New York, New York by the Pasadena Pops.

On Saturday evening, September 6, we enjoyed an evening at the L.A. County Arboretum in Arcadia and the music of the Pasadena Pops lead by Michael Feinstein.  The theme was New York, New York and all the music written about the city.  Feinstein led the orchestra through musical numbers written by Leonard Bernstein, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.  Singer Liz Callaway sang songs written by Stephen Sondheim, Aaron Tveit (now on T.V.'s Graceland series) sang "Autumn in New York," and Patti Austin "Here's to Life and others.  Feinstein sang the the encore " New York, New York" song.

Here are a few pictures.  We love the programs by the Pasadena Pops and especially enjoy the leadership and person touches from Michael Feinstein.

Patti Austin Singing

A Bit of Tap Dancing

Patti Austin, Aaron Tveit, and Liz Callaway

Michael Feinstein crooning

more of Michael

Norton Simon Museum on Friday

On Friday, I enjoyed an outing with my friend Nancy at the Norton Simon.  After lunch overlooking the water lilies and sculptures in the garden we went inside to greet the art works of Sam Francis and others.  Here is a bit of what we enjoyed:

"Basel Mural I," 1956-58 by Sam Francis, American, 1923-1994  This one of three large murals for the Kunsthalle, in Basel.
Francis moved to Paris for 8 years in 1950, his "mother city" and established himself as a leading painter of light and color as an Abstract Expressionist.  He also lived in the South of France, Tokyo, Mexico City, Bern and New York.  He open a studio in Santa Monica, California where he painted until the end of his life.  His strategic used of white and primary colors make his paintings so inviting.  We enjoyed a teacher and his class discussing the painting.

"The White Gunas," 1946 by Isamu Noguchi, American, 1904-1988 in white marble.  The artist was born in Los Angeles and spent his early childhood in Japan.  He worked as Constantin Brancusi's apprentice.  "The White Gunas" is an expression of three qualities in Samkhya philosophy of Hinduism:  tamas (darkness), rajas (desire or passion), and sattva (luminous goodness or clear thinking).  The goal is to obtain a balance with all three.  

"Classical Sculpture," 1960 by Jean (Hans) Arp, German, 1887-1966, polished bronze

"Bird in Space," 1931 by Constantin Brancusi, Romanian, 1876-1957, in polished bronze
"What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things."

Appalachian Spring Suite at the Hollywood Bowl

On Thursday night, September 4th, Colleen and I went to the Hollywood Bowl with neighbor John and his daughter.  We enjoyed the L.A. Philharmonic conducted by Ludovic Morlot playing two pieces by Ravel including "Mother Goose Suite," and a Barber Violin Concerto performed by 17 year-old Simone Porter.  The Colburn School student dazzled us with her fine aggressive performance of the challenging piece.   The second included another Ravel piece, "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte," and Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring."  We were especially taken by the music featuring the clarinet played beautifully Burt Hara.  He is a great addition to the orchestra.

The evening ended with fireworks exploding above the bowl shell to the music of "Hoe-Down" from Aaron Copland's "Rodeo."  We thoroughly enjoyed this evening of beautiful music from these great composers, Ravel, French (1875 to 1937)and Barber and Copland, Americans. Barber lived from 1910 to 1981.  Copland lived from 1900 to 1990.

Simone Porter

Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Burt Hara, Clarinet

Craft & Folk Art Museum

On Wednesday, September 3rd, my friend Chris and I went to the Craft & Folk Art Museum.  It was closed (like LACMA) but we did see a sculpture created in the entry by self-taught artist Brent Spears, know as Shrine.  He creates murals and temples made from trash and found objects.  The description stated:  "Shrine's visionary art practice is a progressive, spiritual, and social stance.  A desire for sustainable living and spontaneous visual culture informs his practice of dumpster-diving and reclaiming discarded objects...he refers to his confluence of global art  projects as an Empire of Love."

Here are pictures of "The Empire of Love Shack" at the Craft and Folk Art Museum located across the street from the La Brea Tar Pits on Wilshire Blvd.

Marsden Hartley, The German Paintings

A new exhibit at LACMA is entitled "Marsden Hartley, The German Paintings, 1913-1915."  This American painter, born in Maine, lived from 1877-1943.  From 1912 to 1915 he lived in Europe, in Paris and then in Berlin.  While in Paris, he was introduced to Gertrude Stein's salon where he met Prussian officer, Karl von Freyburg who became his lover.  He moved to Berlin to be with von Freyburg and this influenced his painting.  He created canvases that were memorials to von Freyburg to died in the war in 1914 on October 7 in France.  Here is one of his paintings on exhibit at the museum entitled "The Iron Cross."  This refers to the medal awarded to von Freyburg after his death.  The exhibit shows many of the 45 paintings that were created as memorials to von Freyburg by Hartley and exhibited in Munich in October 1915.  The artist left Europe in December of that year.

