040 ☼ weekend culture

what i gazed at this weekend in Los Angeles

In an effort to keep my newsletter as consistent as possible and because art media is in a complete crisis, I’m aiming to write more about the art I go and see and don’t end up publishing about—I see a lot in this town and have the pleasure of doing studio visits. So in addition to my road dispatches and whatnot, keep your eyes peeled for some arts and culture content from moi.

First stop: Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena

Around the holidays last year, I wrote about an exhibition that popped up in the designated “art gallery” space of the famous Mountain View Mausoleum. I’d been there once or twice before to dig into a story I was writing at the time about a disgraced mortician, and fell in love with the weird wood paneled office space, the oak-paneled chapel, the cold marble, stained glass and light fixtures. Each surface is carefully appointed with flat boxes of tissues. I marveled at the dust collecting on the silk florals. Every worker I interacted with was kind, which makes sense, considering that most people show up to the mausoleum to grieve.

The curator, Jasminne Morataya, put up another exhibition this past month named Continental Breakfast which commenced with light refreshments, a reading, and a performance. I missed the opening weekend on virtue of being out of town so it was a treat to revisit the mausoleum this weekend. But first, a tour through all the shopworn interiors of Mountain View because I am mildly obsessed…