by Sandy | Mar 23, 2020 | Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, dvd, music
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day…”
There is nothing like good music during questionable times. Gives a lift.
The opening bass line that precedes the above lyric is for one of my favorite songs by the Temptations, “My Girl”. It is instantly recognizable, instantly evoking a time/ place/age that is gone, but still very much alive when the music plays. (I still know all the words.)
I watched the DVD, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” again. It tells the story of the “Funk Brothers”, those musicians who rhythmically supported the stars of Motown with their piano, drums, horn section and guitars. According to the liner notes, “They played on more #1 records than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elvis combined…”
There are interviews with the guys, funny and touching, as they reminisce about their experiences at “Hitsville, USA”. Unknown by the thousands of us that religiously bought a new 45 record whenever possible, they drove the beat behind the Motown hits from the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder (he was “little” then), the Miracles, etc. The stars were good, but so was the band.
We are also treated to terrific concert footage – artists of today singing the old songs. It’s been a long time, but the music lives – they do a great job, different – but still great.
***
by Sandy | Feb 23, 2020 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Culture, Exhibits, Photograhy
The “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983″ exhibit has been traveling the U.S. since last year. NYC, Houston and most recently last Fall in LA, it is now ending its San Francisco stay at the De Young Museum. The presentation “shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists made over two decades, beginning in 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement…”
“Featuring the work of more than 60 influential artists* and including vibrant paintings, powerful sculptures, street photography, murals, and more, this landmark exhibition is a rare opportunity to see era-defining artworks that changed the face of art in America.”
* Romare Bearden, Barkley Hendricks, Noah Purifoy, Martin Puryear, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Alma Thomas, Charles White, William T. Williams
Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983 (Til March 15, 2020)
De Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
(Photo: A Boy in front of the Loew’s 125th Street Movie Theater, Dawoud Bey, 1976)
by Sandy | Feb 17, 2020 | Art, Blogroll, Museums
I really like portraits. (I enjoy creating their back stories – what, where, why and of course, who?)
The above, by Black Renaissance artist Loïs Mailou Jones (1905 – 1998), is included in the American Art collection at the Brooklyn Museum. Work from assorted genres, created in the Americas, is represented.
“…this major reinstallation of our American Art galleries attempts to take a more inclusive approach. It embraces work by women and people of color and extends the definition of America to encompass not only the United States but Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean basin, beginning with the art of the first peoples who lived in the region thousands of years before contact with European colonizers.”
American Art Galleries
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York
(Image: “Dans un Café a Paris“, 1939, Loïs Mailou Jones)
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by Sandy | Jan 31, 2020 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits
The Carnegie Museum of Art presents “A Delight for the Senses: The Still Life”. “Once considered the lowliest of the painting genres, the still life has long been overshadowed in the history of art…”
“On the surface, these picturesque arrangements are easy to appreciate for their aesthetic beauty and skillful rendering. A closer look at these sumptuous arrays of objects ranging from the mundane to the luxurious reveals moral undertones and allusions to the transience of life”
A Delight for the Senses: The Still Life
Until Mar 15, 2020
Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA
(Image: “Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and Pomegranates”, 1660, Jacob Fopsen van Es)
~*~
by Sandy | Dec 9, 2019 | Art, Blogroll, Books, Creativity, Culture, Photograhy
“I Paint My House” by Margaret Courtney-Clarke is a collection of photographs of African women showing how they decorate their homes. In addition to pottery and textiles, there is a South and West African tradition of painting the outside of the house with bold shapes and bright colors representing the people that live inside. The women are able to express themselves as family history is documented through art and design.
Ms Courtney-Clarke has also produced coffee table sized books, “African Canvas: The Art of West African Women”, filled with her photographs of the bright geometric designs of Berber and Ghanaian women.
(“I Paint My House” is actually a book of postcards. But, the murals and decorations are so vibrant and alive, I haven’t mailed any.)
***
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.”
There is nothing like good music during questionable times. Gives a lift.