Friday Flowers: Silent Roses

Rose: Judy Garland

We'll watch our words tonight.

Rose: Moondance



And savor these graceful sights.

Rose: Love & Peace


;-)

With Tremulous Cadence Slow

Detail of Afternoon Stroll (2010) by Dale Johnson, on exhibit at dnj Gallery

A standard impression of the Los Angeles beaches is that they are constantly sun-drenched, bright and busy places where scantily clad young women play volleyball and children build sandcastles. Well, such scenes definitely do exist, but, more often than not, the beaches of the South Bay area have a heavy marine layer that doesn't burn off until after midmorning. Rather than "beach babes", you're more likely to find elderly walkers, perhaps accompanied by their dog.

And it's quiet. Except for the sounds of the seabirds and the alternating roar and hiss of the waves coming in and rushing out, there are only the noises that are brought with you, beit music on an iPod or conversation with a friend. It can be a lonely and sublime experience.

That's what I feel when viewing Dale Johnson's work in "By the Sea", on view at dnj Gallery until July 21. These hazy images of desolate shores, lonely walkers, and grey skies, they capture the timeless and vast atmosphere of the seaside.

Detail of Lab and Longboard (2011) by Dale Johnson

The flat and muted scenes have a sense of authenticity to them. They capture those long moments at the shore in which there is no flashy focus upon human activity, no sandcastles, no young women frolicking upon the sand, no surfers catching waves. There are only shades moving through the dark grey of the marine layer.

Clouds in My Coffee

Carly Simon was born on June 25, 1945.

Music appeals to me on so many different levels. There are those pieces that I enjoy for their accessibility. For others, I appreciate them for intellectual reasons, compositional creativity or clever lyrics. And then there are those that bring back memories, regardless of whether or not I like the music.

For the most part, it is in the last category that I place Carly Simon. I've never been a great enthusiast of her music, but her voice and style comfort me. That warm and folksy quality, free-spirited and passionate, it echoes down through the decades, eternally young and full of the emotional intensity of youth. It takes me back in time, makes me reflect on where I was and where I am now going.

Although it is mainly her music from the 1970s that have this effect, her later works do, to a lesser extent, evoke the same nostalgia. And that's why I occasionally turn away from the classical music and the jazz, turning instead to Carly's introspective and vivacious songs.

Detail from Carly Simon's album, Anticipation (1971)

So, let's celebrate Carly Simon's birthday with some music.

Sights to Delight

Sculpture of a Feathered Serpent from the Mayan civilization at Chichen Itza, AD 850-1100, on view in LACMA's "Children of the Plumed Serpent" exhibit.

I have been fortunate over the past few weeks in being able to visit various art venues, museums and galleries. Although I plan on writing about a few of them individually, I figured that sharing a few images would make for a fun post.

So, I have recently gone viewing in four of the city's cultural centers: the Miracle Mile, Culver City, Bergamot Station, and Long Beach. It's been a great start to the Summer.

Midnight Ride (2006) by Deborah Kupinsky, on view at the Long Beach Museum of Art


Lots on interesting works on display. I'm especially happy to have visited some venues down in Long Beach, an area that I enjoy but rarely visit.

Seconds in Silence

Empty dance studio

Another thing about Summer, there is something both peaceful and creepy about an empty campus or classroom. Peering through the windows into a room, where one would normally hear the constant chatter of students, the sounds of occupation, finding it abandoned and silent can be disturbing.

Of course, teachers probably see it as wonderful thing. Like Sisyphus and his stone, it is the moment that the task has been completed, if only for a while, before the next academic year starts the whole process over again.

But I'm not a teacher. I look at the emptiness with an eye towards poetry and purpose. Without habitation, we can appreciate the structure and space of the buildings, their functional design. However, classrooms without students are not fulfilling their purpose. And there is something transgressive about that.

Empty classroom


It's as though the space echoes with impressions of what has been, what will be, and what ought to be. It is as if every empty classroom is haunted by the ghosts of potential students.

It's Summer Time!!!

