can be ordered by calling 323-464-3375 or per email zoodistrict@gmail.com

Enjoy the weekend!

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What’s new – From German Movie “John Rabe”, Bertold Brecht & Beuys to Dinosaurs

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Summer is finally here. I feel and know this time has come for sure when my kids are out of school and want to be entertained. When the floor in my house slowly feels like a beach in the making with all the sand and toys being carried in and out of the house.

But there is in fact some great stuff going on in and around LA:  The German movie “John Rabe” by director Florian Gallenberger is out at the moment and can be seen in various theaters. It is “…a true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.” (IMDB). In the style of “Sophie Scholl – The final days”  it tries to draw a more in depth picture of the person, who is willing to sacrifice his own life for the many lives of others. In this case here John Rabe survives, but later life has been very harsh to him and he eventually died forgotten in poverty. John Rabe is impressively played by the great German actor Ulrich Tukur.  

If you feel more like theater then check out The Open Fist Theater in Los Angeles. On stage now, there is “The Good Woman of Setzuan” by Bertold Brecht. “The Open Fist Theatre Company presents a re-imagined version of Brecht’s classic play….The play is an alternately humorous and shocking look at how society deals with poverty and philanthropy.” (Goethe Institut) Perfomances: June 4 – July 17, 2010 – Fridays & Saturdays @ 8 pm, Sundays @ 7 pm –Tickets Adults $25 | Students & Seniors $20 – call (323) 882-6912

German Artist & Sculptor Joseph Beuys: The Multiples still shows at LACMA until July 18, 2010 on the third floor of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM). This exhibition features 572 of the artist’s works from the collection of The Broad Art Foundation. To get an impression of what this show has to offer and can communicate read an art review of “The Multiples” in The Student Life of Pomona College.

Music may not be missing in this potpourri of ‘How to kick of Summer’ around LA. The Summer Jazz concerts at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach will be starting June 25th . Tune in or buy your tickets online. It’s worth to make Newport Beach a day trip or stay for a weekend and enjoy the beaches around.

If you are staying around the beach, travel a bit more south and pay a visit to the Laguna Art Museum, which current show is “Art Shack”, presented by Hurley 30 different ‘shack-worlds’ will be featured. With some shacks including interactive components like video and music, this promises to be a fun art show.

For the kids there will be lots of attractions throughout the summer. To mention just a few famous ones, Disneyland in Anaheim, Legoland in Carlsbad, Sea World in San Diego are always sought after destinations, but let’s not forget the great museums around here. San Diego’s Natural History Museum will be kicking off its ‘Dinosaur Sundays‘ this June 28th, 11am-3pm.

“In celebration of the Museum’s current exhibition, Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries and our permanent exhibition, Fossil Mysteries, each Sunday afternoon will be dedicated to the mighty dinosaur. Meet dinosaur experts and friends, dig for fossils, create dinosaur art, and explore your love for all things dino! Dinosaur Sundays provide fun for the entire family.” (San Diego Natural History Museum website)

San Diego Natural History Museum is located in beautiful Balboa Park with plenty other museums to visit as well. Make it a great family outing. I am sure the kids will love it!

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