Santigold Kicks Off Transmission LA

Transmission LA, curated by Mike D of the Beastie Boys, is a multi-disciplinary festival that will be the meeting point for the Los Angeles art and music community. The sequel to the series of festivals that premiered in Berlin last year with curator and fashion designer Raf Simons, the 17-day collaborative festival includes work by Roy Choi, Benjamin Jones, Mike Mills,Tom Sachs, Public Fiction, and additional artists and musicians. Tomorrow night Santigold opens the festival tonight at The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Transmission LA will be on view until May 6.

The Illustrations of Shia LaBeouf

"Shia [LaBeouf] is in some ways an art rapist," says Marilyn Manson.  Who knew the actor was such the consummate artist and publisher. LaBeouf says he "is obsessed with the history of visual culture" and puts out around 10 books a year with his publishing imprint The Campaign Book.  Right now the modest, but impressive catalogue includes graphic novels by himself like Let's Fucking Party and Cyclical, as well as books by Marilyn Manson and Kid Kudi. Above is an illustration by LeBeouf himself from Cyclical.

My Valentine Premier

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Paul McCartney & crowd (including Autre's own Adarsha Benjamin seated on the left) at the My Valentine music video (directed by Paul himself starring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp) premier at the Stella McCartney boutique in Los Angeles. McCartney will also be re-releasing his amazing first solo album Ram on May 21st. A deluxe edition box set will include a 112-page book, photo prints, copies of handwritten lyrics and notes and four CDs as well as a film that tells the making of the album on DVD, Ramming.

Dinner in Honor of Suicide's Alan Vega

Annual Friends of Artists Space Dinner 2012 will be held in honor of legendary artist and musician Alan Vega on Saturday, May 5, 8pm. Alan Vega and his band Suicide are widely regarded as the godfathers of “No Wave.” The group’s seminal 1977 album Suicide is cited as an important influence by musicians such as Joy Division, Nick Cave, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized, The Horrors, The Cars, and Bruce Springsteen. This event is held exclusively for the Friends of Artists Space. A limited number of tickets are available. Please contact: friends@artistsspace.org to inquire about tickets or how to join the Friends of Artists Space.

Dark Sky

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On 6 June 2012 the second and the last transit of Venus of the century will occur. Departing from this extraordinary phenomenon, the Adam Art Gallery, in New Zealand, presents the exhibition Dark Sky which delves into the relationship between photography and astronomy to examine the intriguing photographic consequences and new territories discovered from capturing the skies. The exhibition has been timed to coincide with the 2012 Transit of Venus, a rare astronomical event when Venus passes between the Earth and the sun. The exhibition will be complemented by a public programme, including talks by scientists, artists and writers, including the German and New Zealand poets who have been commissioned by the International Institute of Modern Letters and the New Zealand Goethe-Institut to write about the Transit of Venus. Dark Sky will be on view from May 1 to June 8, at the Adam Art Gallery Victoria University, Gate 3, Kelburn Parade.

Doug Aitken's Song 1

One of the most important artist's working today is without a doubt Doug Aitken. From photography, sculpture, and architectural interventions, to films, sound, single and multi-channel video works, and installations Aitken's work is a truly unique and distinctive voice of this century. On view now at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., Aitken's multimedia exhibition, entitled Song 1, is a 360 degree projection of films onto the exterior museum set to the soundtrack of the 193os jazz standard reinterpreted by the likes of LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, Beck, Devendra Banhart, No Age and more. Song 1 "will illuminate the entire facade of the Hirshhorn’s iconic building, transforming it into 'liquid architecture' and an urban soundscape. Using eleven high-definition video projectors, Aitken will seamlessly blend imagery to envelop the Museum's exterior, creating a work that redefines cinematic space." Doug Aitken: SONG 1 will be on view until May 13, 2012.

