Matthew Felix Sun - Art · 文化 · Kunst

My Favorite Collections at Musei Capitolini, Roma

2012-02-07T02:43:00.000-08:00

Source: Legion of Honor

Originally, I was planning to describe my two favorite collections from each museums I've visited, more or less in the order of my visits. However, the current exhibit of Bernini's Medusa at Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco, made me think more of the museum it belongs to, therefore, I'll make another exception and talk about this museum ahead of its planned schedule.

Medusa is a wonderful 1640s marble sculpture on loan from Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums), Rome. It is incredibly horrifying yet sensual. A masterpiece. Yet, when I visited Rome in 2000, other two sculptures in the courtyard of the museum impressed me more.

One is the Colossus of Constantine. Wikipedia described this work vividly: "The Colossus of Constantine was a colossal acrolithic statue of the late Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 280–337) that once occupied the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius near the Forum Romanum in Rome. Portions of the Colossus now reside in the Courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Musei Capitolini, on the Capitoline Hill, above the west end of the Forum."

"The great head, arms and legs of the Colossus were carved from white marble, while the rest of the body consisted of a brick core and wooden framework, possibly covered with gilded bronze. (“Acrolithic” means “stone at the extremities”.) Judging by the size of the remaining pieces, the seated, enthroned figure would have been about 12 m (40 ft) high. The head is about 2 ½ m high and each foot is over 2 m long."

They are incredibly huge. Powerful. Stern. In humane. If anyone has any doubt of the grandiosity of the Roman Empire, these fragments would rid them once for all.

Colossal statue of Constantine: head

313-324 AD

Marble

cm 260

In the same grandiose scale, the marble sculpture Oceanus framed the plaza with his powerful body. Yet, this water god was nothing but menacing. He was a indulgent father figure, brought bounty to the people. Solid and comforting.

Besides the Olympian scales, this god also echoes the emperor in the somewhat stiff contour and pose, less polished and with less curvature, than that of Bernini's fine piece. More primitive. And that was precisely what made these two pieces most impressive.

Colossal statue restored as Oceanus: “Marforio”
(Ocean god or River god)

1rst - 2nd century AD

Marble

cm 242

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
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<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 7: An Exception - Another Favorite Work from De Young Museum, San Francisco

An Exception - Another Favorite Work from De Young Museum, San Francisco

2012-02-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

Despite the rule I made that I would only cite two pieces from each museum I've visited, I decided to cite a third from the De Young Museum, San Francisco.

The reason for this exception is that I just lost a dear friend, and it was only recently we visited that museum together. I am left with an indelible image of my friend in front of the piece I want to cite today. I will forever cherish the memory of her, from many times and places, including in front of that installation.

Installation: Hovor II, 2004, El Anatsui (b 1944), Woven aluminum bottle caps, copper wire, De Young Museum, San Francisco

This piece calls forth a certain social awareness, which mirrors my friend's lifelong dedication to the well-being of humanity and to social justice. My friend was like a solid oak tree, spreading her branches to reach out as far as she could, in her own saintly yet humble way, as committed as an oak’s deep roots. Those bottle caps in El Anatsui’s Hovor II are like green leaves of the wonderful oak tree, rustling, dancing and falling, making me sad and making me smile.

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 8: My Favorite Collections at Musei Capitolini, Roma<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 6: My Favorite Collections at The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

My Favorite Collections at The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

2012-02-02T04:58:00.000-08:00

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has a wonderful branch - The Cloisters, devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe, with approximately three thousand works dating from the twelfth through the fifteenth century. The building and its cloistered gardens—located in Fort Tryon Park in Northern Manhattan—are treasures in themselves, effectively part of the collection housed there.

In 2010, I visited it for the first time and blogged about it rather broadly. Today, I set up another task of choosing two artworks collected there touched me the most. My picks are a wood sculpture of Crucifix and a tapestry featuring a unicorn in captivity.

