In conjunction with their current exhibition “For the Martian Chronicles“, L&M Arts will present “The Bartzabel Working”, a performance by filmmaker and artist Brian Butler, on Tuesday, December 4, from 8:30 – 11:30 PM.

ased on a ceremonial evocation of the spirit of Mars, first written and performed in London in 1910 by the famed British occultist Aleister Crowley, the ritual later became part of Los Angeles history in 1946 when Jet Propulsion Laboratory rocket scientist and Crowley protégé Jack Parsons conducted his own version of this rite, with the intention of placing a martial curse on a pre-scientology L. Ron Hubbard.

For his reinterpretation of this historical performance, Butler will conjure Bartzabel, the spirit of Mars, evoking the site that was once home to the late sci-fi author Ray Bradbury and currently comprises L&M Arts. The ritual will have Butler as Chief Magus, leading a cast drawn from his upcoming feature film King Death and featuring Henry Hopper as Assistant Magus, Noot Seear as Magus Adjuvant, and James Franco as Material Basis, the vessel though which the spirit of Mars manifests.

The performance will take place on Tuesday, December 4th at 8:30pm, followed by a reception with tunes courtesy of DJ artist Eddie Ruscha and a choreographed performance by artist Nana Ghana and Future Eyes.

Brian Butler is a Los Angeles based artist, filmmaker and musician. His interests and practices with the occult, with its often hidden meanings, function as the underlying narrative of his work. He recently mounted a solo exhibition in Los Angeles at LAXART and a performance in collaboration with Kenneth Anger at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). His work has been presented internationally at venues including Galeria Zé dos Bois, Lisbon, Portugal; Today’s Art Museum, Beijing; and The 2nd Athens Biennale. For more information, click here.

For The Martian Chronicles runs through January 5, 2013 at L&M Arts. The exhibition, curated by Yael Lipschutz, honors the work of sci-fi enthusiast Ray Bradbury, writer of the celebrated book The Martian Chronicles(1950). It explores the aesthetics of outer space, technology, and the influence of science fiction in modern culture and art.

GALLERY INFORMATION: L&M Arts, Los Angeles, 660 South Venice Boulevard, Venice, CA, 90291. Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 5:30 and by appointment. For additional information, please contact L&M Arts at: +1.310.821.6400 or visit our website.

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Hunk of all hunks James Franco is making us swoon again. Can he do no wrong/can he just stop being so good at everything including being so goddamn good-looking? This time directing a fashion film for premium Los Angeles denim retailer 7 For All Mankind’s FW12 collection, Flowers For The Risen is the first in a series set to be directed by Franco for the label entitled James Franco’s Hollywood Resurrection which follows the theme of old Hollywood, and how we idolise and glorify fallen stars.

Set to a creepy electro soundtrack by Chromatics, Franco’s description of the ritualistic couture creation follows “the devoted admirers of a fallen Hollywood star,” as they “chant and conjure the impossible.” The editorial campaign which already stars iconic fashion heavyweights British model Lily Donaldson and and Jane Birkin’s most stylish offspring Lou Doillon, is brought to life by Franco whose extremely stylised, and unexpectedly dark perspective is something we have not really seen from the Hollywood heartthrob, who has been known for his documentary inspired take on film in the past.

Inspired by Italian actor Rudolph Valentino, who died at the age of 31 and set in The Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a group of gothic cult-members perform a plethora of exorcism-type rituals, before meeting with their Manson-esque leader played by Dennis Hopper‘s son, Henry. Franco told Oyster Magazine, “The big thing I am trying to access is memory and how we deal with memory, what that means, how we remember people and who creates the lasting images of people. We all have our connections to people who we admire and it’s my own way of examining my own connections.”

Directed by
James Franco

Starring
Henry Hopper, Lily Donaldson, Lou Doillon

Designed by
7 For All Mankind

Starring the likes of Henry Hopper, Nina Ljeti, Ericka Clevenger, Avalon Ainsley, Clark Phillips, Alex Levine this trailer is sneak peak at a 16mm feature film by Adarsha Benjamin that explores the life of Kurt Cobain. Currently titled Kurt, watch the cast of characters take on Cobain’s characteristic angst and melancholy that culminates with Henry Hopper destroying an old electric organ.