Fashion Fetish - Poppy De Villeneuve

Alongside the 2012 SHOWstudio Shop exhibition Selling Sex, SHOWstudio launches Fashion Fetish, a series of fashion films, performances, multi-media pieces and accompanying essays by women in fashion. The latest addition takes us on a trip to the coastline, courtesy of acclaimed photographer and film director Poppy de Villeneuve.

Hit Me Love Me: The Weird World of Actually Huizenga

Performance artist, pseudo-porn star, singer, Actually Huizenga looks like a throw back to something out of the pages of Hustler circa-1979, but the vision she is creating through her art and music is distinctly new - even verging on futuristic. Huizenga, born and raised in the Hollywood Hills, specializes in "raw Bacchanalian Los Angeles music video kitsch" and performs live as Actually with her band Wet Look - a solo record is on its way. And along with her collaborator Socrates Mitsios are creating a series of 5 to 8 minute videos, entitled SoftRock, that they call an "exercise in the photogenics of sex, exploring the power within the act (both social and aesthetic)." They also refer to the films as "Pop Rape" which in its simple, brilliant distillation is a perfect term to describe an entirely new, futuristic brand of cinema and music. The first two installments of SoftRock premiered at the Pompidou Centre as part of Diane Pernet's A Shaded View on Fashion Film, and a third installment is currently being edited and is due out soon. Actually will perform at King, King in Los Angeles on April 19.

Homocult

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Bruce LaBruce music video for Gio Black Peter

Homocult and Other Esoterica is a group show of short experimental queer films focused on magick and the occult and art works curated by Daniel McKernan. Featuring films by Genesis P-Orridge and Bruce LaBruce and artworks by Christos Andres and George Keller. McKernan says, "[Homocult is a] collection of artists & filmmakers who have an affiliation to the Generation Hex era, a blend of old school and new school. Each individual has his/her own unique interpretation of the theme of the occult and esoteric. Jason Louv, in his introduction to Generation Hex (2006), states that the book is a snapshot of those 'who are not only delving into this art of magick and science of the future, but who are coming to magical consciousness at a time when it has never been easier to find and link up with people of like minds and experience.' This is a video survey of such people. As Scott Treleaven, in the final issue of This is the Salivation Army (1999), said: 'We are the new circus. And we are the envy of the fucking World.'" On view April 6 and 7 S&S Projects 3145 S. Morgan Street, Chicago, IL.

An American Biography

"One night, when the parties were over, I guess she didn't want to sleep with somebody, so she asked me to share a room with her. She always had to have her glass of hot milk and a cigarette in one hand. In her sleep her hands kept crawling; they couldn't sleep. I couldn't keep my eyes off them. She kept scratching with them. Perhaps she just had bad dreams....I don't know, it was really sad." Andy Warhol on Edie Sedgewick

Photos de Cinéma

“Photos de Cinéma: Images of the French New Wave by Raymond Cauchetier,” which includes production photographs from “Breathless,” is the first exhibition outside of Europe to showcase Cauchetier’s motion picture work.  On view will be 125 newly made, black-and-white prints from Cauchetier’s own 35mm negatives. The printing was personally overseen by Cauchetier, now in his 90s, at his preferred lab in Paris.  Other films represented in the exhibition include “Adieu Philippine,” “Baisers volés” (“Stolen Kisses”), “Jules et Jim,” “Lola” and “La peau douce” (“The Soft Skin”). “Photos de Cinéma” is open to the public through June 24 in the Academy of Motion Picture's Grand Lobby Gallery in Beverly Hills.

Bob Dylan 1961 to 1966

Bob Dylan With Top Hat Pointing In Car, Philadelphia PA 1964 © Daniel Kramer

An exhibition on view at the Cité de la musique in Paris retraces the important moments of Bob Dylan between the years of 1961 to 1966, during which Dylan radically changed his artistic approach and sparked a musical revolution. Created by the Grammy Museum of Los Angeles, Bob Dylan, Rock Explosion presents, through previously unpublished photos, objects, rare documents and audiovisual archives, the astonishing story of a personal evolution that marked a societal earthquake. On view until July 15 at the Cité de la Musique. 