Detail of The Seasons: Summer (1900) by Alphonse Mucha

If there is an image from Mucha on the page, then we must be celebrating the changing of the season. ;-)

Indeed, we're celebrating the start of Summer, my favorite season. The bright flowers, the birdsongs, the lovely ladies in their summer clothes, these are some of my favorite things. Yeah, it might get hot, but it's worth some sweat and discomfort, if the beauty of the season can still be experienced.

During the gloomy months, I haunt the museums and galleries, but now it's time to stroll the gardens. The artworks of nature are drawn from a transcendent palette.

Detail from Ceres: Summer (1712) by Antoine Watteau

Here's hoping that the upcoming season is vibrant and filled with joy!!!

Amongst the Clouds of Gold

Detail from Avalance in the Alps (1803) by Philip James de Loutherbourg

Even for those familiar with operatic repertoire, the name of Alfredo Catalani draws a momentary blank; it sounds familiar, but what did he write? As the mental list of titles runs through the mind, a sweet and haunting song rises from the unconscious.

"Ebben? Ne andrò lontana"

The famous aria from La Wally!!! The one-hit wonder of Italian opera! That's Catalani. If YouTube had existed back in the 1890s, people would have been Catalani-rolled.

Well, that's not really fair. Given his short life, he produced a respectable body of work. They aren't "works of genius" but they're enjoyable bits of music, charming and graceful. The rise of modernism and experimental operatic concepts resulted in an already obscure composer falling into even greater obscurity. But the music remains beautiful, a ghostly echo of traditional opera, a style that was fading away even as Catalani was penning these notes.

Detail from The Dance (1856) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

But we don't have to let his music fade away. Instead, let's celebrate it tonight, marking his birth date, June 19, 1854.

The Miracle of Lasagna

Image from Garfield bookmark "Some Call It Laziness. . ." (1978) by Jim Davis

On June 19, 1978, Jim Davis' comic strip, Garfield, was first published. Featuring a lazy, lasagna-loving cat, this comic strip was a childhood favorite of mine. The jokes were really simple, the gags repetitive, and the smug attitude of the rotund Garfield appealed to my youthful sense of humor.

Eventually, I lost my enthusiasm. Perhaps it was the continuing anthropomorphizing of Garfield, who looked less cat-like over the years, walking upright and possessing obvious human-like hands. Maybe it was just the development of mature tastes in comedy. Or it could have been that the lasagna jokes were getting stale. Whatever the case, this comic strip fell out of my favor.

Nevertheless, there is a warm spot in my heart for Garfield, despite the awful unoriginality to which the comic strips have fallen. And the movies were heinous, especially A Tale of Two Kitties. Yikes!!! That was extremely bad!!!

Image from Garfield bookmark "That's Right. . . 100 Pizzas to Go" (1978) by Jim Davis


Occasionally, when looking through my old book collection, searching for something to donate to the local library, I'll find a ratty old bookmark from my childhood, from the time when Garfield comics were the light of my day. Silly and banal though they may be, they nevertheless fill me with nostalgia and return me to a simpler time when a fictional overweight lazy cat could brighten my life.

2012 Weekly Wrap #13

Detail of Blue Drift (2012) by Sylvia Ji, on exhibit at the Corey Helford Gallery

We've finally hit lucky Number 13!!!

Well, eleven posts in thirteen days isn't a model of productivity, but it's an improvement. Moreover, I'm fairly satisfied with the quality of these posts. They weren't just "Image of the Day" tag hits. This set had some substance, some style, some classic Paideia considerations.

We hit a nice blend of topics, including a gallery visit and an advertisement critique. I do regret that I wasn't able to put some poetry into the Friday Flowers posts, but I'm happy that we actually had flowers for both Fridays. ;-)

In short, I'm happy. And this positive mood gives me the energy to put a little bit more creativity and personality into my writing. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this most recent batch of posts as much as I have in writing them.

Detail from the cover image of Scooby Doo! #114, "Turkey Terror at 2000 ft."; pencils by Robert Pope

And here are our eleven posts:

We had four art related posts. We "celebrated" the birthday of Damien Hirst. A visit to the Getty Center inspired me to muse upon the everchanging way in which one perceives art. I checked out "Motion: The Art of Movement" on exhibit at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City. Finally, the annual Muse Artwalk at LACMA provided the opportunity to enjoy some dancing, music, and performance art.

