10 Most Memorable L.A. Art Events of 2012
 |
| Courtesy of the artist |
| Performers on the set of Emily Mast's B!rdbra!n |
9. When James Franco asked Paul McCarthy, an artist known for irreverent fantasies that often involve prosthetics, puppets and bodily fluids, to make work loosely inspired by the making of Rebel Without a Cause, McCarthy said he would "dabble." McCarthy and son Damon McCarthy put on "Rebel Dabble Babble" at the Box L.A., the space run by Paul's daughter, Mara McCarthy, at the same time as Franco put on a far less thoughtful MOCA show in Hollywood (to which the McCarthys also contributed). They hired Elyse Poppers to play Natalie Wood, who purportedly had trysts with director Nicholas Ray during Rebel's filming. In the videos projected all over the Box's labyrinthine space, Paul McCarthy appeared as Ray, bathing with Poppers in one sequence and pulling a chair out from under her repeatedly in another. It was as sadistically unnerving as it should have been. 
From "Rebel Dabble Babble" at the Box
10. When you walk into "Blues for Smoke" at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary space (on display through Jan. 7), you see Richard Pryor on a TV monitor doing stand-up comedy. Then, on the first floor, you walk through a waxy all-red, chapel-like room built by artist Rodney McMillian, you see Kerry James Marshall's painting of a figure swimming in a haunted blue lake and you can watch HBO's The Wire in a small, dark gallery. Bennett Simpson curated the show and, of all the attempts the museum has made to merge pop culture, commercial media and art this year (the Mercedes-Benz-backed Transmission L.A. fest, Franco's "Rebel" show), this is the one that actually works.
SJ O'Connell Rodney McMillian's from Asterisks in Dockery in "Blues for Smoke"
See also:
*5 Artsy Things to Do in L.A. This Week
*Top 10 Films of 2012
Follow me on Twitter at @cgwagley, and for more arts news follow us at @LAWeeklyArts and like us on Facebook.
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
