Photo by Machine Project

I had the pleasure of visiting Plant Vacation at the Hammer a few weekends ago. Machine Project has been doing all sorts of wonderful things at the Hammer recently as part of the artist in residency program. This new adventure is a month long vacation for your houseplants. I bet a lot of these plants came from Echo Park. The plants are spending the month of August being cared for and entertained by volunteers and artists. You can join in on most of the fun by checking the schedule below. I was surprised by how many people actually brought their plants. We even witnessed plant triage on the museum stairs when one couple’s plant broke. The pot shattered but they created a makeshift home out of newspaper. It was a wonderful act of plant love. The plants look beautiful on the Linbrook terrace in the museum against a long wall of windows. If you find yourself in the UCLA area you should check it out. Thursdays are free! If you go on a Saturday be sure to stop by the coat room near the entrance, also one of the world’s smallest theaters known as the Little William Theater. The music wafts through the lobby and into the courtyard of the hammer. For such a little theater, the sound is amazingly large. These performances are also brought to us by the wonderful minds that orbit Machine Project.

Plant Vacation Schedule:
* Saturday July 31st 11am to 5pm: Drop off at the Hammer Museum and plant portrait photography
* Saturday August 7th 1-4pm: Musical performances, dramatic readings, and psychic plant healing
* Friday August 13th 11pm-Midnight Plant Pornography screening (no humans allowed, sorry)
* Saturday August 14th 1-4pm: Musical performances, poetry, and psychic plant healing
* Saturday August 21st 1-4pm: Musical performances, historical accounts of botanical exploration and psychic plant healing
* Saturday August 28th 11am to 6pm: Plant pick up at the Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard.

Here are the numbers for Machine Project this week:

1) Plants lucky enough to be on vacation at the Hammer Museum will receive their second straight week of poetry, music, and psychic healing. From 1-5pm the plants will enjoy tarot card readings by Kristina Faragher, poetry by Anthony McCann and Kirsty Singer, a performance by ing, and an artist talk from self-proclaimed plant pornographer Jonathon Keats, more info here.

2) The Little William Theater Festival of New Music continues with duo accordion performances by Daniel Corral and Isaac Schankler. Each piece is under two minutes in length and takes place in the Hammer Museum coat room, 1-4pm.

3) The gallery-sized Camera Obscura by j.frede is currently on view at Machine through August 18th. The camera is on view 4-7pm on Saturday and Sunday, 12-6pm weekdays, or by appointment (only during daylight hours) by contacting machine@machineproject.com.

4) Rachel Schmeidler will be offering a presentation on 3D Photography Sunday August 15th at 1pm. She’ll be showing examples of her work, and answering questions about 3D Photography.

5) Machine presents a hands on Pinhole Camera Workshop taught by j.frede in conjunction with his Camera Obscura installation. The workshop will cover the mechanics of pinhole camera construction, as well as developing positive prints. This will be offered on Sunday August 15th from 4-7pm. Space is limited, register for the class here.