Happy President’s Day Weekend from Smashbox Studios! Formulating that plan to Palm Springs? Vegas? New York Fashion Week wind-down? If you stay local, there’s enough feasts for everyone ranging from major Art events and theatrical presentations and must-eat foodie treats to Mardi Gras spectacles and cultural outings. Go forth and capture.

The Lucent Dossier meets famed street art duo, Herakut in a live-art-performance extravaganza!

Friday, February 17 — 2012

Music: Ryan Adams, LA Phil. Tomorrow, too.

Theatre: When Lucent Met Herakut @The Palace Theatre is almost sold out!

Foodie: Check out the 5 most romantic restaurants in L.A. and make that reservation for tonight.

Culture: Dragunara Spice Bazaar. Make that pit stop!

Street Art Gallery hosts a stellar culture mix this weekend.

Saturday, February 18 — 2012

Art Event: Lab Art, the largest street art gallery in the nation, hosts the closing night of “HAUS of Art Banditz” – YES!

Art: Naked Hollywood – Weegee at MoCA.

Foodie: Chef Brandon Boudet, a NOLA native, prepares a Mardi Gras inspired feast at Dominicks!

Fashion: Barney’s Warehouse Sale streams through the weekend…and GO.

Edwardian parties spread all over The City Of Angels.

Sunday, February 19 — 2012

Culture: Mardi Gras at Farmers Market.

More Culture: Cafe Gratitude has now opened on Larchmont.

Foodie: It’s the Chaya Venice Oyster Fair.

Double Foodie: 3rd Street Station looks like it would be a good FEAST.

Events: It’s the 2012 Edwardian Ball!

President’s Day — 2012

Relax, Capture, Enjoy, Remember.

Round 2 is in, straight from New York Fashion Week…and the camera of our photographic correspondent Mark Luebbers. We’ve got Emilio Cavallini, Rochambeau (YES!), and Whitney Eve. What look is your favorite? To wrap the haute-ness up for Round 3, we’ll have an entire Mathieu Mirano gallery that’s well equipped with major beauty-inspired portraits. As the MBFW runways wind down, enjoy the post show…

EMILIO CAVALlINI

ROCHAMBEAU

WHITNEY EVE

Chris Marker, one of the great artists of the French New Wave, will have his pivotal 1962 work, “La Jetée” screen this Sunday at The Egyptian Theatre. La Jetee tells the tale of a man who has survived World War III and is now subject to time-travel experimentation. The film is the definitive “Photo-Roman”— an obscure form of cinema in which a story is told through still photographs and voiceover. Say what!? The photo montage was constructed from stills shot on a Pentax Spotmatic and other than a brief scene in motion picture, this is how the entire film is presented. Looks like we have quite the art marriage here…and we like the sound of that. This dystopia was the primary inspiration for Terry Gilliam’s excellent work, “12 Monkeys,” which just so happens to screen right after La Jetée. We salute another celebration of photography and cinema — not only will we see this style of film on a massive screen, but the theatre will literally play a 35mm print. How lucky. A film excerpt and a few good stills await you!

What. A. Treat. Remember how we posted the campaign we loved by Aussie label Wheels and Dollbaby, shot by Ellen von Unwerth? It got so much love from you that they decided to send over this exclusive look behind the scenes…with Ellen…in the historically-famed Theater Dejazet in Paris..and of course with the gorgeous models. Score! Take a look at all the action for your Hump Day enjoyment.

Photographer Lillian Bassman‘s work was exquisite. High contrast, black and white fashion images from the 1940s through the 1960s highlighted her career, with a boost of popularity in the 1990s that brought her up to modern times. She passed away in her New York City apartment on February 13th at the age of 94; The eve of love’s biggest day and New York Fashion Week play a leading role in her passing…Ironic, right? Her photographs have managed to feel both of their period yet timeless (ROMANCE), startlingly modern yet vintage (HIGH FASHION). She manipulated in the dark room as well: blurring, bleaching, burning her images until she added a few good details back in. Inspiring, isn’t it? This Valentine’s Day, fall in love with a legendary female photographer who was a true example of evolving with the times by taking a romantic photo tour in celebration Bassman images we simply j’adore. Barbara Mullen, too.

Barbara Vaughn, More Fashion Mileage Per Dress, 1956.

Anne Saint Marie, Chanel Advertisement, 1958.

The Dressing Room, 1951.

Lingerie, 1951.

The Line Lengthens, 1951.

The V-Back Evenings, Suzy Parker, 1955

Black And White, Mary Jane Russell, 1950.

Dovima, 1954.

Night Bloom: Top Gown by Galliano, bottom by Christian Dior — 1996.

Across The Restaurant, Barbara Mullen, 1949.

Back, Barbara Mullen, 1950.

Olga.

Untitled, Model in Gloves, 1950.

Chanel Advert, 1963. That Jacket!

Two more from Dinner At Nine, Barbara Mullen, 1949.

Untitled, Model with Raincot/Umbrella, 1950.

Lillian Bassman (1917-2012) plus one camera…and six sets of eyes. Bassman was married at the age of 15 — it lasted for 70 years!

Have you ever seen such heart-felt moments? Felt such a connection between two gallons? Got such profound butterflies from love-at-first-sight on a conveyor belt, waiting to be distributed? Well now you have, and so has Cupid. “A Love Story In Milk”, produced by Catsnake Film and commissioned by Friends of the Earth is the best love movement we’re on board with: being GREEN. This on-screen romance came through courtesy of our VP Creative, Dee deLara. Milky!

Models, fashion and mayhem. The good kind of mayhem. We seem to be all over the place these days, from supporting the Jonathan Mannion exhibition at Milk Studios all the way to New York City for Fashion Week shows and…parties! We’d like to think this is also the good kind of culture. Alas, here’s our round-up to the ins and outs of a few good shows to include the draped huntress looks of Doo.ri, the London-inspired jewel tones of Edun and the Victorian edge of Victor De Souza. We didn’t forget about the men in our life, either — the male musings of Simon Spurr are mighty fine. Feels like there’s a Hunger Games film theme happening on the runways, and we’re all about it. All photos courtesy of photographer Mark Luebbers, thank you very much!

Doo.ri

Edun

Victor De Souza

Simon Spurr