The below Crucifix was as moving and otherworldly as a religious devotional piece can be. Its seemingly stiff and old fashioned curving actually enhanced its mystery to modern eyes. It was a reminder of the ancientness of Christian cult and the surrounding murals of Mother of God and other Saints complemented this powerful work wonderfully with their multiple-hued coloration and softer lines. Below the sculpture, narrow slits of lights illuminated the vault reluctantly, and added extra layer of drama and mystery.

Crucifix, Palencia, Castile-León, Spain, c. 1150–1200
Corpus: white oak and pine with polychromy, gilding, and applied stones; Cross: red pine, polychromy

The other favorite of my there is "The Unicorn in Captivity". Crucifix is a religious artifact, while this one is fantastical one, rooted in our ancestors' uninhabited imagination. It mingled, rather deftly, the secular and spiritual. It also embodies the medieval people's desire for a world which was pure and bountiful. Alas, that paradise didn't exist.

The Unicorn in Captive, South Netherlandish, c. 1495-1505
Wool warp with wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts

The Cloisters web site stated that "The Unicorn in Captivity" may have been created as a single image rather than part of a series. In this instance, the unicorn probably represents the beloved tamed. He is tethered to a tree and constrained by a fence, but the chain is not secure and the fence is low enough to leap over: The unicorn could escape if he wished. Clearly, however, his confinement is a happy one, to which the ripe, seed-laden pomegranates in the tree—a medieval symbol of fertility and marriage—testify. The red stains on his flank do not appear to be blood, as there are no visible wounds like those in the hunting series; rather, they represent juice dripping from bursting pomegranates above. Many of the other plants represented here, such as wild orchid, bistort, and thistle, echo this theme of marriage and procreation: they were acclaimed in the Middle Ages as fertility aids for both men and women. Even the little frog, nestled among the violets at the lower right, was cited by medieval writers for its noisy mating."

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 7: An Exception - Another Favorite Work from De Young Museum, San Francisco
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 5: My Favorite Paintings at Metropolitan Museum, New York

My Favorite Paintings at Metropolitan Museum, New York

2012-01-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

I'll be insanely rigid in following my formula to cite only two favorite works from the museums I've visited before, however big or small, even the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the Louvre in Paris.

Met, the most prestigious in the U.S., naturally has more collections I like than I can remember, put amongst its many glories, I pick the two paintings below.

The first one is a triptych - I hope this doesn't mean that I'm cheating - Beginning, 1949, by German painter Max Beckmann:

Beginning
Max Beckmann (German, Leipzig 1884–1950 New York City)
Date: 1949Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 69 x 125 1/2 in. (175.3 x 318.8 cm) 67 1/2 x 36 x 3 1/2 in. (171.5 x 91.4 x 8.9 cm) (Frame, 67.187.53a left panel) 71 1/2 x 61 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (181.6 x 156.2 x 8.9 cm) (Frame, 67.187.53b center panel) 67 1/2 x 36 x 3 1/2 in. (171.5 x 91.4 x 8.9 cm) (Frame, 67.187.53c right panel)

Beckmann is one of the very few artists I not only love, but draw inspiration greedily and incessantly. I am very partial to the pessimistic and apocalyptic Germanic sensitivity. I love Beckmann's insistence of staring down the deepest pit of human miseries and more importantly, the sources of them, while not dismiss a flicker of hope for the humanity. More important, he was able to create paintings with real depth and gravity with incredible beauty and appropriate one.

A survivor of medical services during World War I, "he saw his world as a tragedy of man's inhumanity to man and saw life as a carnival of human folly. His work remained intense and allegorical throughout his life.
The theme that connects the three panels of "Beginning," the most autobiographical of Beckmann's ten triptychs, is a childhood dream. The central panel shows a playroom where a little boy in military costume brandishes a sword as he mightily rides a rocking horse. His Puss 'n Boots doll hangs upside down behind him, presumably slayed by his weapon. The noise he makes has alarmed his parents (seen at the left near the ladder), who have climbed up to inspect his attic kingdom. More prominently placed is the figure of a redheaded woman who reclines seductively, blowing blue bubbles from a pipe. Squeezed between the boy and his fantasy is an old grandmother reading a newspaper. To the left and right, on separate panels, Beckmann painted other memories from his childhood — a hurdy-gurdy grinder and a classroom with teacher and students." [metmuseum.org]

