Hammer Blog

Monday, March 11 is your last chance to see Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960–1980, at MoMA PS1 in New York.
When Now Dig This! opened at the Hammer Museum in October 2011 we launched a school outreach program that continues today. One of the first schools we welcomed was the Willows Community School in Culver City. Inspired by the exhibition,Willows Community middle school students (and budding artists) created these amazing sketches following in the tradition of Pacific Standard Time. We hope the students of New York were just as inspired.
Want to see more images? Check out our Tumblr.
Now Dig This! Art and Black Los Angeles 1960-1980 was presented as part of Pacific Standard Time, a collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California. Organized by the Hammer and curated by Columbia University professorKellie Jones, Now Dig This! chronicled and celebrated the nuanced and multicultural history of

Alina Szapocznikow: Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972
October 7, 2012 – January 28, 2013
On view at MoMA
A sculptor who began working during the postwar period in a classical figurative style, Alina Szapocznikow radically reconceptualized sculpture as an imprint not only of memory but also of her own body. Though her career effectively spanned less than two decades (cut short by the artist’s premature death in 1973 at age 47), Szapocznikow left behind a legacy of provocative objects that evoke Surrealism, Nouveau Réalisme, and Pop art. Her tinted polyester casts of body parts, often transformed into everyday objects like lamps or ashtrays; her poured polyurethane forms; and her elaborately constructed sculptures, which at times incorporated photographs, clothing, or car parts, all remain as wonderfully idiosyncratic and culturally resonant today as when they were first made. Spanning one of the most rich and complex periods of the 20th century, Szapocznikow’s oeuvre responds

The Hammer is participating in Printed Matter’s first annual LA Art Book Fair on Thursday, January 31 through Sunday, February 3 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Monique and Brooke from the Hammer Store will be on hand at the Hammer booth with a variety of our exhibition catalogues and other signature items. Here’s some info on the fair from Darin Klein, the Hammer’s Public Programs Associate:
Since 1991, I have been producing, promoting, distributing and collecting independent publications. One of the first public programs I brought to the Hammer back in 2007 was ‘Zineland, featuring local exhibitors, live music, a panel moderated by Aaron Rose and an ice cream truck. As a four-time exhibitor in the seven years that Printed Matter has been producing the NY Art Book Fair, I am particularly pleased that Angelenos will get a chance to experience the many facets of that fair—right here

Fritz Haeg. Domestic Integrities part A01: New York, 2012. Installation view at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo by Jack Ramunni, Mildred's Lane.



PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Domestic Integrities part A03: Los Angeles
March 21–24, 2013


Over the course of four marathon days, the Los Angeles–based artist Fritz Haeg is working in the museum lobby with volunteers and museum visitors to crochet discarded textiles into the traveling Domestic Integrities rug. A display of edibles, medicinals, and herbals fresh from his Los Angeles garden, including offerings of produce and herbal tea infusions, is presented on the rug.
The rug of local textiles is a charged site for testing, performing, and presenting how we want to live. These spiral-stitched circular rugs gradually expand as they travel from city to city. The European edition traveled to Budapest, London, and Vienna before arriving at a yearlong installation at Pollinaria in Abruzzo, Italy. American

A new commission of custom furnishings by Los Angeles-based artists Chris Johanson and Johanna Jackson is now installed on Lindbrook Terrace. These unconventional and enchanting chairs, tables, ottomans, and sofas incorporating used furniture, found wood, and colorful fabrics are available for the use of visitors. Below are photos of the artists installing their work. Visit our tumblr to see more.