In music, we had three posts. We celebrated two birth dates, Nancy Sinatra and Richard Strauss. Then, our Monthly Dance Party highlighted the weekend.

There were two Friday Flowers, featuring a rose, Walking on Sunshine, and Snow-in-Summer, appropriately named flowers given the current weather conditions we're having out here in Los Angeles. Then we enjoyed giving 'em the bird in a criticism of Wild Turkey bourbon advertisements. Finally, I expressed my love for architectural designs that incorporate stripes, especially those caused by the play of shadow and light.

Over at Madrona Musings, it's been slow now that our exhibit "Between the Knowing" has closed down. However, I did put up a "spotlight" post for our most recent lobby sculpture, Michelle Carla Handel's Big Yearn, Let Down. It's a fun work.

Well, that's it for now. I'm looking forward to the next set of posts.

Image from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Enjoy!!!

Dancing and Singing for the Muse

SZC Project performs a dance across the LACMA campus as part of the Muse Artwalk events

My friends sometimes ask me, if I have the normal member's free admission to LACMA's galleries, why would I attend the bustle and crowd of the annual Muse Artwalk? The answer is obvious: the performances. Certainly, I can visit the museum whenever I wish. Likewise, I'm no stranger to the Miracle Mile art galleries. But it is a rarity that I can view some engaging modern dance performances.

Moreover, the manner in which the choreography incorporates the unique features of the site absolutely cannot be replicated anywhere else. This makes for a "one time only" experience, an aesthetic moment that is transitory, constrained in time and space. For me, this limitation makes it a precious and much coveted art event.

Yeah, sometimes the throng of visitors might get annoying, especially if they have some rambunctious children with them. However, for the uncommon taste of performance art and dance, I will happily tolerate an occasional screaming babe. ;-)

Invertigo Dance performing in front of Chris Burden's Urban Light (2008)


Now, the hazy and humid heat might present another problem, but, if the performers can endure it, then I can do so as well. After all, it's not me jumping around, kicking and twisting and writhing, upon the hot concrete of the BP Grand Entrance. And that's a very good thing. :-P

A dancer from kDub Dance, constrained within the boundaries delineated by colored tape.


The performances were well worth the effort. I especially enjoyed SZC Project's performance upon the exterior stairway of the Broad Contemporary, but each dance brought something new and engaging. They really inspired me to make more of an effort to attend dance events. Every year, the Artwalk inspires me, but I rarely follow through. This time, I intend to hit at least three shows before next year's event.

Dance Party: June

Detail of the cover image for Dirty Vegas' "Days Go By"

It's that time again, amigos!!!

We've got a fun roster of classic and quirky songs to celebrate the month of June, at least in five year increments from 1967 to 2007. ;-)

The night is pressing and I haven't the time to get all prosaic on you all, but, since we've been doing this for over a year now, just imagine that I'm engaging in some rants and raves. It can be a form of Paideia "Mad Libs", going something like:

"I'm not much of a (Noun) for (Band Title) but this piece is (Adjective), showing real change from the (Adjective) style of their early music towards a more (Adjective) sound."

See!!! Music criticism is easy!!! LOL!!!

Cover image from Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On"

Let's listen to some music!!!

Friday Flowers: Snow-In-Summer

Cerastium Tomentosum: Snow-in-Summer

Well, it may not be Summer just yet, but we've got "snow" already. ;-)

I decided we'd go with a less popular type of flower this week. While visiting the South Coast Botanic Garden, I noticed a nice bank of these darling ornamental flowers, silvery and small. So I took a few photos to share with you all.

Last week, I had hoped to have some poetry to go with this week's floral selection. Well, time ran out and I figured that it was better to get a post up without a thematic poem than to skip our weekly view of botanical beauties.

Cerastium Tomentosum: Snow-in-Summer


Anyways, I think these precious little flowers need no verse nor lyric to enhance their bright charm.