My second favorite, another painting, is a portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam by Hans Holbein the Younger:

Erasmus of Rotterdam
Hans Holbein the Younger (German, Augsburg 1497/98–1543 London)
Date: 1528–32Medium: Oil on linden panel
Dimensions: 7 1/4 x 5 9/16 in. (18.4 x 14.2 cm); painted surface 6 15/16 x 5 1/2 in. (17.6 x 14 cm)

I love this painting, first by the beautiful colors Holbein employed. I'm always partial to the green-tinted blues. His portrait of this great scholar and humanist, was somber, serious yet open. The face of Erasmus was wise and like an opened-book, invited people to benefit from the light it emitted. His features were sharp in the alerted sense, not in a preying mood. His gaze knowing yet humble, and full of consternation and mediation. A wise sage indeed. The brilliantly painted fur trimmings offered the warm tones to balance the cool aqua tint of the background, without rendering his or the painting flamboyant which surely would have made this great scholar a simony hawk.

Though the brush works of Hans Holbein the Younger was not as celebrated as those by Da Vinci, Rubens or Rembrandt, his austere style here, almost a thrown-back to the icon paintings, left us a most memorable and beautiful portrait in the canon. Met surly is proud to have this in its collection.

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 6: My Favorite Collections at The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 4: My Favorite Paintings at Cincinnati Art Museum

A Portrait - First Painting Completed in 2012

2012-01-27T04:54:00.000-08:00

My first completed painting this year is a dark portrait with a nightmarish atmosphere. I have been working on this canvas on and off for years, and declared it completed several times, yet every time, soon after, I felt dissatisfaction about it and scolded myself for giving myself an easy pass.

Once more, motivated to correct my "wrong", I took up the challenge to made this painting work. I kept the overall theme of the desire to ascend and motif of ladder(s) and flaming tree. I wanted to present a frustrated desire which was deeply spiritual.

The new element I introduced to this latest reincarnation is a dominant portrait, which was a relic of an icon painting, or the memory of mine of such work, pious, suffering yet otherworldly, and a bit self-pitying and oblivious to surroundings, perhaps a tad narcissistic.

Lastly, several boldly drawn lines dissected the face of this sufferer and I'll leave that to my viewers to interpret them freely.

My Favorite Paintings at Cincinnati Art Museum

2012-01-25T04:58:00.000-08:00

The first American city I lived after graduation from an American university was Cincinnati and its art museum, Cincinnati Art Museum, became my first home museum I have explored multiple times. This happened after I'd visited some wonderful museums in the US, including Metropolitan Museum in New York City, and National Gallery in Washington, D.C., but a home museum is a home museum and the easy access made it special.

The Cincinnati Art Museum features an unparalleled art collection of more than 60,000 works spanning 6,000 years and boasts of works by Andrea Mantegna, Sandro Botticelli, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Thomas Gainsborough, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase and Paul Cezanne, etc. Amongst works by these renowned masters and other worthy artists, I chose two paintings as my favorites from that museum.

The first choice is a painting by Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) - Portrait of Philip II. It is a quite disturbing painting. We see the king of Spain sat uneasily in his armchair, in wonderful slashed gown and chain of knight order, and a crown on head. But he was hardly regal. His weasel like feature and his furtive side glance made one wince and cowed. This is a sickly monarch tormented by some inner conflict. Only after some mental adjustment, one could move away from gazing into his penetrating eyes and wander about to see the surroundings of this king, and realized the wonderful touches Titian had. This painting is the manifestation of wonders of those venetian masterpieces - buoyant color palette and lively brushstroke, etc. It also had the hallmark of the psychological insight of Titian. It is a marvelous piece.

