Kicking off this Saturday, all over Los Angeles, artists have will transform public spaces into outdoor art exhibitions for one full month.
CURRENT:LA Water opens Saturday, July 16 and runs through August 14.
CURRENT:LA Water Public Art Biennial uses contemporary art as a platform for the exchange of ideas around critical issues our city faces together. This year’s theme is water.
Here’s a sneak peek of what you might see out there en plein air.
Courtesy of City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs from its
CURRENT:LA Water
Public Art Biennial 2016.
Refik Anadol & Peggy Weil
UnderLA: 1st Street Bridge
Historic 1st Street Bridge, East 1st Street between Santa Fe Avenue & Mission Road, Downtown LA 90033 – 14th Council District
UnderLA uses scientific data generated from LA’s aquifers—layers of porous rock capable of holding and transmitting water—to create a site-specific projection for the 1st Street Bridge. Sat and Sun, Jul 16 and 17, 8:30–11:30 p.m.
underlawater.com #underlawater
Edgar Arceneaux
The CENTER of the EARTH
Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, 2657 Motor Avenue, West LA 90064 – 5th Council District
Edgar Arceneaux appropriates minimal forms often seen in drinking fountains found in public spaces to create a different fountain of sorts. The CENTER of the EARTH draws parallels between the use of altars and water in religious and everyday contexts. As an extension, Arceneaux’s work considers the below-ground transit of water and the above-ground ideologies of the people that regulate it. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Artist Q&A on Sat, Jul 16, 1–2:30 p.m.
Josh Callaghan & Daveed Kapoor
Mast
South LA Wetlands Park, 5413 South Avalon Boulevard, South LA 90011 – 9th Council District
Collaborators Josh Callaghan & Daveed Kapoor’s large-scale sculpture, comprising a mast, sail, and rigging, rises out of the South LA Wetlands Park’s landscape. The work addresses California’s colonial history and the vestiges of its destructive legacy, while also functioning both as a cultural marker and a shade structure for park visitors.
Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Mel Chin
The TIE that BINDS: the MIRROR of the FUTURE
The Bowtie, 2780 West Casitas Avenue, Glassell Park 90039 – 1st Council District
Mel Chin imagines the future Bowtie Project in eight, water-saving, California-native demonstration gardens that are reflected in eight mirror gardens in locations throughout Los Angeles. Members of the public can receive one of 512 unique, artist-designed blueprints, a list of plants, and instructions on how to grow a drought-resistant garden in their own yards. Those who participate become collaborators in Chin’s land art project, as the collective effect of water-saving expands with each newly planted garden.
Thu–Sun, 5:30 p.m.–sunset (gates close 9 p.m.)
Visit the-tie-that-binds.org for details on related programs and events.
Chris Kallmyer
New Weather Station
Norman O. Houston Park, 4918 South La Brea Avenue, Baldwin Hills 90008 – 8th Council District
The Los Angeles Department of Weather Modification is a performing group that collaborates with Southern California communities to address weather, water, and the evolution of the arid city. During CURRENT, the group is headquartered at New Weather Station, a 20-foot open-air geodesic dome hosting a series of events featuring LA-based artists, designers, historians, urbanists, chefs, and thinkers exploring the intersection of water and weather modification. Jul 31–Aug 14, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Courtesy of City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs from its
CURRENT:LA Water
Public Art Biennial 2016.
Candice Lin
A Hard White Body
Westside Neighborhood Park, 2999 Clyde Avenue, West Adams 90016 – 10th Council District
Candice Lin’s sculpture appropriates water filtration and microbe growth to consider how the power of small beings disrupts social hierarchies. By using bacteria found in kombucha as an active collaborator, the sculpture highlights the presence of bacteria in our environment as well as our continued vulnerability and dependence on it in order to live. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Lucky Dragons
The Spreading Ground
Hansen Dam, 12272 Osborne St., Pacoima, 91342 – 7th Council District
The Spreading Ground is a month-long series of workshops designed for public participation—with the understanding that the denizens of LA are dynamically bound together by water. These workshops culminate in a musical score derived and performed by Lucky Dragons and The Spreading Ground participants. Sat, Jul 16, 23 and 30, evening open rehearsals
Lucky Dragons
Δ (Delta)
Bee Canyon Park, 17307 Sesnon Boulevard, Granada Hills 91344 – 12th Council District
Mimicking the unstable nature of water, Lucky Dragons creates a series of unique performances at Bee Canyon Park in which characters uncover a new set of instructions and resources each weekday afternoon to engage visitors and respond to LA’s water infrastructure. Mon–Fri, 4–6 p.m.
