The Skirball Cultural Center presents its sixth Into the Night - a nighttime, outdoor celebration that combines live performances, hands-on activities, and after-dark access to the Skirball Museum galleries. Taking place tonight Friday, July 17, at 8:00 p.m., this edition of Into the Night features synth-pop band Tamaryn as they play to a live liquid light show by the Joshua Light Show. Interactive poetry and art making, a photo booth, and specialty cocktails top off this special event. Additional special guests to be announced.
This Into the Night has been conceived in the spirit of the multidimensional shows produced by the late legendary concert promoter
Bill Graham (1931-1991). The trailblazing
Joshua Light Show-pioneers of the psychedelic experience whose liquid light shows served as a backdrop to many Graham-produced shows-will project an improvisational environment of light and color to complement the evening's live musical performances. Founded by
Joshua White in 1967, the
Joshua Light Show were the resident special effects artists at the Graham-operated Fillmore East from 1968 until the venue closed in 1971, headlining alongside such rock & roll icons as the Who, the Grateful Dead,
Janis Joplin, and the
Jimi Hendrix Experience. Their light shows, choreographed to the music, were considered among the most technically and artistically sophisticated of the period. Since the early 2000s, the
Joshua Light Show has collaborated with contemporary artists to add video and digital techniques to their mesmerizing manipulations of light and color.
Adding sound to the live liquid light show will be New York transplant Tamaryn, who today
debuted the title track off her forthcoming album, Cranekiss, which will be released August 28 on
Mexican Summer. Celebrated for the guitar-based, ethereal music on her two previous albums -
The Waves (2010) and Tender New Signs (2012) -
Tamaryn incorporates samples, synth triggers, and musical processing into her expansive yet intimate sonic repertoire. The Weekend's Shaun Durkan and producer Jorge Elbrecht contributed to Cranekiss, and Into the Night will be one of the first opportunities for audiences to hear tracks off Tamaryn's forthcoming album performed live.
DJ Justin Gage, founder of the wildly read and respected music blog
Aquarium Drunkard, will spin a mix of psychedelic rock, both classic and contemporary throughout the evening.
Into the Night attendees will have the opportunity to view the Skirball's critically acclaimed exhibition
Bill Graham and the Rock & Roll Revolution, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "a moving reminder of how Graham fostered community while presenting rock music as well as anyone ever has." Among the items on view are
Jerry Garcia's "Wolf" guitar,
Pete Townshend's 1968 Gibson SG Special used during a performance of Tommy, one of
Janis Joplin's outfits and tambourines, a dress worn by
Grace Slick at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Graham's personal scrapbooks, and original artwork and preparatory drawings for some of the most iconic Fillmore posters, including work by Bonnie MacLean, Wes Wilson,
David Singer, Greg Irons, and
David Byrd. The companion exhibitions, The Singing Posters: Poetry Sound Collage
Sculpture Book: Allen Ginsberg's Howl by Allen Ruppersberg and Rock & Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip, will also be open.
The Skirball Cultural Center is dedicated to exploring the connections between 4,000 years of Jewish heritage and the vitality of American democratic ideals. It welcomes and seeks to inspire people of every ethnic and cultural identity. Guided by our respective memories and experiences, together we aspire to build a society in which all of us can feel at home. The Skirball Cultural Center achieves its mission through educational programs that explore literary, visual, and performing arts from around the world; through the display and interpretation of its permanent collections and changing exhibitions; through an interactive family destination inspired by the Noah's Ark story; and through outreach to the community.
The Skirball Cultural Center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90049. Museum hours: Tuesday-Friday 12:00-5:00 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; closed Mondays and holidays. Admission to exhibitions: $10 General; $7 Seniors, Full-Time Students, and Children over 12; $5 Children 2-12. Exhibitions are always free to Skirball Members and Children under 2. Exhibitions are free to all visitors on Thursdays. For general information, the public may call (310) 440-4500 or visit
www.skirball.org. The Skirball is also home to Zeidler's Café, which serves innovative
California cuisine in an elegant setting, and Audrey's Museum Store, which sells books, contemporary art, music, jewelry, and more.
