modern art – thosecoolkims

Gary Baseman exhibit at The Skirball!

Our minds got blown this weekend at the Gary Baseman exhibit on view now at the Skirball Center in LA. It was such a cool exhibition! It’s called The Door is Always Open and couldn’t be more fitting, as part of it is an entire facade of a house, all done up in his signature style. Our pics don’t do it as much justice — you should just go see it! It’s on view until August 18.

Outside the “house”

Ed, Me and Andreas standing on the Welcome Mat outside the “house”

The Dining Room

Dining Room chandelier and Fireplace sculpture

The Living Room

Awesome Library wallpaper and sculpture on the Living Room mantle

I can’t remember the name of this room! (Borrowed this photo from the internet)

The Bedroom

Seriously creepy Bedroom dresser and closet

It’s even pretty darn kid-friendly. Aside from the “house” on view, there is a small room dedicated to Baseman’s sketches, and tiny tables and sketchbooks for kids to draw whatever they liked! Ruby was enamored with the fact she had a place to “do art”.

So. Much. Awesomeness.

More pics here.

The Exxopolis Luminarium

We went to see the Exxopolis Luminarium this past weekend when it was set up at CSULB. All three of us were blown away! We wish the pics could capture it, but it simply can’t. It was a very unique experience!

Road Trippin’, Day 3 – San Francisco!

Thanks to Auntie Shannon, Ed + I got to spend some alone time in the city. We were thrilled to get back to San Francisco, and we were determined to fit as many of our favorite things here in less than 24 hours!

Here are the highlights:

#1: Garry Winogrand photography exhibit @SFMOMA
We love SFMOMA and we were just in time to catch this huge Garry Winogrand exhibit while we were here. He has been one of my favorite photographers ever, and if you’ve been to our home, you’ve definitely seen this print before. I’m so glad we had a chance to catch this show.

#2: A snack at the Ferry Building
We skipped lunch just so we could go to the Ferry Building and “sample” some of our favorites. We decided on splitting the salame sandwich at Boccalone and sharing a Gingerbread Cupcake from Miette.

#3: Drinks at The Tonga Room
The Tonga Room is the most magical Tiki Bar in the world. The drinks are stiff, the ambiance is amazing, and they actually make it rain inside. Seriously, it’s the best place ever. We sipped on a Mai Tai and a Pipeline and soaked in all the glorious kitchiness.

#4: Late dinner at B Star
Trying to commit to a restaurant for dinner in San Francisco with all of the options available is tougher than trying to figure out what to do on New Year’s Eve. We decided to stay true to our love of all things asian fusion, and try out B Star, which says to be a mix of Thai/Chinese/Burmese/Indian/Japanese with a California twist. Yeah, its a mouthful, but it delivered! The food was outstanding – so bold and flavorful and like nothing we’ve ever eaten before. It was the kind of experience we always love having in this city!

p.s. We got an awesome groupon and are staying at the Hotel Griffon. It rules! It’s right across the street from the Ferry Building (seriously, we can see it out the window) and we get free parking. Total score.

Art appreciation and a taste of Detroit

We often consider our membership to LACMA similar to an Annual Passport at Disneyland. We go so often, it’s paid for in a few visits, and it’s nice to know that we can pop up to L.A. to take a quick peek at a new exhibition and leave for lunch, or spend the majority of the day walking around, spending time outside and visiting our “friends” up on the walls.

One of our faves is Ed Ruscha, and there is a new exhibition on view now called Standard. It was “Carmegeddon” weekend in L.A. and we arrived quicker than ever, and the museum was practically empty! No pics were allowed inside, but I snapped these two before the guard yelled at me. (Oops.)

It’s getting harder and harder to snap pics of this kiddo — she is always on the move!

After seeing Ed, we headed downstairs to the awesome Metropolis II, which is a favorite of all three of us. (We posted a few pics and video of another visit here.)I love the sheer design of it, Ed loves anything having to do with miniatures, and Miss Ruby is fascinated by all the commotion and moving cars!

A few more shots from our visit, including “The Rock” in the Levitated Mass exhibition.

The grand finale for the day was heading up to West Hollywood to try out Coney Dog L.A.! Ever since my cousins exposed us to the famous Detroit style hot dogs, we’ve been slightly obsessed. (Read all about our Coney face-off in Detroit here!) While Coney L.A. didn’t hold a candle to Lafayette in Detroit, it was a great homage to a Coney Island Hot Dog Shop and they really did keep things authentic. They had the Michigan vs. Ohio State game on … and they even had Faygo Red Pop!

Art + Hot Dogs = a great family day in L.A.!

The Transmission LA AV Club exhibition at MOCA

We were in for a serious treat on Saturday as we headed up to MOCA to catch the Transmission LA: AV Club exhibit that was curated by none other than the Beastie Boys’ Mike D! It was sort of a magical wonderland inside, and we definitely recommend that everybody go see it! The best news of all? It’s FREE.

Here are just a few — of many! — highlights: