skip the beach and come see us!!? ok we get it, but this is your reminder that we're open regular hours (11 am—6 pm) on July 4 🎇

happy #WorldWatercolorMonth to all who celebrate 🖌️ fun fact: what the watercolor is placed on plays a big role; the brightness of white paper, parchment, or ivory (used in the past for miniatures ↑) contributes to the jewel-like quality of the transparent colors.

Qᴜᴇᴇʀ ʟᴀᴄᴍᴀ: ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴘɪᴄᴋꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱᴇᴜᴍ // ᴊᴏʜɴ ʀɪᴄᴇ, ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛᴏʀ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴀʀᴋᴇᴛɪɴɢ ↴ "Walt Whitman's Earth, My Likeness starts strong as he contemplates the terrestrial. Deep within the earth he imagines fierce things capable of bursting forth. He sees the same within himself. And within the athlete of his current affections. (Where is this poem going?) Then he stops short, ending coyly with, "I dare not tell it in words." I'll be less coy and just get to my point. Levitated Mass is so gay. When I contemplate that particular piece of earth, I too find my likeness. What better representation of the lived queer experience? Taken out of context, transported by parade, laid bare—fierceness still within—and forever braced for anyone's passing comment. Who does she think she is?"—John Rice, Director of Marketing

🚨 Film buffs & 💻 lovers🚨 “Digital Infinities” explores the world of computer-generated film from 1952 to today. Join a cinematic conversation of past, present, and future, in conjunction with “Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952-1982” on July 1 from 6-9 pm at @calartsredcat | Free RSVP at our link in bio! Works by @_lovelaja @ryoichikurokawa @nataliepaneng_ @fnekf @arafa.builds @jeronbraxton Mary Ellen Bute, John Stehura, Nam June Paik, Lillian Schwartz, Ed Emshwiller, John Whitney Sr. @electronicartsintermix @ctrvisualmusic @thehenryford Trailer and curation by @mataazi

Qᴜᴇᴇʀ ʟᴀᴄᴍᴀ: ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴘɪᴄᴋꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱᴇᴜᴍ // ᴀʟɪᴄɪᴀ ᴠᴏɢʟ ꜱᴀᴇɴᴢ, ᴍᴀɴᴀɢᴇʀ, ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴀᴍꜱ ↴ "When I first saw the painting Winter by Agnes Pelton in the recent exhibition Another World: The Transcendental Painting Group, 1938–1945, I was immediately curious about the pigeon in the left-hand bottom corner. The pigeon stands next to a dove on a large rock and seems to be looking out at the fantastical sky painted in shades of pink and blue. The dove is facing the other way, pecking the ground. Pigeons are amongst the most despised birds and called all sorts of names. Yet, if you look at them closely, they are beautiful. Most pigeons are gray and black with stunning iridescent purple and green neck feathers. They are also amongst the fastest and strongest flyers, sustaining 60 miles per hour over hundreds of miles, which is why they are excellent messengers. They have amazing eyesight and were used by the coast guard to spot lost people at sea. Pigeons are indigenous to Eurasia and were domesticated about 5,000 years ago. They show up in Mesopotamian cuneiform tables and Egyptian hieroglyphics. All of that is fabulous and fierce. However what strikes me the most and reminds me of my queer community is that pigeons can always find their way home. No matter what scientists do to confuse them, like being blindfolded and released at great distances they make it home. Pigeons use both earth’s magnetic field and the position of the sun to find their way. We members of the LGBTQI+ community make home with each other, even during the worst of times when we are driven underground by prejudice and laws. We spot a gesture or drop a code. Just like pigeons, we queers are resilient, have been around forever, are gorgeously feathered, and can often find our way home in the most unexpected ways."—Alicia Vogl Saenz

