Welcome the new year in downtown L.A.
This week, we’re seeing a selection from Getty’s photo collection, admiring the artistry of Rose Parade floats up close, bringing in 2020 at Grand Park and catching some exhibitions before they close in the first days of the new year.
Unseen
The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, is celebrating the 35th anniversary of its photo collection by exhibiting works never before displayed.
“Unseen: 35 Years of Collecting Photographs” features 200 never-before-seen photos from its collection of more than 148,000 prints.
“From 19th-century European and American photographs from the early days of the medium, to contemporary works produced around the world, this exhibition highlights the breadth and depth of the collection,” Getty.edu says. “As curators share and juxtapose their favorite images, viewers are invited to make their own visual associations between photographs from different times and places.”
The exhibition includes photographs by dozens of artists from the birth of the medium in the mid-19th century to the present day. The selection also encompasses a variety of photographic processes, including the delicate cyanotypes of Anna Atkins (British, 1799–1871), Polaroids by Carrie Mae Weems (American, born 1953) and Mary Ellen Mark (American, 1940-2015) and an architectural photographic silkscreen on glass by Veronika Kellndorfer (German, born 1962), getty.edu says.
The exhibition runs through March 8.
The Getty Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sunday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Saturday. The Getty is closed Mondays.
Admission is free, but parking is $20; $15 after 3 p.m.
N.Y.E.L.A.
We’re taking liberties with the definition of “weekend” to include a couple of items for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
L.A.’s biggest New Year’s Eve party also happens to be a free one — the annual bash at Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., and the adjoining Music Center Plaza. Organizers call it L.A.’s biggest music and dance party.
The event features two stages of simultaneous performances — the “Get Down Stage” will feature an all-night dance party with DJs, while the “Countdown Stage” will feature Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (Leimert Park’s Afro-beat jazz band), DJ Pauli “The PSM” (drummer with the Gorillaz), Thee Sinseers (an East L.A. R&B band), and Banda Las Angelinas (Compton’s all-female banda group).
The sights and sounds of the “Countdown Stage” will be broadcast live on The Music Center Plaza’s giant LED screens and there will be more than 40 food trucks on hand.
The highlight of the eve
ning will be 3-D video projections on City Hall for the countdown to midnight.
There will be a lot of street closures in the area, so your best bet is to take the Metro rail to the Civic Center station.
See musiccenter.org for a schedule and helpful tips.
Rose Parade Floats
You can see Rose Parade floats up close without attending the parade. Floats in the final stages of decoration and preparation can be viewed at the Rosemont Pavilion, 700 Seco St. (near the Rose Bowl), from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 28; from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 29; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Dec. 30; and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Dec. 31.
General admission tickets are $15. Children 5 and under get in free. There will be no on-site tickets sold for Dec. 31. Tickets are available through www. sharpseating.com
A post-parade showcase of floats takes place at the intersection of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Washington Boulevard from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., after the parade on Jan. 1 and again from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 2. Tickets for viewings are $20 through Sharp Seating.
LA Zoo Family New Year’s Eve
The LA Zoo, 5333 Zoo
Drive, will have a family New Year’s Eve party in conjunction with its Zoo Lights show.
At 6 p.m., Dec. 31, guests can enjoy a buffet dinner with soft drinks and dessert, a carousel ride, games, a DJ dance party and a broadcast of the Times Square ball drop. There will be complimentary champagne for the adults and sparkling apple cider for the children.
Tickets are $74 for adults and $49 for children 2 to 12. See lazoo.org for details and tickets.
Closing soon
There are some interesting exhibitions that will be wrapping up soon, including:
• “W/ALLS: Defend, Divide and the Divine” at the
Annenberg Space for Photography, 2000 Avenue of the Stars. This exhibition features the works of over 70 artists and photographers examining the various aspects of walls — artistic, social, political and historical. The exhibition closes Dec. 29. Admission is free. The Annenberg is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
• “Dogs! A Science Tail.”
This exhibition lets guests see the world from a canine perspective. Experiences range from listening to hidden sounds that dogs can hear but humans can’t, excavating replicas of actual fossils to determine if they belong to wolves or dogs, walking a dog through an interactive neighborhood to understand how pets strengthen the community, and testing your pop-culture knowledge during a game of “Jeopawdy!” based on the show “Jeopardy.” Ticket prices range from $7.95 to $9.95 and available at www.californiasciencecenter.org
The exhibition closes Jan. 5. The California Science Center is located at 700 Exposition Drive and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Note that there’s a Rams game on Dec. 29 and traffic will be heavy that day.
• “Coyote Leaves the Res: The Art of Harry Fonseca and Indian Country: The Art of David Bradley at The Autry.” Using the figure of the coyote, Fonseca, a gay man of mixed ethnic heritage, used the figure of the coyote to navigate different aspects of his life and identity (personal favorites are coyotes as characters in the operas Carmen and La Boheme). Drawing influence from diverse sources such as Santa Fe–style painting of the 1930s–40s, Renaissance art, pop culture, advertising and film, Bradley’s work is at once serious and fun, historical and contemporary. Both exhibitions close Jan. 5. The Autry is located at 4700 Western Heritage Way and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $14 for adults and $6 for kids 3 to 12. The Autry will be closed New Year’s Eve, but open, with free admission, on New Year’s Day.