Films by Kenji Mizoguchi @ LACMA
Seven Masterpieces by Kenji Mizoguchi will be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from Friday, June 8 to Saturday, June 23. Mizoguchi, along with Ozu and Kurosawa, is considered to be one of the three masters from the golden age of Japanese cinema. With a remarkable visual style, Mizoguchi’s work was inspired by that of Josef von Sternberg, which emphasized elaborate, complex compositions of great beauty. June 8: “Ugetsu” and “Sisters of the Gion;” June 9: “Sansho the Bailiff;” June 15: “Story of the Late Chrysanthemums;” ”June 16: “Life of Oharu;” June 22 & 23: “Utamaro and His Five Women” and “Street of Shame.” Los Angeles County Museum of Art is at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. For more info: 323-857-6565 or www.lacma.org.
Art Exhibition at the Getty Center
The exhibition Art, Anti-Art, Non-Art will be held at the Getty Center’s Research Institute Exhibition Gallery through June 3. It will feature numerous anti-establishment artistic collaboratives, which emerged in Japan during the post-World War II period, including Jikken Kōbō/Experimental Workshop, Group Ongaku, Tokyo Fluxus, Neo Dada, and Bikyt. These collectives produced radical work that provoked its audience conceptually, politically, and socially. In experimenting with new materials and processes of art making and disruption of conventional art forms, the work of these artists reflected the dramatic changes and disjunctive character of everyday life in Japan over the course of two decades following the war. The works presented range from musical scores and photo essays to performance documentation and interactive art kits. For more information, visit www.getty.edu. Admission to the Getty Center is FREE, no reservations required. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood.
Bridge USA Summer Festival
 The Bridge USA Twelfth Annual Summer Festival will be held at the Torrance Cultural Center on Sunday July 8 from 10:00 to 7:00 p.m. Bridge USA is a Japanese language “info-tainment” magazine that sponsors a number of Japanese cultural events ranging from soccer to sake tasting. The Summer Festival will feature food, demonstrations, vendors and entertainment such as dance and musical performances. The Torrance Cultural Center is at 3350 Civic Center Drive. Exit the 110 Freeway at Torrance Boulevard and proceed west to Madrona Avenue. Admission is $4 for adults and $1 for children. Over 65 free. For more info: 310-7817150.
Tokyo ADC Exhibition
A blend of pop, tradition and innovation, an exhibition that provides a glimpse into the world of Tokyo Advertising Director’s Club is now open at the George J. Doizaki Theater in Little Tokyo. Tokyo ADC features some of the most trend-setting minds in commercial visual arts in the world today through examples of logos, print and television advertising, and book and product design. The commercial artists, whose work is on display here, show how they explore and discover new ways of delivering their products to the consumer market. Admission Free. Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Friday, 12 noon to 5:00 pm. Saturday & Sunday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Closed Mondays & Holidays.
Landscaping Exhibit Opens at JANM
The exhibit, “Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden,” will be on display June 17 - October 21 at the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. Landscaping America reveals the personal stories, historical journeys, creativity, and community processes that underlie the surface of the “Japanese garden.” This multimedia exhibition highlights how West Coast Japanese Americans drew upon their agricultural and ethnic backgrounds to carve out a viable vocational niche in gardening, and in the process, reinterpreted Japanese garden traditions, offered alternative approaches to working with nature, and contributed to the diversity of the American landscape. The Japanese American National Museum is at 369 East First Street, Los Angeles. $8 JANM Museum members; $13 Non-members. For more information, please call (213) 625-0414, or visit www.janm.org.
Kurosawa Films @ New Beverly Cinema
Two films from acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa will be shown at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 3; Monday, June 4; and Tuesday, June 5. In “Yojimbo” (1961), a crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town. In “Sanjuro” (1962), a group of idealistic young men, determined to clean up the corruption in their town, are aided by a scruffy, cynical samurai who does not at all fit their concept of a noble warrior. New Beverly Theater is at 7165 West Beverly Blvd., one block west of La Brea. Call (323) 938-4038 or visit www.newbevcinema.com for more information.
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