Arts

LEONARDO DA VINCI

• By Debbie Emery

We all know of Leonardo da Vinci as an artist but many people forget that he was an important inventor in his time. The Leonardo Da Vinci: Inventor. Artist. Dreamer. exhibit at the California Science Center in LA’s Exposition Park celebrates this lesser known side of his genius by spotlighting his 30 most notable inventions including the Flying Bicycle, Great Organ, Mechanical Bat, and Great Kite. Da Vinci’s drawings and designs are brought to life as full-scale models, such as the Mechanical Eagle that has a 33-foot wingspan. Aspiring inventors can learn to be engineers by building da Vinci’s self-supporting bridge or driving his paddle boat.

Known as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western modern art, da Vinci was born in Florence, Italy, in 1452 and is best known for his influential works the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. In the same way that he studied anatomy to learn how to paint the human body, da Vinci also studied engineering to design machines and devices, especially those that involved flight. 

The exhibition is complemented by IMAX presentations of the movie Cities of the Future 3D, which shows inventions that engineers are currently working on that might become part of our everyday lives in the future. 

For more information, click here.

DANCE SERIES

• By CYNTHIA LUM

DANCE at the Brand Library & Art Center, is a series of performances curated by acclaimed choreographer, teacher and producer Jamie Nichols, presents top dance companies from Southern California performing site-specific work in non-traditional performance spaces around the Brand Library. Starting at 5pm and free to the public the series will include Re:borN Dance Interactive a dynamic company of artists pushing the boundaries of contemporary modern dance with an emphasis on emotional and social narratives on Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Bodies in Play is a LA-based performance collective founded by Andrew Pearson in 2017 The group creates melodramatic plays in which their bodies further the narrative through dance and movement. Catered to the socially conscious and playfully minded, their work is best viewed through a lens just queer of center, disarming audiences with pop theatricality and inviting a challenge to conformity, Saturday, May 11, 2024.

Saturday, May 18, 2024, will feature the Rangoli Dance Company. Malathi Iyengar established Rangoli Dance Company in 1992 to share the performing and visual arts of India. The company features the vibrant South Indian dance form ‘Bharatanatyam’ through strong technique and storytelling. Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form that originated in the temples of South India. Drawing from the myth and spirituality of South Indian heritage, Iyengar creates dance landscapes that dwell in both traditional and secular and rhythm and stillness. The dances convey a sense of reverence and mystery, 

For more information, click here.

Los Angeles Ballet

• By AC Remler

Los Angeles Ballet will perform two beloved ballets: Serenade and Firebird in May and June at venues across Los Angeles, including Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Redondo Beach PAC, and Royce Hall at UCLA.

Serenade, a milestone work marking the first original ballet created by George Balanchine in America, was created on students at the School of American Ballet during a class on stage technique. The demanding ballet weaves unexpected events into the choreography, reflecting the ebb and flow of the choreographic process. The piece, performed in blue costumes in front of a blue-hued background, features a sweeping score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Firebird, with sensational choreography by Yuri Possokhov and score by Igor Stravinsky, tells the mythical tale of a magic bird made of fire that helps a prince, Ivan, defeat an evil sorcerer and save a beautiful princess. 

Firebird originally debuted in 1910 in Paris with choreography by Michel Fokine. Its vibrant costumes blend traditional Russian folklore and exotic fairytale creature aesthetics. Los Angeles Ballet tells me that the costumes for its production are on loan from the San Francisco Ballet.

These productions concludes the 18^th season for Los Angeles Ballet—the inaugural season for the company’s new artistic director Melissa Barak, a New York City Ballet alum. The season has incorporated ballet classics with contemporary productions, contributing a rich tapestry of movement to the Southern California dance landscape.

For tickets, click here.

LARRY ALBRIGHT

• By CYNTHIA LUM

Larry Albright: A Great Magic Truth, at The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is truly magical. The exhibition celebrates the legacy of artist, inventor, and pop-culture pioneer Larry Albright, in this art form. Pasma sculptures, consumer electronics, miniature neon set pieces, and film clips from Albright’s work in movies such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, Star Trek, Blade Runner, The Goonies and more. Albright’s distinctive artistic style bridged the gap between the Light and Space Movement, assemblage, and pop culture in the 1970’s through 2000’s. Albright’s fantastical artworks integrated new technology, turn of the 20th-century equipment, and cutting-edge innovation. They illuminated Disney Parks, Hard Rock Cafes, the windows of Macy’s, and science centers around the world. Albright’s explorations resulted in many innovations. He earned five patents, and designed consumer electronics like “Eye of the Storm,” and “White Lightning,” which brought the mystery and science of plasma illumination into the home. The vessels showcased in this exhibition contain the same gasses Albright filled them with over 30 years ago. Visitors will experience the magnitude of Albright’s accomplishments through many artworks that have not been seen publicly in decades.

MONA was founded by artists Lili Lakich and Richard Jenkins to create an awareness for historic neon sign preservation and to showcase this electrifying contemporary art form. His art is encouraging learning, curiosity and expression through the preservation, collection and interpretation of neon, electric and kinetic art.

For more, click here.