Visual Art Show in Los Angeles
The Variety Arts Theater is hosting *What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem*, curated by Udo Kittelmann and featuring the Julia Stoschek video art collection [https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/la-exhibition-julia-stoschek-video-art-collection-1234775995/]. The show shuns the typical "white cube" gallery format, opting for immersive presentations. It's quickly becoming LA’s art scene highlight.
Udo Kittelmann, born in Düsseldorf in 1958, has had a long career as a curator and museum director, known for his focus on the artistic process and its socio-political context. He was director of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin from 2008 to 2020, which includes six museums. Kittelmann also curated the German and Russian Pavilions at the Venice Biennale in 2001 and 2013, respectively. The Julia Stoschek Collection features over 900 works by roughly 300 artists, focusing on time-based media art from the 1960s to the present. The collection includes video, film, multimedia installations, and performance art. Stoschek opened her collection to the public in 2007 with a space in Düsseldorf, and later added a second space in Berlin in 2016. The Variety Arts Theater, originally named The Playhouse, opened in 1924 as part of the Friday Morning Club, a women's social and political group. Designed in the Italian Renaissance style by architects James & David Allison, the building cost $750,000. The theater hosted speakers like Eleanor Roosevelt and Dorothy Parker, and Al Jolson and Eddie Cantor broadcasted live radio shows from the venue. Audiovisual art merges visual and auditory elements to create immersive experiences. This art form explores the relationship between kinetic abstract art and sound, often using technology like video and digital installations. Examples include experimental films, multimedia installations, and live performances.
