Friday June 6th with Expressionists at LACMA

On Friday morning I had my first look at the Van Gogh to Kandinsky - French and German Expressionists exhibit at LACMA.  The exhibit is exciting as it shows the bright and beautiful work of the Post Impressionists and Fauvists "Wild Beasts" as they were called because of their use of bold colors.  The paintings of Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin, and Cezanne are included with other French and German artists from the 1880's to the 1920's.  They make up the groups of painters that were formed in Germany and France who are now all called Expressionists.

One group was founded in Berlin around 1900 when the city was the center of the county's commerce, finance and industry pulling cultures together from the East and the West.  Exhibits of Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists were shown and influenced local artists.  An 1899 exhibit was called the Berlin Secessionists. This attracted German and Swiss painters as well as French.

A group of artists in Dresden formed Der Brucke (The Bridge) in 1905 linking the past, present and future art.  They were inspired by Van Gogh's spontaneous and vivacious brushwork and deep emotional engagement expressed through color.

Another prominent Expressionists group in Germany was the Blau Reiter (Blue Rider) group formed in Munich around 1911.  The group's name refers to the horse and rider in Kandinsky's works.

Here are a few paintings from these groups that I enjoyed:

"Bather" 1906 by Henri-Edmond Cross, French, 1856-1910

"Restaurant of the Sirene at Asnieres" 1887 by Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch, 1853-1890

"Samois, the Bank, Morning," 1901 by Paul Signac, French, 1863-1935

"Haystacks in Brittany," 1890 by Paul Gauguin, French 1848-1903

"The House of Pan-Du," 1890 by Paul Gauguin

"The Pile Drivers," 1902-3 by Maximilien Luce, French, 1858-1941

"Beach at Low Tide, Ambleteuse, Evening," 1900 by Theo van Rysselberghe, Belgian, 1862-1926

"Woman in a Striped Dress," 1895 by Edouard Vuillard, French 1868-1940

"Portrait of the Violinist Emil Wittwer-Gelpke," 1905 by Cuno Amiet, Swiss, 1868-1961

"The Elbe at Dresden," 1905 by Erich Heckel, German 1883-1970

"Sand Diggers on the Tiber," 1909 by Erich Heckel

"Mother and Child in the Garden," 1903 by Cuno Amiet

"Gartenstrasse Early in the Morning," 1906 by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German, 1884-1976

"The Farmer," 1905 by Maurice de Vlaminck, French 1876-1958

"Open Window, Collioure," 1905 by Henri Matisse, French, 1869-1964

"Boats in Chatou," 1904-5 by Andre Derain, French, 1880-1954

"Landscape at La Clotat," 1907 by Georges Braque, French, 1882-1963

"The Canal at Anvers," by Othon Friesz, French, 1879-1949

"Young Girl," 1908 by Max Pechstein, German, 1881-1955
"Proudly we consider ourselves carries of a mission artistically related to the Dutchman Van Gogh and the Norwegian Edvard Munch," Max Pechstein 1906

"Modjesko, Soprano Singer," 1908 by Kees van Dongen, Dutch, active France, 1877-1968

"Reclining Nude in Front of Mirror," 1909-10 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German, 1880-1938

"Studio Interior," 1903-4 by Henri Matisse, French, 1869-1964
"What I'm after, above all, is expression." Henri Matisse 1908 

"Nude Study in Blue," 1899-1900 by Henri Matisse

"Pink Nude," 1909 by Henri Matisse

"Dancers and Bathers at a Forest Pond," 1912 by Max Pechstein, German, 1881-1955

"Dodo at the Table," 1909 by
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

"Betty," 1911 by George Tappert, German, 1880-1957

"Dance Hall Bellevue / Houses in Dresden," 1909-10 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

"Girl with Doll," 1910 by Erich Heckel, German, 1883-1970

"Woman in a Green Blouse," 1913 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

"Boy with a Straw Hat," 1896 by Paul Cezanne, French, 1839-1906

"The Big Indian," 1910 by Max Pechstein

"Beach at Nidden," 1911 by Max Pechstein

"Polynesian Woman with Children," by Paul Gauguin

"Magdalena Still Life with Nude," 1912 by  Max Pechstein

"Otto and Maschka Mueller in the Studio," 1911 by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

"Bathers," 1911 by Max Pechstein

"Blue Sea," 1914 by Emil Nolde, German, 1867-1956

"Pollard Willows at Sunset," 1888 by Vincent van Gogh

"Murnau. Burggrabenstrasse 1," 1908 by Wassily Kandinsky, Russian, active Germany and France, 1866-1944

"Arabian Cemetery," 1909 by Wassily Kandinsky

"Wooden Doll," 1909 by Gabriele Munter, German, 1877-1962

Venice Beach on Thursday

I roamed around Venice Beach, California, enjoying breakfast, and the waking up of the funky beach scene.  I then visited LA Louver, a gallery on N. Venice Blvd half a block from the sand.  I was delighted to view the creative works of Rina Banerjee and her drawings on paper, paintings on wood panel and a selection of assemblage sculptures.

