Hammer Blog

We here at the Hammer Museum are quite fond of music. In fact our music programming is both varied and extensive, from a 2012 residency with an experimental orchestra, wild Up, to our upcoming two day concert as exhibition, ALL THE INSTRUMENTS AGREE, featuring visual artists whose practices extend into sound such as Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Odwalla88, Hassan Khan, and Lonnie Holley, among many others. We have even incorporated sound work into our collections, from the ping pong tables on Lindbrook Terrace that are actually a part of our Hammer Contemporary Collection, officially titled A Sound Work for the Hammer Museum by Mark Allen and Chris Kallymyer as Machine Project, to a series of prints by John Baldessari that feature musicians and guitars rendered in vibrant color devoid of detail.

When Olivia Fales, academic programs assistant at the Hammer, asked me for leads on Improv Artists for an upcoming Family Day, I blurted “ME, my team!” There was no hesitation, no thinking twice. The default for good improvisers is “yes, and.” A Museum Educator for ten years and improviser for four, I have long wished for a way to blend my two loves but didn’t quite know how. Being on a team with the best group of players imaginable, I knew it would be not only be possible, but fun to tackle.

Have you had a burning question for one of our curators? Now is your chance to ask! The Hammer is excited to once again be among 800+ museums from 47 countries participating in #AskACurator Day on Wednesday, September 16!

It's the last Friday of the month, so it's time once again for Hammergram! We are fascinated by the photos our visitors take of the objects and spaces at the Hammer. Hammergram is a monthly round-up of our favorite visitor photos in the hopes that it will inspire you to share your own Hammer experience with us.

Led by Mark Hayward of Sock Puppet Theater on July 26, the 826LA participants first had to come up with reasons why the Worst Movie Ever Made trailer was THE WORST.