by Sandy | Jan 17, 2011 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
Another San Francisco de Young Museum exhibit focusing on Post Impressionist work from the Paris’ Musée d’Orsay opens 9/25/10. Includes artists: “Monet and Renoir, followed by the more individualistic styles of the early modern masters including Cézanne, Gauguin, Lautrec and van Gogh, and the Nabis painters, Bonnard and Vuillard. The exhibition will also provide a unique look at the Orsay’s spectacular collection of Pointillist painters including work by Seurat and Signac.”
Some of the 100 paintings to see:
A Dance in the Country, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1883)
The Circus, George Seurat (1891)
Self Portrait, Vincent van Gogh (1887)
Starry Night over the Rhone, Vincent van Gogh (1888)
The Artist’s Bedroom at Arles, Vincent van Gogh (1889)
Portrait of the Artist with the Yellow Christ, Paul Gauguin (1889)
Tahitian Women, On the Beach, Paul Gauguin (1891)
Still Life with Onions, Paul Cézanne (1895)
The Snake Charmer, Henri Rousseau (1907)
“Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay” until January 2011
de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA
by Bob Martin | Jan 17, 2011 | Film, Movies
The difference between “12” and the more famous “Twelve Angry Men” is the time spent on the conditions in which a young man grows up. Unlike the original play and movie, there is more to consider in addition to each angry man’s personal short comings and/or heroism. In challenging the evidence in an effort to discover the truth, the complete story remains hidden.
Who really committed the crime and our concern for the well being of the accused is a new element to this storyline, and suggest justice needs to be served in and out of court.
12 which is beautifully acted and directed, is not necessarily better then Twelve Angry Men, which was about a different time and circumstance, 12 is however bigger and a more expansive view of the deliberation of a trial.
by Bob Martin | Jan 14, 2011 | Film
A wonderful piece of movie making and story telling. My favorite line
“Ground’s too hard. Them men wanted a decent burial, they should have got themselves killed in summer.”
Miss Hailee Steinfeld is remarkable!
by Sandy | Jan 13, 2011 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums, Photograhy
The traveling exhibit highlighting the work of photographer Cartier-Bresson will end its visit to the Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco on January 31, 2011- “Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century”. 
“An innovative artist, trailblazing photojournalist, and quintessential world traveler, Henri Cartier-Bresson ranks among the most accomplished and original figures in the history of photography. His inventive images of the early 1930s helped define the creative potential of the medium, and his uncanny ability to capture life on the run made his work synonymous with “the decisive moment.” This major retrospective offers a fresh look at Cartier-Bresson’s entire career, revealing him as one of the great portraitists of the 20th century and one of its keenest observers of the global theater of human affairs.”
Cartier-Bresson describing the “decisive moment” in photography:
“To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms [as they are perceived visually] which give that event its proper expression.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century – Until January 30, 2011
Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA – SF MOMA
(Images: Hyeres, 1932 and Srinagar, Kashmir, 1948)
by Sandy | Jan 11, 2011 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Museums
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art/ LacMa has an exhibit of the work of German abstract artist Blinky Palermo, (1943-1977) 
“The exhibition provides an in-depth examination of the evolution of Palermo’s aesthetic, illustrating the significance of his contribution to post-war art. It surveys the four principal groups of work, created after he graduated from Joseph Beuys’s class at the Dusseldorf Art Academy in 1964, that comprise his oeuvre: the Objects; Cloth Pictures; documentation of in situ Wall Paintings and Drawings; and examples of his late Metal Pictures. “
“Blinky Palermo: Retrospective 1964-1977” * Until January 16, 2011
LACMA/ Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA
BTW: I had never heard of this artist before so I had to look him up (what did I do before Google??) – “Blinky Palermo was famous for his spare monochromatic canvases and “fabric paintings” made from simple lengths of colored material cut, stitched and stretched over a frame.” per WikiPedia
by Sandy | Jan 10, 2011 | Art, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Books, Culture, Movies
Shakespeare’s Macbeth is my favorite.