Portrait Of Philip II, Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) (Italian, b.Circa 1488-Circa 1490, d.1576), Circa 1550-Circa 1551
42 3/16 x 36 1/2 in. (107.2 x 92.7 cm), framed 60 1/4 x 54 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. (153 x 137.8 x 13.3 cm), oil on canvas

The second favorite of mine is a unfinished piece by the French painter Honoré Daumier - the equivalent of a social-realist writers like Émile Zola or Theodore Dreiser. Even in the unfinished stage, this painting had great beauty to recommend it. The delicate profile of the character on the forefront, the flowing lines and the moody atmosphere gave me an impression that any extra paint would be unnecessary. For a painter, it is often hard to judge when to stop. Sometimes, the inability to complete did result in a wonderfully complete piece as this. It also revealed, at least partially, the process of Daumier and that always holds special interest for me, therefore, I chose this my second favorite, despite many other more polished pieces.

Orchestra Stalls,Honoré Daumier (French, b.1808, d.1879), Circa 1865
23 1/2 x 33 1/4 in. (59.8 x 84.3 cm), oil on canvas

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 5: My Favorite Paintings at Metropolitan Museum, New York<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 3: My Favorite Paintings at Museum of Legion of Honor, San Francisco

My Favorite Paintings at Museum of Legion of Honor, San Francisco

2012-01-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

In San Francisco Bay Area, if one wants to see some substantial European painting collection, one has to go to the Museum of Legion of Honor (Legion), though its collection is still small and rather disappointing, even comparing to my previous resident city, Cincinnati, arguably somewhat more provincial.

Even so, I cannot deny that there were some exceptionally beautiful works at the Legion. My favorite piece in that Museum is an extremely atmospheric piece by French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau. It was not big and not flashy. It was luminous and sublime. There was a hushed spell emanating from the depth of the canvas. The figures - a group of performer in respite by the moon light, at a most private and intimate moment, oblivious of the intrusive viewers. I often felt that I should have averted my eyes to be decent but I couldn't. The slightly resigned postures of the two male characters, the composed yet relaxed of the female characters tell incredibly rich stories about them - not sure what but rich. Enigmatic. Engaging. Above all, it was the enchanting beauty lingers with me the most. The contrast of light and dark, the finely defined figures, the fairly-tale atmosphere, the wonderful sheen of the silk dresses, all left indelible impressions on viewers. A quiet rapture it is.

The Foursome (La Partie Quarrée), ca. 1713,
Oil on Canvas, 19 1/2 x 24 3/4 (49.5 x 62.9 cm),
Jean-Antoine Watteau, French 1684-1721

The other favorite of mine in this museum is Marie Claire de Croy, Duchess d'Havre and Child, by the Flemish master, Anthony van Dyck. It is a mother and child portrait, rather official one. Regal and formal. But the spirits of the two figures were so well presented that their humanity penetrated from their stiff armor of clothes. The duchess gazed upon viewers casually, knowing that being a public figure, she would be gazed upon and she willingly submitted to such rule of game. She did her best to perform her public duty, yet maintained her status as a mother and the pillar of support to her young child, who looked like a miniature adult, yet without the self-consciousness and the confidence the mother had. Their relationship was formal but not without love. Their love was expressed by their utter trust, thus moving.

As one of the best draftsmen in the art history, van Dyck demonstrated why such regard amply. He was also a wonderful colorist and the richness of the colors balanced perfectly - never called attention to themselves yet essential. It would be hard to substitute with other tones to the colors he picked. Blue, green, red, silver and above all, black, created a harmonious visual feast.

Marie Claire de Croy, Duchess d'Havre and Child, 1634
Oil on canvas
81 1/2 x 48 1/2 (207 x 123.2 cm)
Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, 1599–1641

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 4: My Favorite Paintings at Cincinnati Art Museum<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 2: My Favorite De Young Museum Collections

My Favorite De Young Museum Collections

2012-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

My next target of this My Favorite Museum Collection Series is De Young Museum in San Francisco. I never truly understand the philosophy of this museum, which collects rather haphazardly, despite the fact that it often mounted blockbuster shows, such as Impressionism and Post-Impressionism from d'Orsay, Collections from Picasso Museum, Paris and the current Venetian Masterworks from Vienna, and a very substantial Southeast Asian artifacts.

Its permanent collections are mostly modern works and American works in the Hudson School style, which was a big bore.