"Iron Cross," 1915 by Marsden Hartley

Der Blaue Reiter group at LACMA

On August 28th, my friend Bonnie and I enjoyed a visit to Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Expressionist Exhibit.  In this visit, I again enjoyed the wonderful colors and creations of the German and French Expressionists in the years leading up to the First World War.  I was especially moved by Der Blaue Reiter group that exhibited together in Munich, German from 1911 to 1914.  They were founded by a number of Russian emigrants, including Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin and native German artists Franz Marc, August Macke, Gabriele Munther, Lyonel Feininger, and Albert Bloch.  Paul Klee, Henrich Campendonk, and French artist, Robert Delaunay were also involved in shows sponsored by this group.  Kandinsky wrote that the name was derived from Marc's enthusiasm for horses, Kandinsky's loved of riders, combined with a shared loved of the color blue.  For Kandinsky, blue was the color of spirituality:  "The darker the blue, the more it awakens human desire for the eternal." This is from his 1911 book On the Spiritual in Art.

World War I ended the movement in 1914.  August Macke and Franz Marc died in the war serving in the German army.  Kandinsky, von Werefkin and Jawlensky were forced to move back to Russia because of their Russian citizenship.

Here are some of their paintings in the exhibit:

"Saint-Severin No. 2," 1909 by Robert Delaunay, French, 1885-1941

"Red Eiffel Tower (La Tour rouge)," 1911-12 by Robert Delaunay

"Fairy Princess with a Fan," 1912 by Alexel Jawlensky, Russian, active in Germany, 1864-1941

"Red Blossom," 1910 by Alexel Jawlensky

"Sketch, Nudes on Vermillion," 1909-1910 by Franz Marc, German 1880-1916

"Stables," 1913 by Franz Marc

"Harlequin and Columbine," 1913 by Henrich Campendonk, German, 1889-1957

"Landscape with Cows, Sailing Boat, and Figures," 1814 by August Macke, German 1887-1914

"Sketch I for Painting with White Border," 1913 by Wassily Kandinsky, Russian, active Germany and France 1866-1944
Kandinsky's use of white is a reference to "the harmony of silence."

A Visit to Getty Villa

On August 25th I visited the Getty Villa in Malibu with friends, Sandy and Tim.  The morning marine layer was just lifting as we arrived.  The setting of the museum, a replica of a 2000 year-old villa built in Herculaneum near Pompeii, Italy and buried under tons of volcanic ash and debris from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. is a beautiful creation.  The antiquities from 1500 plus years ago are amazing and interesting to re-explore in detail.

Here is a bit of what I saw last week:

My friends in the beautiful Villa formal garden 

The mosaic fountain in the East garden 

Storage Jar with the Judgement of Paris, Greek, made in Athens about 360 B.C.
In this first episode of the story of the Trojan War, Paris, prince of Troy, chooses Aphrodite, who bribed him by offering him, Helen, queen of Sparta, who was consider the most beautiful mortal woman.  Paris took off with Helen and started the Trojan War..."the face that launched a thousand ships" according to Christopher Marlowe.

"Poet as Orpheus with Two Sirens,"  Greek, made in Taras, South Italy, 330-360 B.C.
Orpheus, son of Apollo (god of prophesy and music) was the most skilled singer in antiquity.  Sailing with Jason and the Argonauts, Orpheus was able to over power the Sirens, mythical bird women whose seductive singing lured sailors to their death.  Orpheus' singing despaired the Sirens who then threw themselves into the sea.

On the right is a statuette of a Goddess, probably Ceres, Roman, A.D. 50-75 on the left is a Statuette of a Fertility Goddess, Greek, made in Boiotia, 600-575 B.C., Terracotta, in the center is a Mixing Vessel with Triptolemos, Greek, made in Athens, about 470 B.C..   Triptolemos, a prince of the city Eleusis sits on a snake-drawn, winged chariot.  Demeter who appears behind him with stalks of wheat, gave him the chariot so that he could spread the knowledge of grain cultivation.  Her daughter, Kore, stands before him. In the center is an Applique with Ceres, Roman, A.D. 100-200, silver