UCLA Arts Gift Guide 2019
As you’re starting your holiday shopping, consider supporting the UCLA Arts community of artists, scholars, makers, and entrepreneurs:
The Jungalow Shop: Justina Blakeney ’01 (B.A., World Arts and Cultures/Dance)
Artist, designer, and author Justina Blakeney is known for her plant-filled, bohemian, “Jungalow” aesthetic, about which she published her New York Times bestselling book titled The New Bohemians and its companion, The New Bohemian’s Handbook. She designs products for and collaborates with top brands and companies including Target, West Elm, Hygge & West, Schoolhouse Electric, Loeffler Randall, and many more, and offers a plethora of gifts for the home through her online shop.
Professor Anurima Banerji’s newest book traces Odissi dance’s transformation from its historical role as a regional artistic practice to its modern incarnation as transnational spectacle, with a focus on the state’s regulation of the dance form and the performances of gender embedded within it. Above, Professor Banerji is pictured teaching an Odissi class to UCLA undergraduate students.
In October, the Fowler Museum at UCLA published the catalogue for Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths, one of the best exhibitions of 2018 according to the New York Times. Edited by Marla C. Berns, and Allen Roberts, the catalogue combines interdisciplinary scholarship with vivid illustrations to offer the most comprehensive treatment of the blacksmith’s art in sub-Saharan Africa to date.
Coolhaus: Natasha Case ’08 (M.Arch., Architecture and Urban Design)
Natasha Case founded LA’s coolest ice cream truck in 2008—the same year she earned her master of architecture degree from UCLA. Today, you don’t even have to be in Los Angeles to pick up some of these sweet treats for your friends and family: Coolhaus now distributes in 6,000+ grocery stores ranging from the UCLA Store to Whole Foods to Safeway to Publix markets, has two Southern California-based storefronts, and 10 mobile ice cream trucks and carts in Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas. And, you can order online from almost anywhere in the United States.
Department of Architecture and Urban Design Professor Neil Denari is principal of Neil M. Denari Architects (NMDA), a Los Angeles-based office dedicated to exploring the worlds of architecture, design, urbanism, and global cultural phenomenon. NMDA works internationally at all scales with award winning projects such as l.a. Eyeworks, the Alan-Voo Residence, the Endeavor Talent Agency, built projects in Japan for the Mitsubishi United Financial Group, and for HL23 in New York, a 14-story residential tower. This fall, Neil published his anthology, MASSX, which offers both a rich history of projects and an in-depth examination of the firm’s practice.
Andrea Fraser: Collected Interviews, 1990–2018 – Department of Art Professor Andrea Fraser
This substantial archive offers an ideal point of entry into the work and reception of Los Angeles–based performance artist, writer, and UCLA Department of Art Professor Andrea Fraser (born 1965). The interview format provides particular insight into Fraser's self-positioning as a central aspect of her practice.
Susan Leigh Foster’s research and teaching focus on corporeality, dance composition, interdisciplinary exchange, and the politics of everyday life. Distinguished Professor Foster recently released a new book: Valuing Dance: Commodities and Gifts in Motion. The book examines two ways that dance can be exchanged, as commodity and as gift, reflecting on how each establishes dance’s relative worth and merit differently. When and why do we give dance? Where and to whom do we sell it? How are such acts of exchange rationalized and justified? Valuing Dance poses these questions in order to contribute to a conversation around what dance is, what it does, and why it matters.
Joni Margaux: Kristina Garnett ’13, (B.A., World Arts and Cultures/Dance)
Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance alumna Kristina Garett founded her clothing line Joni Margaux in 2014. The brand features movement-based designs that are size inclusive. Find her designs at OTHERWILD in Los Feliz.
Coyote Doggirl: Lisa Hanawalt ’06 (B.A., Art)
Portrait via the Guardian Credit: Kim Newmoney
Lisa Hanawalt, the acclaimed illustrator behind Netflix’s Bojack Horesman and the forthcoming animated comedy Tuca and Bertie, which will feature Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, just released her latest book, Coyote Doggirl. The graphic novel follows the adventures of half-coyote-half-dog, Coyote, and her horse, Red. You may have seen Coyote Doggirl excerpted in The New Yorker and widely endorsed by prestigious outlets including New York Magazine, Artsy, and The Guardian.
Paul McCarthy Teddy Skate Deck: Department of Art Professor Emeritus Paul McCarthy
Professor Emeritus Paul McCarthy is widely considered to be one of the most influential and groundbreaking contemporary American artists. MOCA Los Angeles has a skate deck featuring, McCarthy’s work Teddy available in their store.