My favorite artwork in this museum is an installation, Anti-Mass, by Cornelia Parker:

This installation, at first glance, was an intriguing but rather pleasant looking mass, which seemed playful and fun. But, once a viewer understands what the fragments are, the perspective changes instantaneously and the work took on a weight far larger than the collective physical weight of these fragments.

De Young Museum describes this piece thus:

This sculpture is constructed from the charred remains of a Southern Baptist church with a predominantly African American congregation, which was destroyed by arsonists. After Parker learned of the arson, she received permission to use the timbers of the burned church to make this piece. In the title, Parker (who was raised Catholic) uses the word "mass" as a reference to both the elemental substance of the universe and the sacramental ritual at the center of the Christian faith. In this way, the realms of science and religion are brought together to emphasize the power of creativity over violence and destruction. Parker's cube appears to defy gravity, the title a witty allusion to this fact, and the sculpture floats ethereally in the air while remaining a monumental object of quiet meditation and reflection.

Confronting viewers with the temporal nature of everything physical, Parker captures the spirit of those who previously worshiped in the building until the fire turned it into a testament to violence directed against African Americans. Her work hovers as a miraculous, spectral object evoking both the lost church and the presence of its congregation through an absence more powerful than any figurative image.

The little video below can give my reader a sense what awe it cast over me:

Another favorite work of mine here is an oil painting by Elmer Bischoff, Yellow Lampshade. I love its melancholic atmosphere and the lovely palettes, which were simultaneously warm and cold, drawing you in and making you want to run away from that enclosed fishbowl but one simply cannot move ones feet. One was transfixed on the spot and got absorbed in that all too familiar dehumanizing modernity:

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 3: My Favorite Paintings at Legion of Honor Museum
<< My Favorite Museum Collection Series 1: My Favorite SFMOMA Collections

2011 Recapulation - Video Presentation of Paintings Completed in 2011

2012-01-18T05:41:00.000-08:00

2011 was a reflection time for me. I spent much energy in learning and thinking, focusing on the future steps I was to take in order to improve myself as an artist and to facilitate my career.The paintings I created last year reflected this somewhat halting yet probing directions. I continued to explore spatial relations and patterns and experimented several abstract pieces. Near the end of the year, I grew tired of the experiment and took solace by working on some more representative or lyric piece, concluding with a portrait, Pierce, which I am rather happy with.

Below is a video presentation of the paintings I created last year. The music is an excerpt from Tomás Luis de Victoria's Requiem Mass (1605):

Paintings included can be viewed on my Flickr portfolio.

>> Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XXIV: To be continued
<< Video presentations of paintings and drawings, Part XXII: Video Presentation of Oil Painting "Progression"

Another Look at De Young Museum in San Francisco

2012-01-15T04:03:00.000-08:00

I have visited De Young Museum in San Francisco's famous Golden Gate Park many times and am very fond of this iconic but not uncontroversial architecture. Every time, I found some startling new angle and even enchanting beauty. Last December, when I returned for a special exhibit, Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, I sat in the beautiful garden for lunch for the first time and had wonderful views from many new angles and was grateful that the cafeteria was so crowded that I had to sit outside. Disadvantage turned into advantage.

This building is muscular and startlingly forceful and I can understand that someone prefer the previous Spanish colonial building. Hopefully, when the copper gains more green patinas, they will grew enchanted by this building as well.

My Favorite SFMOMA Collections

2012-01-13T02:45:00.000-08:00

I have been to many museums, exulted or less glamorous, local or overseas. I savor my memories of many visits to those museums and time to time relive the moments when I encountered a piece made the strongest impression on me. I am going to write about those museums I have been to, with two pieces from each museum. These works I pick don't have to be the "best" or the most renown, but they are to be truly my favorites.

Starting with the obvious museum - San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts (SFMOMA). My favorite of mine at SFMOMA is Die Sechste Posaune (The Sixth Trumpet), Anselm Kiefer (Donaueschingen, Germany, 1945), 1996, painting: emulsion, acrylic, shellac, and sunflower seeds on canvas, 204 3/4 in. x 220 1/2 in. (520.07 cm x 560.07 cm)

I first saw this painting many years ago at SFMOMA and wad struck by the monumentality of this piece. It is of biblical proportion, and its painful scream was quite overwhelming. But, the pain was like those of madrigal from the earlier time, still orderly and restraint, like a Passion Oratorio by Bach.

