by Bob Martin | Mar 11, 2011 | Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Live Performance
Julie Taymor stepping down or away from “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” was expected. In her talk at TED 2011, last week there seemed to be a hint that she was expecting a downturn in events and was cushioning her admirers and supporters for a possible fall.
In Broadway history it is not unusual for directors or writers to be removed from projects that they’ve started. Possibly the one difference here is that Julie Taymor’s visual style is so unique that it would seem impossible for someone else to supplant the original intent of the play. Ms. Taymor’s work for me has always been about magic, our accepting something that we knew was not real, like an elephant disappearing in smoke or in her case turning puppets in lions and giraffes (“The Lion King”). Taymor is a brilliant illusionist and feeds our visual fantasies.
“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” may have been too large of a project for right now, plus no one is immune to some failure and Ms. Taymor will be back to Amaze us once more.
by Bob Martin | Feb 18, 2011 | Film
How much importance should we give to what we think we own or control? When we lose something unexpectedly and our joy for life seems to evaporate, we anticipate everlasting pain and sorrow and wish desperately that it could avoided or erased. In watching “A Single Man” it reminded me of the first time I saw “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”. With both movies my take away was that I (any many of us) spend to much time in the illusion of having control of our lives, certain that our next moment will be far better then the one we are in, and that it is our job to make the next moment matter, for it to have some significance. But life is not as heavy as we think.
by Bob Martin | Feb 7, 2011 | Culture, Exhibits, Fashion, Museums
February 21 2009 – July 5, 2009
“Romantic ideas of chivalry and courtly magnificence from the Middle Ages have inspired the use of medieval silhouettes and details in modern fashion design, literature, architecture and art. Also known as Gothic style, medievalism blossomed in the mid-19th century as a sentimental response toward the societal challenges of rapid industrialization. While its origins lie in early antiquarian studies and politics, the revival of medieval silhouettes and motifs today emerges through popular mediums such as films, books and fairy tales that are distant interpretations.” Phoenix Museum of Art
by Bob Martin | Feb 5, 2011 | Art, Artist
William T. Williams
“Artist William T. Williams, a professor of art at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, is the 2011 recipient of the Alain Locke International Award in recognition of his consistent achievement producing large, abstract paintings that reflect his mastery of color, innovative artistic approaches, and a diverse range of interests. In addition, he has, throughout a career spanning more than forty years, generously mentored generations of artists. ” Detroit Institute of Art
by Bob Martin | Jan 22, 2011 | Books, Concerts
Originally Posted Nov 9, 2006
Last night the Rolling Stones played to another packed crowd out in Glendale Arizona. It looked like some of the fans needed to be assisted in order to get to the concert and there were others that could easily have been Mick Jagger’s great great grand children. In a recent book about the Beatles, John Lennon supposedly wanted to be the Rolling Stones. I wonder what he would think about the Cirque Du Soleil-Love Las Vegas which is really a must see for me. I remember when the Brits arrived, almost everyone believed that it would last a few days maybe a couple of weeks.
In Broadway history it is not unusual for directors or writers to be removed from projects that they’ve started. Possibly the one difference here is that Julie Taymor’s visual style is so unique that it would seem impossible for someone else to supplant the original intent of the play. Ms. Taymor’s work for me has always been about magic, our accepting something that we knew was not real, like an elephant disappearing in smoke or in her case turning puppets in lions and giraffes (“The Lion King”). Taymor is a brilliant illusionist and feeds our visual fantasies.
