by Sandy | Sep 21, 2010 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Creativity, Museums
I love textiles. Texture and color just spurs imagination. Remember “Tie Dye”? It did not begin and end in the 60’s – the dyeing continues and the San Francisco de Young Museum’s presentation called “To Dye For: A World Saturated in Color“, explores the past and also brings us up to date.
“To Dye For features over 50 textiles and costumes from the Fine Arts Museums’ comprehensive collection of textiles from Africa, Asia and the Americas. A truly cross-cultural presentation, the exhibition showcases objects from diverse cultures… historical pieces are contrasted with artworks from contemporary Bay Area artists. The exhibition highlights several recent acquisitions, including important gifts such as a pair of ikat-woven, early-20th-century women’s skirts from the Iban people of Sarawak, Malaysia and two exquisite hand-painted and mordant-dyed Indian trade cloths used as heirloom cloths by the Toraja peoples of Sulawesi, Indonesia.”
“To Dye For: A World Saturated in Color” * until 1/9/11
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA
(Image: coat by Oscar de la Renta)
by Sandy | Sep 8, 2010 | Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Creativity, Museums
I was recently able to get to the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and visit one of my favorite paintings again.
“Starry Night”, makes me smile, makes me want to get up close. I swear that the swirling stars are infused with some sort of electrical current to make them look like they are about to fling themselves off the canvas. I expect to hear a sizzle when I lean in.
I think Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was able to recreate “night” brilliantly – no pun intended. Fortunately for us, he did a lot of paintings and so many of his landscapes show his treatment of evening light.
According to a museum catalog, he “attempted the paradoxical task of representing night by light. His procedure followed the trend set by the Impressionists of “translating” visual light effects with various color combinations. At the same time, this concern was grafted onto Van Gogh’s desire to interweave the visual and the metaphorical in order to produce fresh and deeply original works of art”.
(Just an aside – Had a conversation with someone speculating what would have been the outcome if Van Gogh had taken his medication consistently, would he have “seen” things the way he did? I assume that he painted what he “saw” – exploding stars, riotous color and all. If he were sedated, would his visions have been different? I don’t know.)
by Sandy | Aug 5, 2010 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Books, Cable, Creativity, Events, Writers
Los Angeles will host its popular Black Book Expo again this year on Saturday 8/21 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel. This one day event will offer “authors, storytellers, spoken word and poetry performances, musicians, exhibitors, children’s book authors, emerging writers, publishers, booksellers, panel discussions, editors, book reviewers…”
The Los Angeles Black Book Expo (LABBX) * August 21st * 11:00- 5:00
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by Bob Martin | Jul 30, 2010 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, TV
Ellen DeGeneres
I know I may have been out of touch (actually I am certain that I am) with the rest of the world. I’ve never watched American Idol or had any interest in the shows winners, mainly because I thought the show was about the judges (like the Judge Judy) and who could be the most mean spirited. The talent, or lack of talent, is really “straight man” for the judge’s routines. I know the show served a purpose for it’s viewers, some one to cheer for or to hate. A mix of pro wrestling, Glee, Judge Judy and Gladiators with the audience giving thumbs up or down. People seem to get a rush from watching programs like this even if they not real.
Reality TV is not Real Life
I was surprised when Ellen DeGeneres decided to be a judge on the show. I am now relieved that she is leaving ‘American Idol’. ( I am certain that she is happy that I’m relieved) I don’t think she could fake meanness.
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by Sandy | Jun 25, 2010 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Creativity, dvd, music
“This Is It” is the DVD documentary that captured the final days of the “King of Pop” as he prepared for a concert tour in 2009. I’ll be honest, I began to watch with some hesitation – Is this going to be a sad, tragic documentary about a frail former super star? (I didn’t really want to see that.) But happily, no worries. 
“This Is It” is a joyous celebration of the pop entertainer’s talent and hard work. This compilation of rehearsal footage includes a lot of the songs and dance moves we all know and love and as the show is rehearsed and shaped, we also get to see the attention to detail, the professionalism that was Michael Jackson. He was totally present and engaged. Nothing was too small to go over until it was right. He loved it all.
It becomes obvious why MJ was not “famous” just for wearing gem encrusted gloves – his fans loved him because he so obviously cared about them. He wanted his audience to be entertained. He wanted them to say “Wow” and they did.
Michael Jackson * star ( Don’t believe it has been a year – R.I.P.)
by Sandy | Jun 22, 2010 | Art, Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
“Salvador Dali- the Late Work” * High Museum of Art Atlanta
“August 7, 2010 through January 9, 2011 The High will be the sole venue for the first exhibition to focus on Dalí’s art after 1940. The exhibition, featuring more than 40 paintings and a related group of drawings, prints and other Dalí ephemera, will explore the artist’s enduring fascination with science, optical effects and illusionism, and his surprising connections to artists of the 1960s and 1970s such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Willem de Kooning.“
High Museum of Art Atlanta * August 7 to January 9, 2011
1280 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA
(Image: “Santiago El Grande”, 1957, oil on canvas)
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I love textiles. Texture and color just spurs imagination. Remember “Tie Dye”? It did not begin and end in the 60’s – the dyeing continues and the San Francisco de Young Museum’s presentation called “To Dye For: A World Saturated in Color“, explores the past and also brings us up to date.