Underneath the black specks, the deserted fields and hills were haunted spot, with eerie beauty, as if to tell us what we have lost, or what we did not deserve.

This is a beautiful but difficult piece to stare at. It currently is not on display. My guess is that if people see it too often, they might have lost all their wills to live.

My other favorite collection at SFMOMA is by Max Beckmann (Leipzig, Germany, 1884 - 1950, New York City, New York) - Frau bei der Toilette mit roten und weissen Lilien (Woman at Her Toilette with Red and White Lilies), 1938, Oil on Canvas.

Every time when I visited SFMOMA, I would spend some time with this enchanting Frau. I have always been partial with the German painter Beckmann. I loved not only his stark vision but his bold yet exquisite execution. I particularly love the way he used the black color to outline object and give them monumental mass. This Frau is both a typical and an atypical of Beckmann. It has all the trademarks of his palette, his handling of paints in the bold outlines and thin layers. However, this quietly melancholic piece is rather quite comforting, comparing to his more enigmatic and/or apocalyptic pieces. This Frau needs not to be afraid but to be adored.

It is interesting that my favorite works were created by German masters haunted and pained by the ravages of war. I am afraid that I do share such of their apocalyptic point of view. But, by admitting my love for the Beckmann above, I think it is fair to say that I still have some hope and love for humanity.

My Favorite Museum Collection Series
>> My Favorite Museum Collection Series 2: My Favorite De Young Museum Collections

Venetian Masterpieces from Vienna at De Young Museum

2012-01-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last December, I visited the Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna at De Young Museum in San Francisco.

I have visited the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna many years ago but the biggest impressions I gained from that visit were made more by the collections from Dutch, Flemish and German masters such as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Vermeer, Rembrandt, etc. and the salt cellar, Saliera, by Benvenuto Cellini, which was stolen on May 11, 2003and was covered on January 21, 2006, according to Wikipedia. That of course, did not mean that I wasn't moved or impressed by 16th-century Venetian paintings (Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto), or 17th-century Flemish painting (Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck). If my chief impression was on those northern masters, it was due to the incredible richness of the collection that museum boasted.

I was deeply grateful that I had an unhurried experience of viewing their collections of Venetian Masters. There are too many wonderful paintings at De Young but if I attempt, I would name Titian, Giorgione, Tintoretto and Veronese as my favorites, naturally, all those usual suspects.

De Young Museum provided a nice online preview of the exhibit. Since some images they lists are my favorites, I'll cite them below:

Tiziano Vecellio, called Titian. Danaë, ca. 1560. Oil on canvas

Titian. Portrait of Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua, ca. 1534-1536. Oil on canvas

Titian, Portrait of Johann Frederich, Elector of Saxony, 1548-1551. Oil on canvas

Paolo Caliari, called Veronese, Lucretia, ca. 1580–1583. Oil on canvas

Paolo Caliari, called Veronese. Judith with the Head of Holofernes, ca. 1580. Oil on canvas

Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto, Susanna and the Elders, ca. 1555-1556. Oil on canvas

Giorgio da Castelfranco, called Giorgione. Youth with an Arrow, ca. 1508–1510. Oil on panel

True to their reputations, the sense of colors and the freedom of their painterly brushes were exhilarating and ravishing to behold.

A few more thoughts:

1) I love Veronese's Lucretia but Titian outdid him. Veronese's was too calm and demur while Titian's were absolutely wounded and grieving, which was also included in this exhibit:

2) I made a day-trip to Venice from Florence in 2000, especially to see Giorgione's The Tempest (c. 1507-1508, 82 x 73 cm, Oil on Canvas), in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, which was as enigmatic as it was beautiful:

[Wikipedia image, in US public domain]

3) I have seen so many Titian paintings and I cannot remember where I saw which wonderful pieces. For Veronese, I will always associate him with "The Feast in the House of Levi", which also locates in the Gallerie dell'Accademia:

The Feast in the House of Levi (1573), 555 cm x 1280 cm (219 in x 500 in), Oil on canvas
[Wikipedia image, in US public domain]

This special exhibit will end on 12 February 2012 and I strongly recommend it. It's an unforgettable exhibit.

