Roaming L.A. Art with Doug

My friend Doug visited for a week and we explored L.A. including several art museums and even a concert.  Here is some of what we appreciated:

One of our first stops was beautiful downtown Glendora on Tuesday to revisit our previous homes and to have some rhubarb pie at the Vault.  Then we were off to Claremont to visit the Pomona College Campus and their Art Museum.

"Abolition," 2014 by Sue Coe, U.K. 1951-
The description states that Sue Coe embodies the concept of art as activism...her poignant etchings and drawings reveal harsh realities through graphic imagery.

 "Blade Runner:  Painter of Light," 2014 by Brenna Youngblood

 "The Benevolent and the Malevolent," 2004 by Brenna Youngblood

 "Hidden City," 2014 by Brenna Youngblood

These next works are by Mirella Bentivoglio from 1966 to 2012.  The description states that pages are literally and figuratively at the heart of the work of the Italian artist who was born in 1922.  It goes on to state that she also reads the urban landscape as a page, the bridges and monuments and buildings as semiotic signs that create narratives of power and privilege.

 "Transitory/Durable," with Regina Silveira, 2002, plastic, wood, book.

 "Anatomy of the Left Arm of the Statue of Liberty," 1992, Photomechanical print on paper

 "Plants in Plan in a Plant in Pan," 1979

 "E = Conjunction," 1973, Serigraph on paper

 "E Combinations," 1977/2014

 The beautiful fountain outside the museum.

 With "Prometheus," 1930 by Jose Clemente Orozco, Mexico

The description states that this fresco is one of the treasures of Pomona College and that painting it was Orozo;s first work ad the first Mexican mural in the U.S.  He is hailed as one of the three great Mexican muralists.  The others being Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros.  The idea for the mural was suggested by the architect of Frary Hall, Summer Spaulding shortly after the building was completed. Prometheus is shown stealing fire from the Greek Gods to give to mankind...a symbol of wisdom and enlightenment.  Since it is in the dining all of Pomona College, it has inspired students daily for decades. The photos below show the side panels.

The next photos are of paintings appreciated at the Huntington Library, Gardens and Museum on Wednesday.  These are from the American Art Virginia Steele Scott collection.

 "The Butcher Shop," 1940 by Alexander Zerdin Kruse, 1888-1972

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 "McSorley's Cats," 1929 by John Sloan, 1871-1951

 "The Boxing Match," 1910 by George Luks, 1867-1933

 "The Breaker Boys," 1925 by Beorge Luks

 "A Foothill Trail," 1919 by Granvile Redmond, 1871-1935

"The Oak," 1916 by Guy Rose, 1867-1925

The next drawings were viewed on Thursday at the Wallis Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica.  They were part of a series of paintings entitled Playtime. They are by Heather Lowe and show "a view of consecutive motion as individual pictures that combine to reveal the interplay of shape and intersection of line, according to the viewer's position."

The stage was full as the Los Angeles Philharmonic awaited the arrival of conductor Gustavo Dudamel to play John Adams "City Noir."  There were 7 percussionists, a Celeste player, piano player and two harpists. This was followed by Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 ("From the New World").  It was a grand night that was met by a standing ovation which led to a bonus performance of a Hungarian Dance.

The next paintings were seen at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena during Art Night on Friday.  These are paintings by Charles Irvin, Kathryn Arledge and Jim Shaw are in an exhibit entitled "The Making of Person Theory:  Mysticism and Metaphysics."  The brochure states that the exhibition that takes notions of "the mystical" as an entry point to consider daily encounters that are marked with eccentricity, the surreal and the dream-like passage of time.

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"Sat Yam," 2013 by Charles Irvin, oil on canvas

"Model of Consciousness," 2006 by Charles Irvin

"Cryptic Response," 2014 by Charles Irvin

 "Blue Mask," 2014 by Charles Irvin

 "Untitled (abstract woman, baby inside)," 1969 by Sara Kathryn Arledge, watercolor on paper.


And From the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Saturday:

 

 "Valley of the Seine, Giverny," 1887 by Theodore Robinson, United States, 1852-1896

"Blue and Coral:  The Little Blue Bonnet," 1898 by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, United States 1834-1903.

Our roamings also included a chicken dinner with Boysenberry Pie at Knott's Berry Farm, a visit to the beach, a walk around the Getty Villa and it's antiquities, Olvera Street, Hollywood, and a huge painting of the Crucifixion  and the Last Supper stained glass window at the Forest Lawn Cementery in Glendale.  Our last supper was at the In and Out via Uber.  It was a great week!  Thanks Doug.