by Sandy | May 24, 2012 | Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston celebrates a 17th century artist in the exhibit, Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst .
Van Aelst (1627–1683) “painted still lifes that are remarkable for their fine finish, carefully balanced composition, elegant subject matter, and rich, jewel-toned palette. Elegance and Refinement is an unprecedented exhibition of more than 25 paintings that celebrate the exquisite work of a neglected master who had a significant impact on late-17th-century still-life painting.”
Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst
Until May 28, 2012
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston / MFAH
by Sandy | May 11, 2012 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Creativity, Culture, Dance, Live Performance
Ms Primus, 1919 – 1994, often referred to as “the grandmother of African-American dance”, will have an evening devoted to her contributions on 5/24/12 at the Schomburg Center in New York City.
“Youth dancers from the Harlem School of the Arts will open the evening with a performance of Primus’s signature work, “Bushasche, War Dance, A Dance for Peace.” Afterwards, there will be a discussion conducted by Peggy and Murray Schwartz about their book, The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus.
Word Rapport: A Celebration of Pearl Primus
May 24, 2012, 7PM
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY
by Sandy | Mar 22, 2012 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, TV
I love the AMC series, “Mad Men”. Its 5th season returns to TV this Sunday evening, March 25, 2012 in a 2 hour episode. This great show has been gone for 17 months, I have no doubt that I, and other hard core fans, will pick it up just like it was yesterday. “Mad Men” has developed such a cult following that there will be watching parties around the country with the obligatory water cooler catch up on Monday morning. 
The mid 20th century attitudes, clothing and behavior (3 martini lunches, smoking everywhere, personal secretaries that give benefits and “politically incorrect” remarks) are highlighted in the intrigues and escapades of the men and women of a Madison Avenue advertising agency. There is a great cast led by Jon Hamm and January Jones, the show includes super work by John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Robert Morse, and Elizabeth Moss. Everyone is just so present and “there”. Good actors, but also a good writers, led by the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner.
The “good old days” weren’t that good for everyone, but, watching “Mad Men” work its way thru the 60’s reminds me of all the options – good and bad- that are available to us now and I realize that “multiple choice” can make the present so much more challenging than the past with its stereotypes. The old days weren’t that terrific, (although I really liked wearing “summer” gloves to work) but, those times were simpler and perhaps that simplicity, with its mask of family values, is really what the nostalgia is all about.
I love this show. The characters have dimensions and layers, the main man, Korean War vet Don Draper, is a philanderer with skills, has tons of secrets and can change personalities at the drop of his fedora. Who will he be next? Will he be radicalized by the 60’s revolution and grow his hair long or will he try to hold on to the traditional, rarified atmosphere of staid Madison Avenue?
“Mad Men” – can’t wait!
by Sandy | Mar 14, 2012 | Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
The Art Institute of Chicago presents, The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore – Indian-Bengali artist (1851-1941).
“A renowned novelist, poet, musician, and philosopher—the first non-European to beawarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913—Tagore is responsible for shaping the modern Indian identity. While perhaps lesser known, his paintings also demonstrate his profound cultural impact. Sixty-one of these impressive works, drawn from three collections in India, come together in this exhibition and offer a glimpse into the visionary mind of this influential thinker.”
The Last Harvest: Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore
Until April 15, 2012
The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
(Image: “Untitled”, 1934)
by Bob Martin | Feb 15, 2012 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Dance
Kirvn James Boyd -Photo by Andrew Eccles - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 2012
Painting, Music, Fashion, Dance and Theater appears to launch itself from New York. This is not necessarily true and yet the feeling that if you want to experience something first, that you have to live in that Big City. If you live some place other then New York, you are always waiting for the traveling show, or the movie to hit your area and eventually they do come.
The traveling shows are most often missing something, that few cities can duplicate and that is the inconvenience that big cities pose. Walking to the theater or exhibit with what seems like thousands of people all wanting to get something that is not at all physical. The sitting uncomfortably in a rather chilly old theater with your coat wrapped around your legs to keep warm as you watch something that is truly extraordinary.
When you see The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, you see an exceptional event where the power and grace displayed can not be ignored and you feel that you could dance and soar with implacable grace. This feeling stays with you as you leave the theater to have dinner or on your subway ride home, still warmed by the evenings events. For days and possibly even weeks later you will still be moving gracefully from your desk to the copier and back again, well aware of the eyes that follow you.
For those who love their local comfort, Alvin Ailey travels well. Just remember to not jump immediately into your car after the performance with out first practicing your strut, grace and balance before going home.
- How Alvin Ailey keeps dancing (management.fortune.cnn.com)
by Sandy | Oct 20, 2011 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, dvd, Museums
A few years ago, I watched an entertaining documentary called “Herb & Dorothy” as part of the PBS “Independent Lens” series. I just noticed that its now on DVD!
Herb & Dorothy Vogel collected art – it was their passion. These 2 acquired so many canvases and sculptures that they ran out of room in their NYC apartment. Not only was there no more wall space, but there was no room under the bed, in the bath room or in the closets.
From the 1960s through the 1990s, they collected over 4,000 items, even though as government workers they didn’t have lots of money to buy. They loved art and artists, found painters and sculptors before they became famous (and expensive) and bought what they liked. Eventually the collection was moved to a gallery at the National Museum of Art in Washington, DC with a speculated worth of millions. Is this what “having an eye” means?
Herb & Dorothy Vogel- glad I met them.
(BTW: The “Herb & Dorothy” DVD, directed by Megumi Sasaki, was released at the end of December 2009)
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Van Aelst (1627–1683) “painted still lifes that are remarkable for their fine finish, carefully balanced composition, elegant subject matter, and rich, jewel-toned palette. Elegance and Refinement is an unprecedented exhibition of more than 25 paintings that celebrate the exquisite work of a neglected master who had a significant impact on late-17th-century still-life painting.”