Qᴜᴇᴇʀ ʟᴀᴄᴍᴀ: ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴘɪᴄᴋꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱᴇᴜᴍ // ᴀʟᴇxᴀɴᴅᴇʀ ꜱᴄʜɴᴇɪᴅᴇʀ, ᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ ᴇᴅɪᴛᴏʀ ↴ "David Hockney moved to Los Angeles in 1964, and though painted almost two decades later, there’s no image quite like Mulholland Drive to give us an idea of just what a playground of possibilities Los Angeles must have seemed like to the gay twenty-something leaving behind the gray skies—and by his own accounts stifling social atmosphere—of England. He dove headlong into the gay scene of 60s California, painting nude men and his friends and lovers going about their lives, especially as they lounging in and around sun-drenched swimming pools, helping to establish an irresistible image of life in California that continues to attract newcomers, queer or not, like Hockney to this day. Though the isolated geometry of some of his most iconic Los Angeles works like A Bigger Splash seem downright frigid, the kaleidoscopic colors and unreal geography of Mulholland Drive are pure joy. Painted by Hockney while back in England from memory (though the phrase “from memory” does seem too much concerned with accuracy for this hyper-real chaos), it communicates the inescapable allure that far-flung places seem to hold for so many queer people. As a newcomer to Los Angeles myself—who moved here directly from Hockney’s all-too-gray home country—sitting in front of this panoramic canvas captures what I still feel about this city on certain days."—Alexander Schneider

Qᴜᴇᴇʀ ʟᴀᴄᴍᴀ: ꜱᴛᴀꜰꜰ ᴘɪᴄᴋꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴜꜱᴇᴜᴍ // ɢʀᴀɴᴛ ʙʀᴇᴅɪɴɢ, ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛᴇ ᴠᴘ ᴏꜰ ʀᴇᴛᴀɪʟ & ᴍᴇʀᴄʜᴀɴᴅɪꜱɪɴɢ "There was never a closet for me to come out of. I was never in one. I twirled the batons for show and tell in the first grade and never looked back. Additionally, I have never needed to inform anyone that I am gay since my flame shines brightly from a mile away. Yet I find the subtle signifiers gay men used in the 1970s pre-AIDS glory days charming, resourceful, and a reminder of a different time when codes, signs, and symbols were how you told those that knew them who you were. By choice or necessity, many gay men were not out publicly, and being openly gay wasn't always easy, but the need to connect was strong. Wearing a specific-colored handkerchief from the full spectrum of the rainbow in either back pocket could tell those who knew the secret codes what you were. Branding and marketing all in a single hanky. If you know, you know—hi, Mary! Hal Fisher's Gay Semiotics: A Photographic Study of Visual Coding Among Homosexual Men is considered one of the most important works in queer history. His documentation is flawless. Elegant and direct. The piece Signifiers for a Male Response represents the times perfectly and details the simple but effective codes created to be both visible and invisible in public spaces. I am grateful this is a part of LACMA’s permanent collection."—Grant Breding

Wait—have you always wanted to take an art class?! Create + Collaborate is a FREE 10-session art program for participants ages 55+ that includes a group visit to LACMA and a ✨free✨ year-long membership for those that complete the series. These classes will be held in-person at Tia Chucha’s Bookstore and Cultural Center with LACMA teaching artists, and participants must be able to attend all 10 sessions ↓ Tuesdays + Thursdays I 11:00 am – 1:00 pm July 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 + August 1, 3, 8, 10 Contact [email protected] to sign up!

Iranian photographer @tahminehmonzavi met Tina, a trans woman, while photographing a women's shelter. Tina was kicked out of her family home at 15 but embraced and accepted by the women at the shelter. In this image Monzavi captures Tina, who died in 2020, sitting alone on Tehran’s metro, illustrating the isolation and alienation she felt living as an outcast in Iranian society. "Tina" is currently on view in our "Women Defining Women" exhibition.

we're logging off 💻 jk, but "Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age" is in its final days—on view through July 2✨ 🔗 in bio for more

we dare you not to smile @babymiloforeverm @stormashakk @hi_im_chewie @mynameischamaco @badboipuffdoody #NationalTakeYourDogToWorkDay #TakeYourDogtoWorkDay

@miena_mango getting lost in "An Empty Room” by @reas — on view through July 2 💫