New exhibitions provoke thought with innovation

  Los Angeles County Museum of Art "Rabbit" by Jeff
Koons is at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from Oct.
7 to Jan. 6.

By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Senior Staff From major museums to galleries, the fall
art schedule includes exhibits and shows that push the boundaries
of what art can do. Whether reacting to prejudice or creating a
tent city, artists are finding new ways to examine and depict
popular culture and modern society.

“Paul Pfeiffer” UCLA Hammer
Museum
Aug. 29- Oct. 28
10899 Wilshire Boulevard
(310) 443-7000 Just because Pfeiffer’s work will be shown in
the Lobby and Lobby Gallery of the Hammer Museum doesn’t mean
it will be bad. The installation art is part of “Hammer
Projects,” a new series featuring contemporary art by artists
who are not well-known in Los Angeles. His “Self Portrait as
a Fountain” alludes to the movie “Psycho” and the
work of other artists ““ one of which is Douglas Gordon, whose
work is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A new
perspective on pop culture icons could be fun, even if it is in the
lobby.

“You and Eye: Art Responds to Prejudice” The
Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring
Sept. 9 – Nov. 4
1525 S. Robertson Boulevard
(310) 552-2007 Works from 34 artists examine prejudice in this
exhibit, presented by The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, a
Jewish cultural awareness group. The artists were chosen after a
call for artistic responses to prejudice. Subjects tackled include
anti-Semitism, race, homelessness, homophobia and deformity. This
collection of art is likely to promote serious thinking about the
ramifications and causes of prejudice. Although some of its content
may be disturbing, it looks to be educational.

“Helen Lundeberg: Inner Visions of Outer
Spaces” Tobey C. Moss Gallery
Sept. 15 – Nov. 3
7321 Beverly Boulevard
(323) 933-5523 Those looking out for abstract art will find it at a
show of Helen Lundeberg’s paintings. Working in a form that
is confusing to some and inspiring to others, Lundeberg tries to
explore concepts of space in non-traditional ways. Playing with
two-dimensional and three-dimensional depictions, as well as using
a limited number of colors, the artist depicts outer space and an
imaginary world. Admirers of abstraction can enjoy puzzling over
her work in this more intimate gallery setting.

“Douglas Gordon” Museum of Contemporary
Art
Sept. 16 – Jan. 20
250 South Grand Avenue
(212) 621-2766 The featured piece at this exhibit is a photograph
of the artist in a wig. It is titled “Selfportrait as Kurt
Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe.”
If the rest of the collection is as good as this picture, viewers
are in for a treat. Gordon is a Scottish artist most famous for
video installations, the first of which featured as a subject the
Alfred Hitchcock film “Psycho”. With a heavy emphasis
on popular culture, especially film, an exhibit of Gordon’s
work looks easy to appreciate.

“Los Carpinteros’s Transportable City”
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Sept. 27 – Jan. 13
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
(323) 857-6000 Los Carpinteros, a group of three Cuban artists,
have created an installation of ten tents that represent commonly
seen town buildings. A capital building, a Gothic-style church, a
lighthouse, a factory, an apartment building, a hospital, a
military outpost, a prison, a university and a warehouse are all
present in this exhibit, which is intended to transform the
foundations of modern cities into easily portable tents. Set up on
the Green between LACMA East and West, this exhibit could be an
interesting look at the attachments people have to the more
tangible elements of city life.

“Freestyle” Santa Monica Museum of
Art
Sept. 28 – Nov. 18
2525 Michigan Avenue
(310) 586-6488 Making its only stop on the West Coast,
“Freestyle” exhibits the work of 28 African American
artists. The show was created by the Studio Museum in Harlem, New
York, and features emerging artists, most of whom were born after
the Civil Rights Movement. The collection will include a variety of
media, including painting, sculpture, photography, video, digital
and sound projects. The exhibit will provide insight into how the
concerns of African American art have progressed since the years of
the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement.