by Sandy | May 24, 2008 | Art, Artist, Blogroll, Film, Movies, Museums
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954) * American artist who painted New York City life.
I love the “movement” of his paintings. You can feel the wind, hear the music…terrific.
Some of Marsh’s paintings are not quite so colorful as you see here, he gravitated toward regular people in the streets, at the burlesque, on the subway. His concentration for everyday scenes are reflective of his concerns for the common man and woman.
(Couple Dancing at the Savoy – 1934, Oil)
(The Normandie – 1953, water color on paper)
BTW : I never heard of Reginald Marsh until I saw the “Paint What You Know” post of 5/20/08. Great discovery. Thx Bob!
by Sandy | May 22, 2008 | Actors, Art, Artist, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
“Los
Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.: Selections
from the Cheech Marin Collection”
6/15/08 to 11/2/08
Do you remember those “Cheech & Chong” movies from the 70’s? (The 2 main characters would spend most of their time in a comic fog due to some mind altering plants they ingested.) Well, Cheech Marin, along with his movies and TV career – he played a cop on the “Nash Bridges” show – bought artwork from the Mexican, Mexican –American artists that he met in his travels.
His collection includes paintings from artists such as, Carlos Almaraz, Chaz Bojorquez, Diane Gamboa and others. On display are examples of the type of art that just exploded in Los Angeles, CA during the 80’s /90’s.
LACMA/ Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA – 323-857-6000
(Image – “Chino Latino”, acrylic on canvas Chaz Bojorquez , 2000)
http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibMarin.aspx“
by Bob Martin | May 18, 2008 | Actors, Dance, Events
A performance by the Arizona Magic of Music & Dance
This is a great event which is transformational for both the young actors and their audience.
Title: The Jungle Book
Description: Young people with any physical or mental disability are invited to explore in a barrier-free environment the world of creative movement, self-expression, musical creation and spontaneous listening.
Start Time: 12:00:00
Date: 2008-06-13
End Time: 02:00:00
More information click here
by Sandy | May 18, 2008 | Actors, Blogroll, Books, Directors, Film, Movies
“Those that stop their questioning at 75, 60, even 30, cut short their explorations and end up with permanently unfinished lives.” (From “Life Beyond Measure: Letter to My Great-Granddaughter”)
Wise octogenarian Sydney Poitier has been a national treasure for quite awhile. He’s won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. He has had success as an actor, director, author and perhaps more importantly, as a man. He has condensed life lessons learned into books not just about his journey, but also about how he has learned to conduct himself in a sometimes difficult world.Born in 1927 in the Bahamas, Mr. Poitier went to New York as a teen, taught himself to read, catapulted himself into an acting career and created a wonderful life for himself and his family. Not an easy road, but he did it with humor, grace, determination and a never wavering belief in him self. Great stuff!
“The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography ”, 2000
“Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter ”, 2005
by Bob Martin | Apr 25, 2008 | Movies
I really liked “In the Bedroom” the first time I saw it. It’s a movie with a monster who does not look like a monster. I recently watched the ending and appreciated the craft of the entire crew, especially the director in the choices he made. For me the movie is not about the crimes committed or who are your friends when times are bad, rather it’s about that little monster that we have inside of us that when given the chance will choose for us to be and do unthinkable things.
There are a lot movies that I’ve seen that never warrant a second look, much less a third or fourth. That’s because the director has played all of his/her cards right up front. Once you seen the movie once there is nothing else to see. With “In the Bedroom” I noticed the quiet, there was no constant music theme interrupting my thoughts. I noticed the performances of Wilkinson, Spacek and Marisa Tomei.. The Tomei role intrigued me. I remembered her best as Lisa Bonet corky room mate in the first season of TV sitcom “A Different World”. I noticed the crabs and the town, how there seemed be no diversity.
My second look, had me pay closer attention to monster, played with perfection by Sissy Spacek. Even in her mid fifties Sissy Spacek is cute and we all had cute monsters in our life. Monsters are things that a far more relentless then we are. Monsters get what they want, with out ever compromising. They are unreasonable, like Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” or Daniel Day-Lewis, in “There Will Be Blood”. Movies where the monster wins leaves the audience dissatisfied, but will to go back and take another look.
My most recent look got me paying attention to the scenery, how beautiful old towns, bay views, dense forest and sea ports are. That no matter how beautiful nature is, it is relentless and will get its way.
by Sandy | Apr 23, 2008 | Actors, Art, Artist, Directors, Live Performance, Museums
So, I’m still living on the fumes of my April in New York City adventure.
Went to MOMA on 53rd St and saw the usual suspects – Cezanne, Picasso, Gauguin, Rothko, etc. But, then I went into a little room with the Van Gogh’s. I’ve always liked his work, but I had never seen them in person. They are all beautiful in an intense way.
Of course I’ve seen “Starry Night” in books, magazines, but, when looking close up, I noticed the coiled energy. The whirling stars look as it they are flying thru the air and about to explode. Just amazing.
“Starry Night”, Vincent Van Gogh, 1899
Museum of Modern Art, http://www.moma.org/
* I enjoyed seeing “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”. Unfortunately, James Earl Jones was absent from his role as “Big Daddy” (made famous by Burl Ives in the 50’s movie of the same name), but the rest of the cast, directed by the talented Debbie Allen – Terrence Howard, Phylicia Rashad and Giancarlo Esposito – do a great job with this Tennessee Williams play about a southern family with lots of secrets and lots of lies.
Tony award winner Anika Noni Rose, the “cat” on the heated roof, is terrific as she fights with and for her man – from the opening curtain to the final scene, she radiates and sparkles. She is a star!
Big Daddy: “What’s that smell in this room? Didn’t you notice it, Brick? Didn’t you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?”
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”, Broadhurst Theater, NYC
*And, I saw the marvelous Laurence Fishburne in “Thurgood”. Only 90 minutes, the play takes the audience thru personal and historic events of the life of the first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall.
Written by George Stevens and directed by Leonard Foglia, “Thurgood” highlights how the man called “Mister Civil Rights” in the 1950’s, used the law to effect change.
The play follows him from childhood, thru his dangerous and stubborn excursions into the South to register black voters, to his successes with anti segregation legislation and then thru his 20 years on the court.
Fishburne delivers, not just an historic figure but, an accomplished, complex man. Great stories, great events some human and funny, others just make you proud.
“Thurgood”, Booth Theatre, NYC
