by Sandy | Dec 2, 2019 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Books
Sort of like “must see TV”, this 996 page book, “1001 Paintings You Must See Before Your Die”, edited by Stephen Farthing, contains art that we must all see if wishing for a full life.
It’s described as a “highly browsable guide embraceing all cultures and every style of painting from 4,000 BC to the present. A visually arresting reference for art lovers and students, it provides a truly comprehensive worldwide gazeteer of paintings organized chronologically by date of completion.”
by Sandy | Nov 19, 2019 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, presents Día de Muertos • A Matter of Life:
“The Day of the Dead commemoration is deeply rooted in ancient indigenous beliefs of life after death and a spiritual existence within the universe. After the 16th century Spanish encounter of America, celebrations for the deceased were mainly observed on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days (November 1 & 2) throughout Mexico. Today, various Mexican communities and regions honor their dead in unique ways. From the Afro Mexican towns along the Costa Chica, to the Mixteca towns in the state of Puebla, each region observes the age-old practice in unique ways. “
“Come enjoy the unique installations of traditional and contemporary ofrendas to the dead!…”
Día de Muertos • A Matter of Life
Until December 8, 2019
National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 W. 19th street
Chicago, IL 60608
by Sandy | Nov 8, 2019 | Blogroll, Directors, Film, Movies
In a movie review, the writer described a film as “Felliniesque”. No reference to the director, for whom the term was coined, just – “Felliniesque”. I understood.
Federico Fellini, 1924 – 1976, was one of the most influential Italian directors of his day. His films were character driven, people and plots sometimes bizarre and outrageous, but the inhabitants of his pictures were closer to the reality of the everyday world than what was usually seen on screen during the 50s and 60s.
Four of his films won the Best Foreign Film Oscar: La strada (1954), with his wife Guilietta Masina and Anthony Quinn, Le Notti di Cabiria (1957) (Nights of Cabiria), 8½ (1963) and Amarcord (1973).
But, his film La Dolce Vita (1960) with Marcello Mastroianni brought him worldwide fame. The famous/infamous frolic in the fountain scene with Marcello and Anita Ekberg seemed such wild decadence in the 60’s, but, pretty tame now.
BTW: “Felliniesque” is often used to describe films that put a character’s inner thoughts and/or memories into dreamlike sequences, and/or scenes that move backward/forward in time.
Films to find on DVD:
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by Sandy | Nov 3, 2019 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, music, Photograhy
That famous 1958 black and white photo of 57 Jazz musicians, arranged on the steps of an apartment building in New York City – 17 East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison. It was expanded into a documentary in 1995 and can be found on DVD. Director Jean Bach assembled pictures and stories about how it all came together – photographer Art Kane’s assignment for Esquire Magazine, artists such as Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Marian McPartland, Thelonius Monk, Art Blakey, Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, May Lou Williams, the neighborhood kids that wanted to be in the picture too.
A Great Day In Harlem
See below for a list of all the musicians in the photo:
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by Sandy | Oct 9, 2019 | Blogroll, Culture, Education, Exhibits, Learning, Museums
This wonderful, amazing space is always packed during the Summer. Maybe a nice Fall visit will give an opportunity to see more ~ without the lines 🙂
The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in September 2016. There’s lots to see and experience. The museum’s 11 massive galleries contain more than 30,000 priceless artifacts collected from all over the country.
Oprah Winfrey has her own exhibit devoted to her 25 years on T.V. Video highlights from her shows, letters & journals, photographs, etc all gathered to acknowledge an amazing life – Oprah!
Founding director Lonnie Bunch says, “This is not (nor was it ever intended to be) the National Museum of Discrimination…For me, the African American experience is an experience not of tragedy, but of unbelievable belief — belief in themselves, belief in an America that often didn’t believe in them”.
National Museum of African American History and Culture
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