ART/SNEAK PEEK : L.A. PHOTO EXHIBIT FOCUSES ON MORE VARIED AUDIENCE.

Byline: - Reed Johnson 

It arrives like clockwork every January and holds Los Angeles shutterbugs enthralled.

No, we don't mean the Rose Parade, but the Los Angeles Photographic Print Exposition, now in its seventh year. At ``photo l.a. '98,'' more than 40 galleries and private dealers from throughout the United States will exhibit for sale more than 3,000 photographs, making the event one of the country's largest outside New York City.

Taking place Thursday through Jan. 18 at Butterfield & Butterfield, 7601 Sunset Blvd., the event gives collectors, curators, photographers and students a chance to browse works by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Sebastiao Salgado, Robert Mapplethorpe and Edward Weston.

Despite its commercial leanings, however, ``photo l.a.'' is more than an occasion for rich collectors to dash off fat checks, leaving the rest of us gawking enviously. Part of its purpose is to help less-experienced collectors hone their knowledge of photography, and sharpen their skills in acquiring desirable works at affordable prices.

To that end, seminars on collecting photography will be held each day before public hours, conducted by experts such as Sandra Phillips, a curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Each seminar costs $45, which includes a three-day pass to the fair, and each group is limited to 35 people.

Among the L.A.-based exhibitors are Couturier Gallery, Stephen Cohen Gallery, Griffin Contemporary Exhibitions, Jan Kesner Gallery, Paul Kopeikin Gallery and the L.A. Center for Photographic Studies.

Public viewing hours are 3 to 8 p.m. Jan. 16; noon to 7 p.m. Jan. 17; and noon to 6 p.m. Jan. 18. Tickets are $10 for one day and $15 for three days and may be purchased at the door. For further information, call the Stephen Cohen Gallery at [phone].

The MOCA Contemporaries, a support council of the Museum of Contemporary Art, will host a special preview night for the event at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at Butterfield & Butterfield. The evening will include a panel discussion on buying and collecting photography. Tickets are $35. For information, call MOCA's support programs office at [phone].

Star struck

Already can't wait for the Oscars? Playing catch-up with all of those ``prestige'' pics you missed last fall?

Sounds like you need the playful irreverence of ``Hurrah for Hollywood,'' an environmental installation by artist Michael Tang, inspired by Mann's Chinese theater. A re-creation of the courtyard of the legendary movie palace, Tang's installation includes a ticket center with a soundtrack announcing busline tours, and concrete slabs imprinted with the paw prints of the rich and famous.

It's on view through Tuesday at Merging One Gallery, 1547 Sixth St., Santa Monica, between Colorado and Broadway, along with Tom Zimmerman's photo-essay series, ``The Object of Their Desire,'' depicting Academy Awards night. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For information, call [phone].

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Photo: Henri Cartier-Bresson's ``Paris,'' circa 1968, is among the works at the Photographic Print Exposition at Butterfield & Butterfield.