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Media Arts Preview: Robotic Music Machines and More

By Holly Willis
June 30, 2011
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Struggle Against Ourselves
Struggle Against Ourselves

Robotic music machines, mondo wizard battles and an annual anime convention energize LA's 4th of July weekend in media arts.

Thursday, June 30
REDCAT presents a solo exhibition of work by Jesse Jones, a Dublin-based artist interested in the history of cinema. The show, titled Jesse Jones: The Struggle Against Ourselves, includes a video commissioned by REDCAT and created while Jones was in residence at CalArts. This video will screen in conjunction with several other projects, which "reflect Jones' desire to retrieve the artifacts of cultural history and revolutionary politics through performance, filmic re-enactment and theatrical staging." The show opens with a reception tonight, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., featuring a conversation between Jones and Andrea Bowers at 6:30 p.m. The work will be on view in the REDCAT gallery through August 28, 2011.

Devil Fetus
Devil Fetus

Cinefamily will spend the 4th of July weekend hosting the second annualEverything Is Festival, fondly dubbed a "gonzo convention for the most insane collectors of film and video ephemera" and promising lots of comedy and general weirdness. Highlights include a panel discussion with writers from Late Night With Conan O'Brien tonight at 7:45 p.m., something called "Mondo Wizard Battles" featuring video remixes of martial arts showdown scenes, and animation collected by David O'Reilly. The event starts tonight, and continues through July 4.

Anime Expo

Friday, July 1
The Convention Center, Nokia Theatre and Club Nokia will serve as the home to the 2011 Anime Expo this weekend, presented by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation. The event celebrates anime and manga, and includes screenings, exhibitions, gaming, contests, musical performances and more for an audience of both enthusiastic fans and industry types.

Saturday, July 2
Matthew Steinke, a Brooklyn-based musician, has created a robotic musical machine called Octant, and he will perform tonight at 8:00 p.m. at Machine Project.

Mr. Foster
Mr. Foster

Tuesday, July 5
British architect Norman Foster is responsible for some of the most interesting architectural structures of the recent past, including the Beijing Airport and the world's tallest bridge. He is also the subject of a documentary portrait, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? screening tonight at the Hammer Museum at 7:00 p.m.

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