Mr. Merz Textiles: Shawn Merz ’12 (B.A., Art)
In 2015 Shawn Merz started Mr. Merz, a creative studio featuring responsibly made wares. Merz collaborates with artisans based in Burma and Turkey to create beautiful handmade textiles that reflect their makers’ cultural heritage. You can shop his collections online, at Jenni Kayne stores, and at creative markets across Los Angeles.
Memorial Day, Three Rivers, CA photograph, Department of Art Professor Catherine Opie
One of the preeminent artists of her generation working with photography, Opie is known for her evocative images of contemporary America that have been featured in major museum exhibitions and collections throughout the world. Opie has chosen a myriad of subjects throughout her career, including the S/M community, city buildings, domestic life, high school football players, surfers, and President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. MOCA Los Angeles has a print of her photograph, Memorial Day, Three Rivers, CA, available in their store.
Professor Janet O'Shea has dedicated her life and career to the study and performance of dance. Inspired by martial artist Bruce Lee in the 1970s and armed with years of dance training, O’Shea began to practice jeet kune do, the martial art that Lee created. Her newest book Risk, Failure, Play: What Dance Reveals about Martial Arts Training, provides insight into her training and describes the individual and societal benefits of physical play through the martial arts.
Lari Pittman: Declaration of Independence – Department of Art Distinguished Professor Lari Pittman
The Hammer Museum’s retrospective of work by Distinguished Professor, Lari Pittman: Declaration of Independence, is on view now. The exhibition catalog is on sale now at the Hammer Store, as is a Lari Pittman tote based on the drawing, Untitled (Now!), 1990, which is featured in the exhibition.
Magic Rattle Rock (Storm): Department of Art Assistant Professor Anna Sew Hoy
Sculptor Anna Sew Hoy is inspired by clay’s history as a material for making ritual and functional objects. When her clay “bodies” are mixed with repurposed bits of consumer culture, eras collide, so that her sculptures exist in both the past of an ancient medium and our present time. Sew Hoy’s sculpture, Magic Rattle Rock (Storm), is available in MOCA Los Angeles’ store.
Passion Planner: Angelia Trinidad ’12, (B.A., Art, Minor, Visual and Performing Arts Education)
The year after Angelia Trinidad graduated from UCLA, she created the Passion Planner, a tool that helped her begin to move forward and shrink the space between where she was and where she wanted to be. Then it went viral. The Passion Planner is more than just a planner—it's a tool that helps you break down your short and long-term goals and incorporate them into your daily life. It is designed to encourage you to plan, reflect on the past, and, most importantly, act on the present.
Pottery: Lena Wolek ’12 (B.A., Art)
Lena Wolek is a sculptor working in ceramics and the creator of functional pottery objects like the mugs pictured above. Each piece is unique and features one of Lena’s drawings of animals like cats, horses, and dogs to reflect on the imperfection of human nature. The mugs are beautiful, humorous, and available at Gjusta Goods in Venice and Stone Age store located on west 3rd Street.
Maya’s Brigadeiro Brazilian Sweets: Maya Zellman ’05 (B.A., World Arts and Cultures/Dance)
Maya Zellman’s sweet shop is inspired by the Brigadeiro—which she describes as a fusion between a truffle and a caramel—that she grew up eating while visiting family in Brazil. After graduating from the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, Zellman brought the Brazilian treat to her native Los Angeles, opening a shop in Sherman Oaks that offers online ordering, delivery, and a robust catering business.
UCLA Arts merch available at the UCLA Store
The UCLA Store carries a collection of UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture merch featuring water bottles, hats, mugs, t-shirts, and license plate holders. Available in the Luvalle store on campus and online here.
Support the future of the arts: Scholarships for UCLA Arts students
Support the education of young artists. Your gift will help to make a UCLA Arts education accessible to any student with the drive to pursue their passion in the arts, regardless of their economic circumstances.
A Year of Art: Memberships to UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, the Fowler Museum and the Hammer Museum
Support UCLA’s art museums and performing arts center and give friends and family the opportunity to connect more closely with some of the best arts programing in Los Angeles. And don’t forget: the Hammer and the Fowler have two of the best museum shops in the city. Stop by in person, or shop the Hammer’s store online.
Are you part of the UCLA Arts community and making something that belongs on this guide? Let us know! @uclaarts