Sunday, July 10, 2011


I took the kids to see an exhibit yesterday called Art in the Streets. It was housed in the Museum of Contemporary Art's downtown gallery in Little Tokyo.

The exhibit was outrageous -- colorful, iconic, iconoclastic, disturbing, exhilarating, fascinating, creepy, beautiful and above all, stimulating. The irony of wandering around an enclosed space with displays of graffiti and installations of actual subway cars and dirty, city corners was not lost on me. I've always felt slightly uncomfortable in museums, both enamored of the art and the history and a bit repelled by the display of temporal things.  This exhibit had some cool documentation of social movements in southern California -- skateboarders, Venice beach, some pretty hard-core photography of the down and out. I'll never look at street art the same way again.

Take a stroll:















at

18 comments:

  1. Tess KincaidJuly 10, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    Love that you are exposing your kids to art. Love it.

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  2. AJuly 10, 2011 at 2:55 PM

    We've watched Mr Brainwash's "Exit
    Through the Gift Shop" several times,
    bemused at the sheer energy and also that dynamic of moving street art off the street. Oliver's looking thoughtful...

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  3. mhkJuly 10, 2011 at 3:12 PM

    What an interesting exhibition. It's great to confront the senses with people's creativity and imagination. My older sister is an artist - so as a child I was taken constantly to galleries and performances. I'm so grateful to her for that.

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  4. erikaJuly 10, 2011 at 4:11 PM

    This is incredibly cool! And Henry looks smashing with his haircut.

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  5. Ms. MoonJuly 10, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    Isn't it amazing how people MUST create art, no matter what the medium must be? I am glad that this art has been moved to where it can be appreciated for what it is.
    Thank you for sharing it, dear Elizabeth.

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  6. Denise Emanuel ClemenJuly 10, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    Very Nice post! Wonderful photos.

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  7. michelleJuly 10, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    THAT looks like an exhibit I would enjoy.

    Love your header pict of Mermaid Sophie

    xoxoxo

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  8. AnonymousJuly 10, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    Thanks for bringing us all with you, Elizabeth. I was wondering aloud to my husband this morning which neighborhood in LA has the best street art, and now I get to end my night with this!

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  9. LVJuly 10, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    This looks amazing! I love these types of events. This is so great to inspire the younger generation.

    http://foodfashionandflow.blogspot.com/

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  10. BLOOM - Parenting Kids With DisabilitiesJuly 11, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    The pic of Sophie in the flowing dress on the beach at the top of your blog is lovely! xo

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  11. karioJuly 11, 2011 at 7:12 AM

    Awesome! I'm so inspired to take my kids somewhere "cultural" today. Thanks for the great photos.

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  12. LeslieJuly 11, 2011 at 7:42 AM

    you took some terrific photos, i especially love the one of oliver - super cool. (and henry is looking so grown-up, all of a sudden!) and of course i love that header photo of sophie - she looks like a selkie about to return to her beloved sea...

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  13. Kathleen ScottJuly 11, 2011 at 8:31 AM

    I love art, however it's delivered. This looks like a fun exhibit and I bet the boys had a great time.

    As an aside, would you like me to send a Duke t-shirt so Henry wouldn't have to go out in public in a UNC shirt? Not that we're prejudiced in my (Dukie) household...

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  14. 37paddingtonJuly 11, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    I especially love the ones where I see your children. And the art is fabulous, too.

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  15. UnknownJuly 12, 2011 at 6:48 AM

    ... Looks really cool .... I could wander for hours ... Your boys are definitely a "chosen few" good men themselves

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  16. TheresaJuly 12, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    Wow!!

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  17. jeneva22July 12, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    Such an odd coincidence! My mother-in-law was there with my niece and her parents this past weekend as well--don't know which day. They sent pictures of some of the same parts of the exhibition.

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  18. UnknownJuly 15, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    very cool!

    your children are gorgeous.

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