Dudamel, PST, Fool in Love Fest and the best in L.A. arts and culture this week

Conductor Gustavo Dudamel rehearses with young musicians from around the country participating in the L.A. Phil’s annual YOLA National Program at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2023.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Dear readers, we have news: Essential Arts will be coming to you twice a week starting next month. Every Monday and Friday, we’ll bring you the same mix of staff recommendations for the best in L.A. culture to experience, as well as ICYMI rundowns and a SoCal arts news digest. Let us know what you think and how we can make Essential Arts more essential for you. Now on to this week’s picks.

Best bets: On our radar this week

1. “Sci-Fi, Magick, Queer LA: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation”
The latest iteration what used to be called Pacific Standard Time, “PST ART: Art & Science Collide,” doesn’t celebrate its official kickoff until next month, but several exhibitions have already opened. A show organized by the ONE Archives at USC Libraries looks at how the city’s science fiction and occult communities foregrounded the LGBTQ movement from the late 1930s through the 1960s. Artists and scientists like Jim Kepner, Marjorie Cameron and Kenneth Anger are featured.
Through Nov. 23. USC Fisher Museum of Art, 823 W. Exposition Blvd., L.A. fisher.usc.edu
— Carren Jao

2. “Future Tense: Art, Complexity, and Uncertainty”
We’re all in on PST this week. Next up is this exhibition of artists including Julie Mehretu, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Clare Rojas, Newton Harrison and Chico MacMurtrie, who engage computer modeling, robotics and data visualization in their work.
Through Dec. 14. UC Ivine Beall Center for Art + Technology, 712 Arts Plaza, Irvine. beallcenter.uci.edu

3. “Abstracted Light: Experimental Photography”
We would be remiss talking about PST without mentioning the driving force behind it, the Getty. The first of two Getty shows already up and running looks at how Man Ray, Tōyō Miyatake, László Moholy-Nagy and others used experimentation and abstraction to push photography forward. “Sculpting With Light: Contemporary Artists and Holography,” looks at how Ed Ruscha, Louise Bourgeois and others deployed the technology.
Through Nov. 24. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. pst.art

For our short list of PST exhibitions on our radar, check out our interactive guide and map that also published today, as well as critic Christopher Knight’s conflicted feelings about science as the theme for this PST.

The week ahead: A curated calendar

THURSDAY

God Will Do the Rest A Filipino American family gathers to celebrate their matriarch’s birthday with Santo Niño prayers, karaoke and chicken adobo in writer Nicholas Pilapil’s play.
Through Sept. 29. Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown L.A. artistsatplay.org

Gustavo Dudamel and Yunchan Lim An evening of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky as the L.A. Phil conductor leads the orchestra alongside the youngest pianist to ever win the Van Cliburn competition.
8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. hollywoodbowl.com

Memnon Writer Will Power reveals an overlooked hero in the epic story of an Ethiopian king who journeyed to Troy to do battle at a pivotal moment in the Trojan War.
Previews, 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; opens Sept. 5. Getty Villa Outdoor Theater, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. getty.edu

FRIDAY

The Beach Boys Endless Summer rolls on as the band is joined by John Stamos.
8 p.m. Friday. Greek Theatre. 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles; 8 p.m. Saturday. Pechanga Resort Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula. thebeachboys.com

SATURDAY

Fool in Love The inaugural festival features a who’s who of pop, soul and R&B greats, including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Santana, Al Green, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, the Isley Brothers, Smokey Robinson, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the O’Jays and Los Lobos.
All day. Hollywood Park Grounds at SoFi Stadium, 1001 Stadium Drive, Inglewood. foolinlove.com

California is For Lovers The North American touring festival that celebrates the vibrant spirit and culture of punk and emo makes its first stop in Los Angeles. The concept behind the Hawthorne Heights-curated festival is a day of human connection and community. The lineup includes sets from Saosin, Finch, Anberlin and more. All day. The Torch at LA Coliseum, 3911 S Figueroa, Los Angeles. californiaisforlovers.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Alani iLongwe, Malcolm Mays and Sheaun McKinney in “The Brothers Size.”

(Jeff Lorch)

Theater critic Charles McNulty reviews “The Brothers Size,” at Geffen Playhouse. Biljan Sheibani directs a crackling revival of the inspiring production part of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s acclaimed trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays.”

Staff writer Jessica Gelt reports that the Hammer, LACMA and MOCA will share a collection of work by L.A.-based artists, gifted by philanthropists Jarl and Pamela Mohn.

During the Hollywood slowdown, scenic painter Miriam Hellmann has focused more on her Offwrld Murals business, for which she’s hired other scenic designers to help create large-scale paintings for houses, apartment buildings, businesses and schools.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Writer David A. Keeps reports in this week’s subscriber exclusive that Hollywood’s production slowdown has prompted many in the art department to contemplate other work. Set decorators do interior design or home organizing; scenic painters do murals.

Trans photographer Asher Phoenix saw “The Civility of Albert Cashier,” based on a trans soldier’s life. With the musical opening in Burbank, Phoenix reflects on how theater can change a life.

And last but not least

Looks like Wu-Tang Clan really ain’t nothin’ to f— with, especially if you’re name is Martin Shkreli. On Monday a New York Judge granted a restraining order against the man known as “Pharma Bro” forbidding him from “possessing, using, disseminating, or selling any interest in the one-of-kind Wu-Tang Clan album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” which he purchased in 2015 but which is now owned by a group of NFT art collectors.