Hammer Blog

Every year for Chinese Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) I will to go visit a friend’s hometown in a remote countryside area. I have been to many places since I arrived in China in 2008. You can find these posts in my earlier Hammer Blogs: Guangdong (Canton), northeast China’s Liaoning Province, Hunan, Anhui Province, and others.

I came to L.A. after finishing art school in Düsseldorf. I had a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service, and I wanted to spend a year in another country. I decided to go to Los Angeles, because I thought that if I get the opportunity to go somewhere I should use it to go very far.

A dancer rehearses on stage as the sound of applause erupts in the normally peaceful museum courtyard. The enthusiasm that day was coming from the soccer fans watching the world cup, but those near the stage watch the open rehearsal in relative silence, absorbing the bodies in motion and art taking place outside of the galleries. The Gold Stage in the Hammer Courtyard, a part of Made in L.A. and an extension of James Kidd Studio, has served as a platform for dancers and performers to share their practice with the community in a public, yet protected space affected by and affecting the surrounding environment for the duration of the exhibition.

The four questions that Mariah Garnett posed to her interview subjects:

Have you ever been injured on set or at war?

Have you ever been afraid for your life (on set or at war)?

What are the parallels between being a soldier and being a stuntman?

Was there ever a time on set that reminded you of being in combat or in the military?

It’s the end of the month, so it’s time for Hammergram! We are fascinated by the photos our visitors take of the objects and spaces at the Hammer. That’s why we decided to launch Hammergram–a monthly round-up of our favorite visitor photos–in the hopes that they will inspire you to share your own Hammer experience with us!