by Sandy | Aug 19, 2012 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
“Arcadia” or France’s idea of Shangri-La is showcased in a presentation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art: “Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse: Visions of Arcadia“
“The theme of an earthly paradise, or Arcadia, has been popular in theater, poetry, music, and art since antiquity. In France during the early 1900s, this idea of a mystical place of contentment and harmony was especially potent–illustrated in mural-sized paintings which were often commissioned for public viewing. “
“This exhibition explores the theme in three such paintings of the time: Paul Gauguin’s Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (1898), Paul Cézanne’s The Large Bathers (1906), and Henri Matisse’s Bathers by a River (1909-17).”
Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse: Visions of Arcadia until September 3, 2012
Philadelphia Museum of Art
(Image: “Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?” (1898), Gauguin)
by Sandy | Aug 15, 2012 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Culture, Museums
“A major career retrospective of the work of José Bedia at Miami Art Museum (MAM) explores the influence of indigenous cultures and religions from Cuba, North and South America, and Africa on the artist’s work over the last three decades…featuring 35 artworks including large-scale figurative paintings, installations and drawings, highlights the layering of spiritual, social and historical constructs in Bedia’s body of work—all of which are retold through a highly personal lens.”
Transcultural Pilgrim: Three Decades of Work by José Bedia
Until September 2, 2012
Miami Art Museum, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami, FL
(Image: “Utenu Kazaye”, 2007(acrylic on canvas)
by Sandy | Aug 12, 2012 | Blogroll, Books, Culture, Writers
I always get excited when Ms Morrison graces us with a new book. Just released last week, her latest is “Home”, which centers on a man’s two most life assaultive experiences – while a soldier during the Korean War and growing up in the South in the 50’s. 
Ms Morrison, now 81, has such a fantastical, spiritual approach to her characters and plot, but she’s also got “edge”. She can set a tone, paint a picture, capture identifiable feeling/emotion and describe events so clearly and with such poetry that it makes you laugh or, it makes you cry. There are some passages in her much acclaimed book “Beloved” that are so painful that your throat clutches and closes.
Her “truth”, in her books like “Sula”, “The Bluest Eye”, “Song of Solomon” just to name a few, are cloaked in make believe and are sometimes difficult to handle – sort of a ground glass in the oatmeal type of thing. You feel it. (“Beloved” won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and Ms Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.)
I think she is amazing and a true gift.
“Writing was … the most extraordinary way of thinking and feeling. It became the one thing I was doing that I had absolutely no intention of living without.”Toni Morrison
by Sandy | Aug 9, 2012 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
“Choose Paint! Choose Abstraction!” is the current presentation at the Museum of African Diaspora / MoAD in San Francisco, CA. It features “nine influential Bay Area artists who over several decades, starting in the 1970’s, consistently chose abstraction over figuration as their preferred approach to art making. “
“Over thirty five paintings by Robert Colescott, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Mike Henderson, Joan Brown, Dewey Crumpler, Jay DeFeo, Arthur Monroe, and Squeak Carnwath” are included.
Choose Paint! Choose Abstraction!
Until September 23, 2012
MoAD – The Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission Street San Francisco, CA
Image: “Gone”, Squeak Carnwath
by Sandy | Aug 6, 2012 | Artist, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Drawing, Exhibits, Museums
Using some 50 prints and drawings from their collection, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston presents, “Manet in Black”
“Manet was a master in the use of black, asserting his bold and subtle imprint on a range of subjects, from exotic Spanish dancers to the horses and spectators at a thrilling Paris racetrack. This exhibition celebrates Manet’s brilliant achievements as a graphic artist. Known as the painter of modern life and the father of Impressionism, Manet was also an exceptionally gifted printmaker and draftsman, among the most daring and innovative of the nineteenth century.”
“Manet in Black” Until October 28, 2012
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Avenue of the Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts
by Sandy | Aug 5, 2012 | Blogroll, Events
This dynamic duo has won an amazing number of Grand Slam and Olympic titles (alone or together) over the years. These are not easy accomplishments – A Tennis player might win one event, but to pull together all of the mind and body skills needed to win power tennis tournaments repeatedly is awe inspiring (at least to me).
I still don’t think that the Williams sister’s feats of tennis magic are appreciated as much as they could be, so again, I will take time out and say:
CONGRATULATIONS Venus & Serena. Well done!