I know, if I wish to impress, I should say – Hamlet, King Lear, etc.
They may be “deeper”, but, they’re not as much fun.
Macbeth has witches (3) it has ghosts (8 plus), (Hamlet only has a flickering dad). The play has a “moving” forest and a man with a questionable birth. This is drama! 
You are grabbed with the first scene and it won’t let you go until that pesky forest starts to inch forward, (I hope I haven’t given too much away)
I’ve seen Macbeth on stage once – the witches were in Japanese white Butoh masks(interesting). I have relied on an occasional reread and film rentals to revisit this story of power and madness. There are several British color versions from the 70’s and 80’s, but, the Orson Welles version is my favorite. He starred in and directed a stark, black & white minimalist film (read low budget with paper-mache sets, and cardboard crowns) in 1948.
Welles, as Macbeth, and Jeanette Nolan, as Lady M, bring the play to life. They, and the rest of the spirited cast, proceed to climb the scenery, without there being much to climb. (The sets are pretty bare). All underlying ambition and greed of the passionate duo is uncovered, They eventually embrace their baser nature with relish and self destruct. Sound familiar?
Wm. Shakespeare’s flawed characters transcend centuries and we can still relate.
Love it.
by Bob Martin | Jan 9, 2011 | Dancers, Live Performance, music, Theater
Leonard Bernstein
The music for ” West Side Story” works so well and it is the reason for me to want to see this new revival. The story everyone will admit is an old story. The dancing is wonderful and the staging magnificent, but it is the music and score that stays with you. I hope the current production has not gotten caught in using special effects to tell this story.
Stephen Sondheim
You should be able to love this play with your eyes shut. Also
Somebody has to figure out a way to make “Broadway” affordable again.
by Bob Martin | Jan 5, 2011 | Live Performance, music
Live shows just about every night at Andy’s Jazz Club is something special. On Tuesday’s every week, there is the Tim Fitzgerald Trio, featuring Sarah Marie Young. Ms. Young’s delivery is smooth and real easy to appreciate.
Sarah Marie Young
by Sandy | Jan 3, 2011 | Concerts, music
Branford Marsalis Quartet with Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis & Jeff Watts Sunday, March 29, 7PM Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
Cedar Walton at Long Island University Concert Dates: 02/21/09
Lenore Raphael at Dizzy Gillespie Auditorium at the BHai Center Concert Dates: 01/27/09
Lift your spirits and enjoy the Jazz Concert Season. Its not necessary to do just the big name/ big venue concerts. You can find unknown, wonderful talent at many of the free concerts across the country as well as the various Jazz Festivals that offer good ticket packages. Two of the best and most diverse festivals that I know are the Portland Jazz Festival and the S.F. Jazz Festival. There are many more !!
Give Live Authentic Music a Shot
by Bob Martin | Jan 3, 2011 | Artist, Creativity, Galleries, Museums
Painting by Brian Kershisnik at The Mesa Art Center
What I appreciate most about Brian Kershisnik’s Paintings, is his uncomplicated way of telling of a story. Most of our lives are void of heavy drama and are filled instead with simply unnoticeable and fulfilling events. His paintings are about these events that we acknowledge only as we look back at what gave us the most joy.
Nice Words an exhibit of paintings by Brian Kershisnik, On view until Sunday, February 27, 2011 at the
Mesa Contemporary Arts
Another San Francisco de Young Museum exhibit focusing on Post Impressionist work from the Paris’ Musée d’Orsay opens 9/25/10. Includes artists: “Monet and Renoir, followed by the more individualistic styles of the early modern masters including Cézanne, Gauguin, Lautrec and van Gogh, and the Nabis painters, Bonnard and Vuillard. The exhibition will also provide a unique look at the Orsay’s spectacular collection of Pointillist painters including work by Seurat and Signac.”
