Perhaps with an axe, Jim Lawrence hacks fir-wood figures, and paints them with an ugly brush. Then, according to precise inner bearings, he groups them about the past, carving from its airs an atmosphere charged with social relevance. Recent series have been inspired by the medieval European plagues, Richard Wagner, and August Sander’s pre-World War II photographs of typical Germans. Lawrence’s most recent work, “The Dutch/Japanese Series,” includes 30 wooden figures, two painted backdrops, and a boat; its premise is a 17th-century encounter between the two cultures. Such an encounter, of course,

In Los Angeles, the thin veil between performance art and theater used to be a solid wall. Faced until the last few years with a theater fare of Broadway road shows and actors’ showcases, the city’s performance artists have been skeptical of theatrical methods. Now, small theaters are cropping up all over Hollywood and downtown, and performance and theater artists are workshopping, collaborating, and sharing audiences. “Two Ways,” a program (produced by Pipeline) of two pieces respectively by John O’Keefe and Giuditta Tornetta, provided an interesting viewpoint on the current mix of directions.