*2012 Olympic Gold Medal for Serena (Singles)
*2012 Olympic Gold for Venus and Serena (Doubles)
by Bob Martin | Aug 2, 2012 | Art
Artist Stephen Marc
Stephen Marc is one of the most fascinating artists that I have the privilege of knowing. His work is brilliant and illuminating story telling, prompting the viewer to insist on learning more about one of the most important times in the history of the United States. Prior to meeting Stephen and seeing his work my understanding of the Underground Railroad was wrapped around the singular story of Harriet Tubman and Auburn New York. I like most people knew that there was more to the story and until my first conversation with Stephen I had no idea how much of this history I did not know or understand.
One of the many things I find to be so wonderful about Stephen is his accessibility and ease in conversation. He is not only a visual storyteller, he has the unique ability to bring his photography alive in conversation and stories about his travels to each community, what he learned both about the past and the present. About the people he got to meet and their personal stories and what they can recall about their families histories. About discovering new safe houses, the names of railroad conductors, and American heroes whose names were forgotten or overlooked
“Ellicott City 2009” by Stephen Marc
His passion for storytelling is so intimate and detailed with incredible artifacts, letters, photographs and paintings that it awakens our soul and has us give thanks.
Stephen Marc: Passage on the Underground Railroad, organized by the University at Buffalo Art Galleries, Buffalo, New York is currently on exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum until September 23, 2012: Stephen is scheduled to speak at the museum on September 5th 2012,
by Sandy | Jul 29, 2012 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, is one of my favorite walking places. After paying respects with my mandatory viewing of Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”, I wander around looking for other favorites. Different artists may be highlighted for a special exhibit, or works are just moved and regrouped, it’s great to see the paintings again or discover ones that I might have missed in a previous visit. 
“The works displayed on the fifth floor roughly span the years 1880 to 1940. Within an overall chronological flow, galleries highlight individual stylistic movements, artists, and themes, including Post-Impressionism, Cubism, the work of Henri Matisse, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, and Surrealism, among other subjects. An ongoing program of periodic reinstallations allows the curators to present a wide range of artworks in various configurations, reflecting the view that there are countless ways to explore the history of modern art and the Museum’s rich collection. The Painting and Sculpture Galleries on the fourth floor display art made between 1940 and 1980; the Contemporary Galleries, on the second floor, present the most recent works in the collection.”
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street, New York, NY
by Bob Martin | Jul 26, 2012 | Actors, Art
Sherman Hemsley
There was a time when African Americans were seldom seen on television. Early on, they were basically backdrops, like the guy in the train station shinning someones shoes while the main characters rushed by to catch the train. This was a time when one of the most influential recording artists in the United States, (Nat King Cole) would have to wait until the last 4 minutes of the Ed Sullivan Show (I’ve heard that Sullivan would have preferred that no blacks performed on his show) to perform or in the case of the iconic Jerry Lewis Telethon, African Americans like Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Sammy Davis Jr. and many others could only be seen “After Midnight” (J.J. Cale), usually around 2AM.
With the exception of Amos ‘n’ Andy, Sanford and Son, Julia and I Spy, early TV in the States was pretty much void of Asian, Latino/Hispanic and the most populous minority, African Americans. We did not exist in prime time. The before mentioned shows had in common a lack of depth and no back story that I can remember. There was little acknowledgement of the true adventure of the African in America, nothing about their hard won contributions or accomplishments that made America be what it became.
Tyler Perry
George Jefferson, as portrayed by Sherman Hemsley, got a lot of heat. (Similar in a way to Tyler Perry). “The Jeffersons” was seen as degrading and a return of the Minstrel Shows. Some of what was overlooked was that the series was a sitcom and Jackie Gleason, Lucille Ball, Gracie Allen, and Dick Van Dyke all played the buffoon and none of them got any heat. The “Jeffersons” in my recollection was the first African American portrayal of an intact African American family on TV, who had achieved the “American Dream” with a well written undertone of “I did it my way”. George Jefferson was black, uppity and funny. This must have been startling to its white viewers, and there were many.
Unfortunately, Sherman Hemsley will never get the credit he deserves for just taking the job and giving it his best. Peace to his family and friends.
by Bob Martin | Jul 25, 2012 | Art, Artist Residencies, Creativity
“The theme of an earthly paradise, or Arcadia, has been popular in theater, poetry, music, and art since antiquity. In France during the early 1900s, this idea of a mystical place of contentment and harmony was especially potent–illustrated in mural-sized paintings which were often commissioned for public viewing. “
