Art Los Angeles County

The fate of Norton Simon's art collection is the most brightly burning issue in Southern California's art scene. Will his $750-million collection of European and Asian art stay in Pasadena in the building that bears his name? Will the museum merge with the J. Paul Getty Museum? Will Simon donate the collection to other museums? Or will he sell the whole thing in the art auction of the century?

The recent landmark exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh paintings is estimated to have added $122 million to the local economy--evidence, tourism officials said Thursday, that cultural activities can be lucrative attractions to market to travelers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art spent more than $10 million to present and advertise the collection of 70 works of one of the world's most popular artists.

Although it tends to exist just off to the side of the general art scene, the watercolor medium thrives in a scene of its own, undaunted by misunderstanding and marginality. That's one of the clear messages ringing through the potpourri of watercolors at the Brand Library, packed into the 28th annual juried exhibition. The duration of the exhibition speaks of the medium's power, considering the fickle sways of art organizations and events.

The night of his brother's stabbing will forever burn in the mind of artist Willie Herron. He wanted the world to remember too--to have the image of his 15-year-old brother, John, stabbed by gang members, permanently inscribed on the wall of the Eastside alley behind his family's home. So on that night in June 1972, after taking his brother to the hospital and saying a quick prayer, he painted a mural, guided by friends holding flashlights, on a building owned by his uncle.

The night of his brother's stabbing will forever burn in the mind of artist Willie Herron. He wanted the world to remember too--to have the image of his 15-year-old brother, John, stabbed by gang members, permanently inscribed on the wall of the Eastside alley behind his family's home. So on that night in June 1972, after taking his brother to the hospital and saying a quick prayer, he painted a mural, guided by friends holding flashlights, on a building owned by his uncle.

When it comes to staging big-scale art events, environmental artist Christo has the definite edge on scope, visibility and money spent for his behemoth umbrella art project. As for enthusiasm, however, he may have nothing on Sherrill Hyink's sixth-grade students at Weathersfield School in Thousand Oaks.

The recent landmark exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh paintings is estimated to have added $122 million to the local economy--evidence, tourism officials said Thursday, that cultural activities can be lucrative attractions to market to travelers. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art spent more than $10 million to present and advertise the collection of 70 works of one of the world's most popular artists.

Would Diego Rivera and Eleanor Antin have gotten along? Rivera's long-suffering wife, self-proclaimed Mexican Realist painter Frida Kahlo, has become a feminist icon in the United States, while Antin is prominent among the first generation of feminist artists who helped transform American art culture during the past 30 years. Well, probably not.

While Los Angeles artist Kent Twitchell has been in Philadelphia painting a 35-foot-tall mural of basketball legend Julius Erving as part of that city's war against graffiti, he has been losing the battle on his home turf. Twice in the last week, gang members sprayed graffiti on Twitchell's partially completed painting of Los Angeles Marathon runners on a wall beside the San Diego Freeway in Inglewood.

Art for Rail Transit, a public art program designed to put artworks in Metro Rail stations, will be inaugurated on Thursday in a flash of cool blue light. "Unity," the first installation, is a series of 82 fiber-optic light panels by Los Angeles artist Tom Eatherton. The multipart light painting will be turned on at a 9 a.m. ceremony in the Flower Street Tunnel of the Blue Line. Eatherton's work, which is located 30 feet underground, will be visible only while riding the train.

Would Diego Rivera and Eleanor Antin have gotten along? Rivera's long-suffering wife, self-proclaimed Mexican Realist painter Frida Kahlo, has become a feminist icon in the United States, while Antin is prominent among the first generation of feminist artists who helped transform American art culture during the past 30 years. Well, probably not.

Although it tends to exist just off to the side of the general art scene, the watercolor medium thrives in a scene of its own, undaunted by misunderstanding and marginality. That's one of the clear messages ringing through the potpourri of watercolors at the Brand Library, packed into the 28th annual juried exhibition. The duration of the exhibition speaks of the medium's power, considering the fickle sways of art organizations and events.

Life goes on at Bergamot Station, where about 20 art dealers ply their trade and the public turns out in droves for special openings, but questions persist about the continuing development of the sprawling gallery complex. The recent court dissolution of the two-dealer partnership that had governed Bergamot during its first three years and a subsequent agreement last week that financial backer Tom Patchett will sell his interest in the complex to project developer Wayne Blank for$1.

For 20 years, the Wilhall Park Mural in Wilmington has been a symbol of peace and harmony. When the mural is rededicated Sunday, community activists say its message will be more important than ever. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." said D.C. Chavez of the mural restoration committee. "We have to stop these kids from getting involved in gangs and committing violence and we want this mural to bring people together to combat the problem."

If you have guessed that the shrouded hulks installed last week on Beverly Hills City Hall's front lawn and nearby parkways are important pieces of sculpture, you are right. On Friday the wraps will be removed, revealing 10 large-scale works by the late British artist Henry Moore, a towering figure in modern art history known for infusing sculpture with muscular vitality and a romantic sensibility.

They rise out of the darkness like tinted bolts of lightning or misplaced mobiles by Alexander Calder, bits of metallic whimsy laid out for the pleasure of passersby. Red, yellow, blue--their primary colors are bold enough to be seen even at night, especially when illuminated by headlights. Not the kind of thing you'd expect to see on the side of the freeway--and exactly the effect artist Lars Hawkes hoped for when he installed them with his own money in 1992.

Artist Christo's latest temporary outdoor art project, "The Umbrellas," is on display through Oct. 30. Here is some help in viewing: Where: Along Interstate 5 for 18 miles north from intersection of California 138 to the bottom of the Grapevine in the San Joaquin Valley. Directions: Take I-5 north from Los Angeles, about 60 miles from downtown. Turnarounds: At Quail Lake Road, Gorman, Frazier Park, Lebec and Ft. Tejon exits.

Mexico's indigenous art was ferociously intense--from its pre-Columbian temples to its heroic revolutionary muralists and satirical popular artists. Mexican American artists inherited this heartfelt engagement with the realities of the spirit but gave it their own twist. The resulting aesthetic is seen in the Laguna Art Museum exhibition "Across the Street: Self-Help Graphics and Chicano Art in Los Angeles."

Mexico's indigenous art was ferociously intense--from its pre-Columbian temples to its heroic revolutionary muralists and satirical popular artists. Mexican American artists inherited this heartfelt engagement with the realities of the spirit but gave it their own twist. The resulting aesthetic is seen in the Laguna Art Museum exhibition "Across the Street: Self-Help Graphics and Chicano Art in Los Angeles."

Laguna Art Museum curator Bolton Colburn sensed something uniquely vital the moment he entered Self-Help Graphics. The community-based art center in East Los Angeles, born of the tumultuous Chicano rights movement of the 1960s, was founded to nurture the careers of young Latino artists via workshops, exhibitions and free access to professional silk-screen printing facilities.