Christopher Knight

Illuminating the power of change in the L.A. Basin

latimes.com — For nearly a century starting in the 1880s, photographers went from sluice to street corner to suburban pool to record one utility's efforts to electrify Greater Los Angeles and beyond. The result of their labors: the 70,000-image Southern California Edison photography archive.

For William Wegman, 1970s works seem so new

latimes.com — "William Wegman: He Took Two Pictures. One Came Out," an exhibition of the artist's text-based black-and-white photographs from the 1970s, is on view at Marc Selwyn Fine Art through July 6. So you have a new show of your old work. Yes, and it's new old work.

Review: Elegant photographic fictions at Thomas Solomon

latimes.com — The strangeness and mystery of the Voynich Manuscript has inspired musicians and novelists. Not surprisingly, the work has also proved a springboard for visual artists, but the remarkable thing about the photographs by Miljohn Ruperto and Ulrik Heltoft now at Thomas Solomon is how they don't just feed off the manuscript's secrets and complications but build upon them to generate something odd, fantastic and mysterious in its own right.

MOCA architecture show opening pushed back to June 16

latimes.com — An architecture exhibition hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art will go on, but its opening will be delayed by two weeks. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times) The Museum of Contemporary Art released a statement Friday saying it has moved back the opening date of its show about contemporary Los Angeles architecture, part of the Getty's "Pacific Standard Time Presents" initiative, by two weeks, to June 16.

L.A. Philharmonic concerned about potential subway noise

latimes.com — Nothing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic's repertoire calls for 135-ton trains. The orchestra aims to keep it that way when Metro light rail cars start rumbling through a subway tunnel near Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Connie Butler of MoMA goes to Hammer Museum as new chief curator

latimes.com — After more than a year-long search, the Hammer Museum has hired Connie Butler, currently the chief curator of drawings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as its chief curator. She is leaving that position by July 1 in order to assume her L.A. post mid-month.

Debating the art market as the best judge of quality

latimes.com — On May 24 at China's Hong Kong Convention Center an outfit called Intelligence Squared will host a formal debate during the debut of the newest spinoff of the Art Basel franchise of international art fairs. The motion under consideration will be: "The Market Is the Best Judge of Art's Quality."

The Muse With the Long Face

blogs.artinfo.com — "Ends and Exits: Contemporary Art From the Collections of LACMA and the Broad Art Foundation" includes this David Salle, Savagery and Misrepresentation. You might think that the dapper character at upper left is "Joe Camel," erstwhile pitchman for a brand of cigarettes.

Ten thoughts on the new St. Louis Chipperfield

blogs.artinfo.com — The Saint Louis Art Museum opens its new David Chipperfield-designed wing next month. The addition provides the museum with 30 percent more gallery space than it has now, 21 new galleries in all, including new galleries for special exhibitions. (The museum's former special exhibitions space has been converted into European painting, sculpture and works on paper galleries.)

Andy Warhol and His Foundation: The Questions

nybooks.com — The following article will appear in The New York Review 's June 20, 2013 issue. 1. After Andy Warhol died in February 1987, his will directed that a foundation should be set up in his name, funded with proceeds from the sale of some 95,000 pictures, prints, sculptures, drawings, and photographs left in his estate.