Richard Serra Drawing and 2010 SECA Art Award at SFMOMA

2012-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

Before the year end, I visited SFMOMA for its Richard Serra drawing retrospective exhibit, a cerebral, intriguing more than exhilaration exhibit. I enjoyed it very much but due to the photograph restriction, I can only share some images from SFMOMA's website:

They were just as monumental as his more celebrated sculptures, such as the "Sequence", currently in Stanford University and will move to SFMOMA once its new wing completes, though more somber and forbidding. They were not all drawings - some were done with paint sticks on canvas or linen. The richness of the texture completely compensated the absence of colors.

I then encountered the 2010 SECA Art Award exhibit, which also included many works from past winning entries. In those rooms, everything has something to recommend though not every piece struck me as with exceptional depth, incredible beauty or iconographic longevity. But one piece stood out for its unbridled fun and ever changing shapes and lines - Nest, made of Pencils and Glue, by Gay Outlaw, a 1998 SECA Art Award winner:

Another piece I do live very much was Japanese Maple II, Oil and wax on canvas on panel, by Anne Appleby, 1996 SECA Art Award winner:

Japanese Maple II, Oil and wax on canvas on panel, Anne Appleby, 1996 SECA Art Award

Finally, I'll cite a delicate watercolor on paper by Laurie Reid, another 1998 SECA Art Award winner - Love Litany:

Love Litany, Watercolor on paper, Laurie Reid - 1998 SECA Art Award

Breathtaking Sunset

2012-01-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Last night's sunset was breathtakingly beautiful. I had to praise the cosmic wonder and feel very small and humble. There were so many mystery and I was very tempted to believe in some omnipresent force behind everything. Yes or no, actually, it hardly matters in the end. What is important for every individual is to treasure the little insignificant time we have on earth and live to the fullest potential we have.

One Percent in Medieval Europe

2012-01-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

One percent and the rest 99 percent have been in the news often lately but it is still hard for one group to image the lifestyle of the other. What would we say of the 1% population in the US? What do they own? What do they do? Investors/gamblers? Entertainers? Athletes? I could never image what they do in their own time. The divide was too wide to see across.

However, I got a glimpse of those one percent in medieval France. Reading "A Distant Mirror - The Calamitous 14th Century" by Barbara W. Tuchman, I encountered a paragraph describing the group people on top of the economical/social ladder:

Not all nobles were grands seigneurs like the Coucys[1]. A bachelor knight, possessor of one manor and a bony nag, shared the same cult but not the interests of a territorial lord. The total ranks of the nobility in France numbered about 200,000 persons in 40,000 to 50,000 families who represented something over one percent of the population.

The total population of the US today is 312,795,638 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate, 3 January 2012). Therefore, the 1% of the US population is about 312,800 and if we used the same household size as used by Tuchman, we had 62,560 to 78,200 household in the top 1%.

However, I was not comfortable with that estimate because the household number was decidedly smaller nowadays. In order to be more accurate, I did more search online and compiled some information here:

CNN Money said that "there were just under 1.4 million households that qualified for entry. They earned nearly 17% of the nation's income and paid roughly 37% of its income tax. Collectively, their adjusted gross income was $1.3 trillion. And while $343,927 was the minimum AGI to be included, on average, Top 1-percenters made $960,000."

Washington Post had such analysis:

Taken literally, the top 1 percent of American households had a minimum income of $516,633 in 2010 — a figure that includes wages, government transfers and money from capital gains, dividends and other investment income.

That number is down from peak of $646,195 in 2007, before the economic crisis hit, all adjusted to 2011 dollars, according to calculations by the Tax Policy Center. By contrast, the bottom 60 percent earned a maximum of $59,154 in 2010, the bottom 40 percent earned a max of $33,870, while the bottom 20 percent earned just $16,961 at maximum. As Annie Lowrey points out, that gap has grown wider over time: “The top 1 percent of households took a bigger share of overall income in 2007 than they did at any time since 1928.” (And in New York City, it’s even more skewed: the top 1 percent have an average of $3.7 million in income.)

