I hope everyone has had a great holiday. I’m back in Los Angeles, actually I’m in Las Vegas at the moment, but I’ve had the chance to check out several shows.

First museum I checked out was UCLA’s Hammer Museum. The Hammer has some of the best shows in the LA area. They currently have a show up of Francis Alÿs called Politics of Rehearsal. The show consists painting, drawing, film, video, and photography. Rehersal 1 was probably one of my favorite pieces in the show. In it the artist attempts to drive up a steep hill in Tijuana in a red VW Bug. As he continually fails the music is synced with his failures. What the viewer learns is that Alÿs choreographed the drive to the soundtrack of band rehearsing a new song.

I also went and checked out the Murakami show at MOCA. The show was not that bad but it left me wondering what type of retrospective can one have when it consists of ten years of work? I remember checking out the Superflat show in 2002 which sort of broke him into the US. There was close to 100 and there was a wide range of work. There has been a lot of press about the fully operational Louis Vuitton boutique that displays some of his previous endeavors with the company and some new purses that are being sold.

I also checked out Cosima von Bonin's show Roger Out but I haven't had a chance to really digest the show yet.