This week, expect music on just about every block and venue in town or head to The Getty Center for the 100th anniversary of The Bauhaus (not the band) and take some time to sketch at the Long Beach Museum of Art or watch “Happy Gilmore” on the beach. Plus, Date Couches!
1. INDIANA JONES DOUBLE FEATURE (Thursday)
Watch Harrison Ford battle snakes and Nazis on a lawn adjacent to the Queen Mary when, as part of the Queen Mary’s 2019 Movie Night Summer Series, attendees can catch a double feature starring the archaeologist superhero who just can’t catch a break. “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark“ (1981) and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom“ (1984) will be screened back-to-back, so bring the whole family, lawn chairs and picnic blankets.
Another great thing: Also on Thursday evening, Alfredo’s Beach Club will present one of its first Moonlight Movies on the Beach with “Happy Gilmore” scheduled to play on the big (blow-up) screen. Movies start at dusk and parking is free after 6 p.m. Click here for all the details.
Giving us a moment’s pause: The $75 date night upgrade includes champagne, snacks and… a couch for two, as in, everyone at the movie not on a date will know you’re on a date and, if they’re as curious a person as I am, will be glancing over every half hour to see how it’s going. Good luck!
The double feature runs from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Queen Mary Seawalk, 1126 Queens Hwy. General admission is free with a date night upgrade for $75. Parking is $10 to park onsite.
2. MAKE MUSIC LONG BEACH (Friday)
Long Beach’s version of the International Summer Solstice Music Festival held worldwide is Make Music Long Beach. Organized by the Long Beach Music Council, longtime local music advocate Shea Newkirk and the Arts Council for Long Beach, that’s over 150 musical acts in 75 locations throughout the city, from Belmont Shore to Downtown, Bixby Knolls to Lakewood Village. A few events and acts you shouldn’t miss: Indie Soul outfit and Long Beach natives BLCKNOISE will play at the Elinor at 8 p.m.; multiple busking areas will be set up along Second Street in Belmont Shore, perfect for a music-filled stroll; the amphitheater at Cesar Chavez Park will also have plenty of performances to check out.
Another great thing: If you’re into hardcore punk, local band You Be You just released their first project and will be putting on a demo release show in the East Village Arts Park. Check the details here.
Giving us a moment’s pause: So many musical acts, how do you choose?
Make Music Long Beach takes place from noon to 9 p.m. throughout Long Beach. Head to MakeMusicLB.org for a map of all the event locations.
3. ANYWHERE BUT HERE: BAUHAUS BEGINNINGS
This week we have an “Anywhere But Here” entry, providing you with something worth getting out of Long Beach to experience, and it’s all about the history of design, specifically, The Bauhaus. Again, it’s not the band but a school established in Germany in 1919, at the end of WWI, that sought to bridge distinctions between the fine and applied arts, a program of study centered on theory and practical experience that arts institutions, including Cal State Long Beach’s design program, still use modified versions of today.
The Getty recently opened “Bauhaus Beginnings,” celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the school’s opening, drawing from the Getty Research Institute’s collection. Viewers can check out course exercises, teaching aids, rare prints, drawings and photographs, and learn about the principles of the institution from its nascent years. The Bauhaus was forced to close in 1933 under pressure from the Nazi regime.
We spoke with Cal State Long Beach Design Historian Tom Tredway on just how influential the school was on arts education, architecture and design right here in Long Beach:
How did this small German design school influence the United States?
Long Beach State’s design program still pretty much follows a modified Bauhaus model as has every other design school I’ve taught at in the United States. Certainly, the International Style of architecture that The Bauhaus was part of also had a huge influence in Southern California. The Bauhaus really pioneered a new model of arts education that was based on direct experience and experimentation, and actually concurring in workshops as opposed to an intellectual process of drawing from historical models. And so they came up with an educational approach that really started with the basics of art-making. So how do you explore color and form and materials in a very experiential way?
And so that model is widely, widely influential in the United States. Most design programs start with that idea of getting your feet wet with some basic introductions to exploring creative concepts and then you specialize in the more art-making components of design, and then for example here at Cal State Long Beach, that process usually takes about two years, and it’s at that point that you would apply for one of our juried programs, either in industrial design or interior design and that’s when you would start specializing in your own niche within the design fields.
What are some examples of this more hands-on approach to art-making?
The Bauhaus didn’t have a whole lot of materials because this is after the first World War, their economy’s in shambles and so they would use what they had on hand. So they would take things like sheets of paper, just a flat sheet of paper, and then they would have a project where they would have to, without removing material, just by creating cuts, create a structure that could support weight with that flat piece of paper. There’s no real formal end goal, there’s no kind of sheet you have to create to do this successfully, it’s really more about thinking creatively about solving problems and the way that you can utilize materials and everyday things that you have on hand to creatively and intuitively address issues.
