5 design things to do this week

Written by

This week: consider the power of historical monuments; learn how architects use drawing to test their ideas; challenge your taste buds at an exhibition of disgusting foods; snap some North Pole pics in DTLA; and learn how designers use social media as part of their practice.

Monuments can often project multiple and sometimes contradictory meanings. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

1)  MONUMENTality

MONUMENTality at the Getty Research Institute investigates the meaning of monumentality through historical rare books, political ephemera, photographs and contemporary art about, or inspired by, monuments from antiquity to present day. One of the newest objects in the exhibition is a deconstructed monument by Theaster Gates, currently artist-in-residence at the Getty Research Institute. For this exhibition Gates has toppled his own monumental piece Dancing Minstrel, a larger-than-life bobble head depiction of the racist trope of the black minstrel. 

The exhibition resonates with the passionate debates re-examining the roles that monuments play in our communities and cities.  Co-curator Maristella Casciato says the exhibition explores “the ways that monuments are necessarily dynamic, ultimately reflecting, through their endurance or failure, the world around them.”

When: Opens Tuesday, Dec 4 and runs through April 21, 2019

Where: Getty Research Institute, 1200 Getty Center Dr #1100, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Tickets: Free; click here for more about the exhibition.

Drawing can both represent and imagine physical space. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

2) THIS X THAT Presents Architecture 101: Drawing

Ever wondered what it’s like to be an architect, even just a little? THIS X THAT’s Architecture 101 series offers you a glimpse inside the architectural process. Led by emerging architecture firms, this third installment of the series will start a conversation about how lines, colors and figures are used not only to document architectural work, but also as a driving force in the development of form and concept. Architectural designers Kristy Balliet of BairBalliet, Jackilin Hah Bloom of Pita & Bloom, David Freeland of FreelandBuck, and Clark Thenhaus of Endemic Architecture will lead the discussion.

When: Thursday, Dec 6, 7-10 pm

Where: Ace Hotel’s Segovia Hall, 929 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015

Tickets: Free; click here for more information.

Beauty – and taste – is in the eye of the beholder at the Disgusting Food Museum, where some people’s gastronomic treats cause others to squirm. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

3) The Assembly at A+D Museum

Hot off the success of the Museum of Failure, A+D Museum teams up again with curator Samuel West to unveil The Disgusting Food Museum. Come learn about delicacies as Mouse Wine, Jell-O Salad and Fermented Herring by way of exploring culturally shaped concepts of disgust.

This is one of four exhibitions opening at A+D on Saturday under the umbrella title for the opening party, The Assembly. Others are: Volume, the fruit of a partnership with Rios Clementi Hale Studios and A+D Museum that will support cross-disciplinary emerging artists. The partnership’s first outing focuses on the work of young artists from the Leimert Park area.

Then there’s Persistent: Evolving Architecture in a Changing Worlda showcase of robust, sustainable, and resilient architecture over time; and Dark Mode by PATIO, reimagining new forms for standard objects in the home, inspired by the digital ‘dark mode’ of our electronic devices.

Also to be unveiled Saturday: Impermanent Collection, selling gift concepts; and a pop-up immersive environment by artist Timothy Robert Smith brought by FORM magazine.

When: Opening Party Saturday, Dec 8, 7-10 pm.  Shows run through February 17, 2019.

Where: A+D Museum, 900 E 4th St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tickets: General admission $10; free to students and members; click here for more about each exhibition.

The Holidays go Hollywood – and DTLA – at Fa La Land. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

4) Selfie Exhibits to round out the year

In the event you missed all this year’s selfie museums in DTLA, here are a couple more. Tickets are a little pricey but may be worth the expense for the holiday snaps you get to share with family.

Fa La Land Pop-Up Holiday Museum

The Fa La Land Pop-up immersive experience is a holiday fantasy, complete with a cast of interactive actors. Swim with Swedish Fish in primarily pink Candyfornia, explore the Fa La Fluorescent Forest, visit the Jingle Bell Toys room to find out if you’re naughty or nice, and take an Elfie Selfie with four dozen elf dolls.

When: Tuesdays-Sundays through December 31

Where: Row DTLA, 777 Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Tickets: $37 timed entry tickets here. Select tickets available for $33 on Goldstar; click here for more about Fa La Land.

29Rooms Los Angeles

Refinery29 is back with 29 multi-sensory installations, as well as performances, and workshops that combine art, activism and corporate branding.

When: WednesdayDecember 5 through Sunday December 9, 2018; various times.

Where: The Reef, 1933 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Tickets: General Admission ticket – $39.99; 29Rooms Party After Dark ticket – $69.99; click here for more information.

5) Almost Architecture: Notes from the Edges

We think of architecture as physical manifestations of our ideas and values. It only exists if it’s made of real materials, right? But as we spend more of our time in the digital realm, social media is playing a greater role in testing design and cultural issues or exploring architecture theory. Hosted by Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design as part of its series “Out There Doing It,” this event draws on the experiences of a range of practitioners who use social media as part of their work.

The featured designers and panelists include Alvin Huang of Synthesis Design + Architecture and USC; Ryan Scavnicky of the School of Architecture at Taliesin; Alessio Grancini and Runze Zhang of Morphosis and Kilograph; Natou Fall of SCI-Arc; Geo Chevez of ShubinDonaldson; and Ara Hovsepyan of Ara Hovsepyan Design. The moderator is Evan Bliss from LAForum.

When: Sunday, Dec. 9, 1-2:30 pm

Where: 4312 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016-4115

Tickets: The event is free, and you can register here.