It’s a big anniversary LA Tomatoes!  Bring out the band, the megaphones, the banners, release the doves and the confetti!  That’s right LA Tomatoes, after 300 newsletters we are officially 6 years old at the tip top beginning of a new decade!  Help us make The Three Tomatoes LA even bigger in 2020 by telling your friends to signup for our newsletters. LA is one of the world’s most dynamic cities shaping art and culture, and this week, I’m highlighting what’s happening at some our best art & cultural institutions. Let’s start the New Year and New Decade with Art Tomatoes! 

Till September. L.A. Murals

Los Angeles streets are the epicenter of the world’s street art scene and now “LA Murals” at the Walt Disney Concert Hall documents with photos the murals painted on the streets of this vibrant city between 1997 and 2016.  Yes, Tomatoes, murals on our streets is incredible art and Free!

Yes, Tomatoes, open and free to visitors of the Concert Hall.  L.A. Murals showcases 30 photographs curated from the vast collection of 14 million photographs of our Los Angeles culture, including the creativity and diversity, from the National Library.  The photographs showcase the work of recognized and highly talented street artists, as well as paintings that were created as signage, commercial art, homages and memorials. The mural locations ranged from Venice Beach to Whittier Boulevard in east L.A.  Rachel Moore, president and CEO of the Music Center says, “The Music Center is thrilled to be able to provide a platform that highlights this art form and the many murals that are part of the fabric of L.A.” LA Murals Tomatoes…try to see it.

Travel the World in 30 Minutes

If you love travel, then fasten your seat belts and listen in to this week’s podcast with our guest Lea Lane, award-winning travel writer and author of 9 travel books, including her latest travel memoir, “Places I Remember: Tales, Truths, Delights from 100 Countries,” (published by The Three Tomatoes Book Publishing.) You’ll be inspired to start packing your bags. Listen in here or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

January 11. Art for All Celebration

Free! Free! Free! It’s official. Both MOCA galleries now start offering free general admission.  Holy Cow! That’s big! And that is certainly worth celebrating and you can do that tomorrow…for free…with live music, special performances, tours, art workshops, food trucks and sidewalk sale, Tomatoes.

And there will be free shuttles transporting visitors between both locations. Free admission is all made possible byCarolyn Clark Powers, MOCA Board of Trustees President, who generously donated $10 million towards free general admission for all at both locations. “We see ourselves as a civic institution, as a public institution, as a resident among residents, as part of the communities we live in. It’s about art and sharing it,” says Klaus Biesenbach, MOCA’s director. Again, the free admission to MOCA, which removes all financial barriers for LA residents and visitors to enjoy MOCA’s Museum, starts January 11 and that is something for Tomatoes to shout about.  Bravo…MOCA! 

January 19.  Beach Walk & Sketch

Ready for a breath of fresh air…ocean air that is…and a walk on a beautiful beach with a chance to express your artistic side, Tomatoes?  Well, dear hearts, the Annenberg Community Beach House and the LA Audubon Society is making all that possible with their “Beach Walk & Sketch” event and it is free. But you need to reserve a place ASAP.

Don’t want you Tomatoes to miss out on enjoying a lovely morning at the beach sketching the wonderful sights of nature. The binoculars, drawing boards, pencils and newsprint will be provided or you are welcome to bring your own sketching tools. Just make sure your tools are easy to carry if you bring your own and also make sure to wear sun protection. The “Beach Walk and Sketch is not until January 19 but again you need to make your reservations now.  Enjoy our coastline while making art.

Till March 8. Through a Different Lens

“Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs” showcases 130 photos by 17-year-old photojournalist Stanley Kubrick before he became one of the most influential and legendary figures in cinematic history. I forgot Stanley Kubrick was ever 17! But he was a genius, Tomatoes, so getting a closer look at his early years of work and even a screening of one of his early films later would be such a treat.

This exhibition also reveals how Stanley Kubrick’s early years, with his signature framing and storytelling, foreshadows his future work as a film director. Not only did Stanley Kubrick’s early work focus on the essence of ordinary life in 1940’s New York but he had also had a big interest in aspiring celebrities at the time as well as pampered pets in “A Dogs Life in the Big City” and life on the subway with  “Life and Love on the New York Subway”. And speaking of Kubrick’s film career interest, the Skirball Cultural Center will host a screening of his 1956 film noir classic, “The Killing,” with a post screening panel Q & A including “The Killing’s” producer James B. Harris, discuss the relationship between Kubrick’s photography and his filmmaking style, as well as his influence on contemporary filmmakers. The Q & A will be moderated by TCM host Alicia Malone.  The Kubrick exhibition was organized by the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with SK Film Archives.  Just so you know, Tomatoes because it promises to be darn good.   

Till January End of Jan.  Nineteen Nineteen

Oh my, just 10 days left for the “Nineteen Nineteen” exhibition at the Huntington Library and Art Museum that is part of the Huntington’s Centennial events.  More than 275 objects from the institution’s library and art collections that examine The Huntington’s founding and tumultuous year, 1919, are on display. You got to get your butt in gear fast to see it Tomatoes! 

The exhibition was organized by the verbs “Fight,” “Return,” “Map,” “Move,” and “Build,” showcasing an era in flux. It also showcases items that embody an era in flux. Rare books, posters, letters, photographs, diaries, paintings, sculpture, and ephemera will be on view. There are more exhibitions and talks happening through February and let’s not forget the Centennial Rose.  A special rose was specifically cultivated and hybridized by the Rose Collection’s curator for The Huntington’s centennial year in the historic rose garden.  It might not be blooming in January, but it will again and when it does it will bloom in pastel yellow and orchid pink and will have an intense smell of lemon blossom with a hint of baby powder. Turning 100 at The Huntington sure is grand, Tomatoes. 

Is 2020 Your Year to Make Your Book a Reality?