Fall’s bounty

Marnie Weber, The Eternal Heart, production still, 2010

Saturday, November 6, 4 to 7pm: This sounds like fun. As part of their residency at the Hammer, Machine Project invites CRITTER Salon to celebrate the wonders of magnification devices with you, the public. An Enormous Microscopic Evening will include various demonstrations, activities, and musical accompaniment.

Saturday, November 6, 6 to 9pm: Chinatown’s The Box keeps giving us programming that we can’t live without. Tonight is the opening and first performance of Los Angeles Poverty Department Presents: State of Incarceration. The gallery will be transformed into an overcrowded prison environment, and a series of “performance experiments” will address real prison system statistics. I took a peek inside the closed gallery today, and it’s looking pretty gnarly in there. Additional performances are scheduled for November 12, 13, 19, and 20 at 8pm.

Saturday, November 6, 6pm: Iannis Xenakis’ Persepolis L.A. kicks off a series of events in tribute to the late composer/architect. MOCA presents this site-specific recreation of Polytope de Persepolis at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Originally performed in 1971, the piece fuses architecture, music, and light and is known as a “contemporary classic.” I’m just looking forward to wandering around at night in a park lit up with art.

Saturday, November 6 and Sunday, November 7, 8:30pm: REDCAT presents Studio: Fall 2010, curated by Mira Kingsley and Alex Segade. A whole bunch of original theater works by experimental artists, presented over two nights. Knock yourself out!

Sunday, November 7, noon to 8pm: Let Them Eat LACMA is another huge artist takeover of the LACMA campus, featuring performances, music, readings, video, and installations centered around the theme of food. There are so many artists participating that it’s hard to think of someone who ISN’T going to be there. You can plan your adventure using this handy guide. There is also an accompanying exhibition, Fallen Fruit Presents EATLACMA, on view until November 11.

Sunday, November 7, 5 to 9pm: In case you’re feeling nostalgic about the 90s, a group of students at CSU Long Beach presents Catalytic, a show that grapples with the legacy of relational aesthetics. Participatory activities invented by a promising list of artists are in store. For directions and parking, click here.

Thursday, November 11, 6:30 to 10pm: Marnie Weber’s Eternity Forever opens at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, courtesy of the super cool West of Rome. This is surely going to be the Woodstock of all Marnie Weber events. The evening will begin with a graveyard processional, followed by a screening of her new film The Eternal Heart with live musical accompaniment. It will end with a viewing of Weber’s new collages, and “other surprises” are promised. Advance tickets must be purchased, but truly, $12 is a bargain! For a great interview with the artist in which she discusses the project in detail, click here.