Do It. Museums!

If you're in the lucky majority of those who get the next couple of days off for the holidays (i.e. students, people who wisely saved up vacation time, the unemployed, not me), it's excellent timing to take advantage of one of Los Angeles' greatest assets: its art. Plus, it's a great, non-super-touristy thing to take out-of-towners to do. Here's a round-up of what's currently going on at the city's big museums:

MOCA: Collection: MOCA's First Thirty Years
A year ago, MOCA was about to go under for lack of sufficient funding. Celebrate its perseverence with this retrospective exhibition, featuring the renowned museum's collection at its best, including special focuses on artists like iconic contemporarists Robert Rauschenberg and Mark Rothko. If anything, the museum needs and deserves your support!
250 S. Grand Ave. & 152 N. Central Ave., downtown; open this week Mon. 11-5 & Thurs. 11-3; $10

Hammer Museum: The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb's Book of Genesis
And he's done it again. Seminal comic artist R. Crumb has been challenging and influencing the art world for decades with his strange, insane and stark images on society at large, and now he's up and illustrated the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis. Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve, The Creation...it's all there, now distinctly portrayed with the unforgettable R. Crumb touch.
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; open this week Tues.-Wed. 11-7 & Thurs. 11-3; $7

LACMA: Heroes & Villains: The Battle for Good in India's Comics
Gods as superheroes and demons as villains? It's nothing particularly new, but take it from an Indian perspective and drop them into modern society and you've got some interesting comics. This exhibit's got both Indian and American comics, vintage and modern, and include other Indian art from LACMA's collection.
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile; open this week Mon.-Tues. 12-8 & Thursday 12-5, $12

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Hammer Museum