Kori Newkirk
Prime
South Weddington Park, 10798 Bluffside Drive, Studio City 91604 – 2nd Council District
Working with an American vernacular used in fountains and parks, Kori Newkirk presents a sculpture of horses installed in a trench. The work responds to the drought via exaggerating the concavity of fountains and addresses cultural boundaries present in parks and public places. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Teresa Margolles
‘La Sombra’ (The Shade)
Echo Park Lake, 1698 Park Avenue, Echo Park 90026 – 13th Council District
Collaborating with volunteers from all over the city, Teresa Margolles washed over 100 public spaces where lives were taken over the course of the past year in LA. Collecting the water from each site washing, Margolles used the water to erect a single memorial to these victims of violence, and offer a place of respite at Echo Park Lake, where visitors can rest, meditate, and reflect under La Sombra (The Shade). Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m starting July 18th.
Visit currentla.org for more details
Michael Parker
The Ides
Point Fermin Park, 739 West Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro 90731 – 15th Council District
An arch frames the ocean views of the San Pedro bluff and showcases the drama of Point Fermin, a site engulfed by water, sun, and the Port of LA. Developed in collaboration with peers and through dialogue between digital and analog processes, Parker’s project reflects the intersection between human engineering as seen in the Port of LA and the natural setting of Point Fermin Park. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Point Fermin Lighthouse tours on Tue–Sun at 1, 2, and 3 p.m.
Artist events on Jul 23 and Aug 6.
Gala Porras-Kim
Supplement to Ballona Discovery Park Informative Signs
Del Rey Lagoon Park, 6840 Esplanade Street, Playa Del Rey 90293 – 11th Council District
Gala Porras-Kim creates signage that tells the story of the Tongva burial ground located at the Del Rey Lagoon Park. The work draw attention to the beginnings of the wetlands and the controversial handling of the burial ground, giving viewers an opportunity to learn about a history that has been removed. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Untitled 2016 (LA Water, Water Pavilion)
Sepulveda Basin, 6300 Lake Balboa Hiking Trail, Encino 91411 – 6th Council District
An intimate, timber-frame structure houses weekly events centered on public interaction with the LA River, its users, and the surrounding urban fabric. In this project, Tiravanija employs architecture to create a juncture between people and place, creating situations that bring us closer to the river. Daily, 5:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Weekend events on Jul 16, 17, 24 and 25, Aug 6
Courtesy of City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs from its
CURRENT:LA Water
Public Art Biennial 2016.
Kerry Tribe
Exquisite Corpse
Sunnynook River Park, LA River Bike Path, Atwater Village 90039 [parking: 3308 Riverside Drive, Los Feliz 90027] – 4th Council District
Exquisite Corpse is a 51 minute–long experimental film set along the 51 miles of the LA River. Working in various documentary styles, Kerry Tribe seeks to capture the river’s landscapes, neighborhoods, creatures, and community through a string of sensorially engaging, meditative micro-narratives.
Daily, 8:30 p.m., pre-screening talks every Fri at 7 p.m.
For More Information Visit the Biennial HUB in Los Feliz!
The HUB – 3306 Riverside Drive, Los Feliz 90027
The HUB is a visitor and volunteer center designed to support and enrich the biennial experience. The HUB houses CURRENT:LA maps and resource materials for the biennial and hosts free public-engagement events, workshops, film screenings, talks, and panel discussions. Parking, WiFi, and other amenities are available at the HUB.
Mon–Fri, 4–9 p.m., and Sat–Sun, 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Visit CURRENT:LA’s Facebook page for a schedule of programs, workshops, and events at the HUB.