Love, Life, & Fashion

Two of the most important people in fashion and design today, Ruben and Isabel Toledo have just released a book which "is a rare look into the mind, life, and journey of one of our generation’s most coveted fashion designers, Isabel Toledo. From the nostalgic and permanent in­fluence of her upbringing in Cuba and the serendipitous love that materialized her vision and fueled her conviction, to the timeless mark she continues to make on the fashion industry....." Ruben who translates Isabel's visions into illustration which then bring her designs to life, first laid eyes on each other since they were thirteen, have been collaborating for over two decades and their romance and love has offered an explosion of creativity. The book, entitled Roots of Style: Weaving Together Life, Love, and Fashion is available now.

Clifford Owens Demands Sex from Audience at MoMA PS1

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This is the last weekend to see Clifford Owens first exhibition, entitled Anthology, at a New York museum – MoMA PS1 – which is comprised of photography, video, and live performance. Anthology features performances scores—written or graphical instructions for actions—that Owens solicited from a multigenerational group of African-American artists. Twenty-six major artists have contributed scores, nearly all of whom composed new works specifically for Owens and his project. This weekend will prove especially challenging when he will "demand sex" from the audience/viewer. This Sunday, for his last performance, Kara Walker has written the score: "French kiss an audience member. Force them against a wall and demand Sex. The audience/viewer should be an adult. If they are willing to participate in the forced sex act abruptly turn the tables and you assume the role of victim. Accuse your attacker. Seek help from others, describe your ordeal. Repeat."  Clifford Owen's performance commences at 3 p.m. on the second floor of MoMA PS1 this Sunday, March 12. 

Me Myself & I

“What do I see in Picasso that makes him Picasso?” wondered Edward Quinn, who took a large number of pictures of the Andalusian artist. Besides Quinn, many other photographers – some of whom were great names in the history of photography – Man Ray, Brassaï, Robert Doisneau, Dora Maar, Irving Penn, Edward Quinn, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Michel Sima, Richard Avedon and André Villers – also shot portraits of the famous artist, offering their own angle on his work and personality. The result is a profusion of portraits of Pablo Picasso that have become part of our collective imagery and which have contributed to building up a myth around the artist, his life and his work. MemyselfandI, Photographic Portraits of Picasso has been jointly organized by Museo Picasso Málaga and Museum Ludwig, Cologne and will be on view until May 10. After its run at MPM, it will travel to Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, where it will be on display from 2nd August to 28th October 2012.

18 Years

Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain

It will be exactly 18 years in April since Kurt Cobain took his own life in the green house of his Seattle home in 1994. Last month he would have turned 45. Marking the occasion, two founding members of Cobain's mostly semi-lucid widow Courtney Love's band Hole will be releasing a book and a film surrounding the relationship with Kurt, the band, and the life style of drugs, and the consequences of rapid fame. Firstly, Eric Erlandson, guitarist for Hole, will will releasing a book, entitled Letters to Kurt, which is a collection of poems and free association reflecting on his suicide and its emotional ramifications. Secondly, Patty Schemel, who helped develop Hole's sound and who lived with Kurt and Courtney during some of the more tumultuous times, is releasing a film about her life. Hit So Hard: The Life & Near Death of Patty Schemel is the "portrait of the hell-and-back life of Patty Schemel" and tells the story of her terrible addiction to drugs and how it nearly destroyed her career and life. Schemel is "a true survivor of what we now know was the disaffected 'slacker' generation, Patty found herself, like her friend Kurt Cobain, embraced by the dark side. An unprecedented and unflinching inside look at one of the 90s most crucial and controversial groups." Eric Erlandson's Letters to Kurt will be released April 8th on Akashic Books. Hit So Hard will be premiering this year - first at Cinema Village in New York on April 13, with more dates to follow.