You learn not by copying the past, but by digging your hands into the workshop with actual materials and trying to create things and make things. And they don’t start with history, they actually start with creativity.
Is The Bauhaus influence visible in Long Beach?
The most obvious one in Long Beach that comes to mind is the architect Killingsworth, who, I don’t know off the top of my head if he had any direct connections with The Bauhaus, but in general he is Long Beach’s most popular and famous Modernist architect and very much follows—The Bauhaus was part of a broader set of modern movements in architecture that’s usually referred to as the International Style. And we would recognize it as white, poured concrete cubes, so if you see a cubic white concrete block, that’s generally speaking, an International Style building.
So, one of his most famous buildings in Long Beach is The Frank House on Naples, which is also known as Case Study House #25. And so it was a part of the broader case study house program in Southern California, which was a Modernist-inspired, Bauhaus-inspired program to develop mass-producible housing for everyday people coming back from the Second World War.
Another great thing: Along with the physical exhibition at The Getty Center, there’s also an interactive online component called “Bauhaus: Building the New Artist,” an in-depth look at the school’s history, tools and methods for teaching. You can check that out here.
Giving us a moment’s pause: I post this here at great risk of sounding pretentious.
“Bauhaus Beginnings” will be on view through Oct. 13, 2019 at The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90049.
4. SIXTH DISTRICT JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION (Saturday)
https://www.instagram.com/p/By5O84UB3q0/
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. Vice Mayor Dee Andrews and the city’s Office of Special Events & Filming will bring this family-friendly event to Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Saturday to celebrate June 19, 1865, the day General Order No. 3 ended master-slave connections.
“Juneteenth is a significant day in African American history and not a lot of people know about it,” Andrews said in a statement. “To highlight this day, I am happy to host a community event with live entertainment, food trucks, historical skits and informational booths.”
Another great thing: Music will be provided by DJ Senay Kenfe, Robert’s Boys and Company and Fuzzy Funk Factory.
Giving us a moment’s pause: We’re good.
Juneteenth will be celebrated at Martin Luther King Junior Park, 1950 Lemon Ave. from noon to 4 p.m.
5. PATCHWORK SHOW: MODERN MAKERS FESTIVAL (Sunday)
Put on by Dear Handmade Life, there are four Patchwork shows bi-annually throughout California in the spring and fall, but Long Beach is the largest, with more than 200 vendors expected to take over the Marine Stadium parking lot on Sunday to sell independent and handmade goods; think clothing, handbags, ceramics, art, home goods and more by local makers.
Another great thing: There will be a free shuttle taking guests to and from parking, but even better, a free bike valet, so ditch the car and ride your cruiser!
Giving us a moment’s pause: Lots of people, dogs and kids in one place.
The festival will be at Marine Stadium on Bayshore at Appian Way from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s free to attend and dog friendly. For more info check out the website here.
6. SKETCHING WITH ANGUS (Saturday)
Every Saturday through Sep. 7, and coinciding with the Long Beach Museum of Art’s current exhibition, “Patrick Angus: Voyeur,” you can grab supplies from the museum’s front desk, take a walk through the Hartman Pavilion, find your favorite work of art, and sketch away.
Another great thing: Angus himself created a series of pencil drawings in the late ’70s of his everyday life in Los Angeles, capturing “the gay life he knew,” then later moved to New York to expand on the subject matter.
Giving us a moment’s pause: Angus’ work is honest. He strove to depict gay men as they wanted to see themselves, in films, plays, televisions and paintings, to fill the void where, 23 years after Stonewall, the LGBT community had few honest images of themselves. I imagine sketching from his works will elicit these types of reflections on American society today. It’s going to get heavy; be prepared.
Sketching with Angus runs from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd. Free with admission. For more info, visit the event link here.
7. SUMMER FARMERS MARKETS AT THE PIKE OUTLETS (Thursday)
[SPONSORED] Every Thursday night through August 29 (except for July 4th) you can shop at the local Farmers Market at the Pike. Pick up fresh fruits, veggies and browse local arts and crafts on the second level patio above Nike.
Another great thing: If you miss the market Thursday, you can, the following Sunday, head toward the Queen Mary to Hotel Maya where Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, the world’s first LGBTQ mariachi band, will present an encore performance at Fuego, the hotel’s seaside restaurant, in celebration of Pride month. Call 562-481-3910 to make a reservation or click here.
Giving us a moment’s pause: Shop local, at The Pike Outlets…
Farmers markets run from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursdays at The Pike Outlets, 95 South Pine Ave.