Rina was born in Calcutta, India and moved with her family as a child to UK and then to the US.  He received a Bachelor's Degree in Polymer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland and then changed careers and received her MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale.

Here are some of her creations, many with special descriptive titles:

"Lost and Found," 2014

"Animal Love," 2014

"Upon first myth and empirical observation the hero her angel leaps in cry opens the moon to urge on a rain that may cleanse all from the sweat of her jealous man," 2013

"Taste my tongue," 2014

"She was now in western style dress covered in part of Empires' ruffle and red dress, had a foreign and peculiar race, a Ganesha who had lost her head, was thrown across sea until herself shipwrecked.  A native of Bangladesh lost foot to root in Bidesh, followed her mother full stop on forehead, trapped tongue of horn and grew ram-like under stress," 2011 

"Made of sugary sin and sweet greed she was wide eyed and relentless when plenty of nectar and flower brought also a mood much too sour, unleashed her, her all that was bad in power," 2014

"Run, run, petty crime, shame on her mind," 2014

"In thick bush and among thieving nomads devotion was mined and all the world could be saved as missionary was made into medicine," 2014

"Dressmaker and Shopping girl:  Chinese goods and garment Industry tinsel, made in Hong Kong, made in India for export from port to port made by small hands and little hands, short people from far away lands.  Dressmaker ghost follows me around from shop to shop in Big country with large people with Big hands and high heels," 2014

"Make me a summary of the world! She was his guide and had traveled on camel, rhino, elephant and kangaroo, dedicated to dried plants, glass houses - for medical study, vegetable sexuality, self-pollination, and fertilization her reach pieced the woods, country by country," 2014

"Ugly boy, I saw him-he was thick in parts and sort of too short, with skin, light in color, yellowish tone, but spotted like dirty mushrooms, he snored at school and growled upon waking and his nose always ran, his brows were scraggly, he had a beard that never really grew, he had a head of hair both thick, short and curly long and limp, his hair was often oily and so dirty-so, so nasty, he was disgusting,"  2014

"Lovely was this witch who drew her orange eggs, 4 or 6, each a DNA she threw in relieving herself an awkward humanity," 2013

"Soldier:  overseas and out of place his species seeded dead to grow as common place, bore beautiful flowers of wound, carnage discovered a resin sticky like sweat.  He had courage and loyalty when everyone wept and came home emptied while we slept," 2014

"The Taste Makers"

Last night I attend a Zocolo event at the Grand Central Market in downtown L.A.  David Sax, author of "The Taste Makers,"  spoke about the changing food fads.

He talked about samples of food fads like the cupcake parlors, kale, and the marketing of bacon.  He said that they are putting bacon in everything including a bacon coffin, and a bacon flavored lubrication.  He said the chefs that make it are the ones who create original innovative ideas and then go to the internet to market them.

One example of a successful chef with his food fusion of Mexican and Korean, is Roy Choi.  Roy came up with the idea of buying a food truck and making Kogi barbecued pork tacos.  He tied into Twitter to announce his locations and thousands came to his Kogi trucks.  Food trucks are now the rage all over the world...started by Roy Choi's creation and success.  He now operates 4 trucks and three restaurants.  His recent cookbook and life story is a New York Times best seller.  This has incentivizes creativity and innovation in food and moves culture ahead, he said.

David Sax at Zocolo

"Sugarman" at Cal. State L.A. on Saturday

Last Saturday night we went to the Luckman Auditorium at Cal. State L.A. to see Rodriguez in concert.  We had all seen the 2013 Academy Award winning documentary film, "Looking for Sugarman" and enjoyed the music on our C.D.  It was fun seeing him in person.  The soon to be 72 year-old performer was briefly popular in the 1970's and then disappeared.  Meanwhile, he was still a star in South Africa...as famous as Elvis, they say.  He was "found" a few years ago and the documentary of his discovery and reemergence to the stage with a hero's welcome in South Africa.

Rodriguez was led on to the stage by assistants as he seems to be nearly blind.  He was accompanied by a lead guitar, bass guitar and drums.  He played the amplified acoustical guitar and sang.  He was. proceeded to the stage by one of his daughters who sang two songs, and an opening act.