When you look at the disparity in net worth, things look even more skewed. Wealthier Americans have assets — in home equity, stocks and other investments — that generally outstrip their cash income. Average wealth of the top 1 percent was almost $14 million in 2009, according to a 2011 report from the Economic Policy Institute. That’s down from a peak of $19.2 million in 2007.

By contrast, the poorest households were experiencing declines in net worth even before the recession hit. In 2007, the bottom 20 percent of households had an average (negative!) net worth of –$13,800 in 2007, which fell further to –$27,200 in 2009. Altogether, “average wealth of the bottom 80 percent was just $62,900 in 2009 — a dropoff of $40,900 from 2007,” EPI writes. That means the wealthiest 1 percent held an average of 225 times the wealth of the average median household in 2009 — a ratio that was 125 in 1962.

In this advance e- or i- age, the people who sit at the bottom of social and economical ladder may not look and work like dumb beasts literally as in the Middle Age, but their miseries are not dissimilar to those in the medieval time.

The misery of those poor people in the Dark Age were exacerbated by the nobles who disregarded their "social contract". According to Tuchman in her book, "the object of the noble's function, in theory, was not fighting for fighting's sake, but defense of the two other estates and the maintenance of justice and order. He was supposed to protect the people from oppression, to combat tyranny, and to cultivate virtue - that is, the higher qualities of humanity of which the mud-stained ignorant peasant was considered incapable by his contemporaries in Christianity, if not by its founder."

I am not championing the absolute wealth equality. Rather, I want to point out that the rich have many social obligations as those nobles in the medieval time. They need to care for and protest the poor, to defend civil liberty and oppose political and religious persecution and promote art and literature, etc. Our one-percenters have failed rather terribly just as the latter-day knights and the nobles. And we know what happened to them eventually when their greed became utterly uncontainable.

Image source: Wikipedia, courtesy of CJ DUB

[1] Coucy was in the forefront of action, tied as he was to both France and England. Coucy was a French noble, but he married Isabella, the eldest daughter of Edward III of England. - Wikipedia

Happy New Year - Light Show at SFMOMA

2011-12-31T17:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I saw an amazing light show at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) - an installation by Jim Campbell:

This new installation by acclaimed San Francisco-based artist Jim Campbell explodes the moving image into three dimensions, illuminating the Haas Atrium with a flickering grid of light that is part sculpture, part cinematic screen. Thousands of computer-controlled LED spheres create the illusion of fleeting shadowlike figures that dissolve and resolve as one moves around and beneath the suspended, chandelierlike matrix. Exploded Views investigates the nuances of perception through a series of four different films, changing every two months, the first of which is a collaboration with Alonzo King's LINES Ballet.

They were beautiful to behold from downstairs when the projected images did not really make sense from that angle. Once one climbed on the staircase and saw it from the landing, the images became really fantastic. It was perfect for the holiday season and I share pictures and videos with my friends, wishing everyone a happy new year:

Happy New Year!

Trees at Night

2011-12-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

The year 2011 is near its inevitable end and it's always a bit sad to bid farewell to the old year and hopeful and anxious for the new year.

A group photos I took in my deck of trees at night perfectly illustrated that kind of emotion:

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

I wish everyone happy holidays and a merry Christmas, by sharing some warm pictures of evening lights:

Remembering Mao's Death

2011-12-23T04:41:00.000-08:00

The death of the dictator of North Korea Kim Jong-Il triggered a wave of show of grief in that isolated country. To many informed, Kim Jong-Il was a ruthless and heartless ruler who brought his people to calamities after calamities. Yet, his people mourned his passing.

I suspect that their sorrow demonstrated in the pictures above is largely genuine. It's not like they are stupid but they are deceived.

The power of propaganda and brain-wash cannot be underestimated.

The pictures above reminded me what happened in China, when their Chairman Mao Zedong died in September 1976.

Many people cried as if the world came to an end and as if they indeed had lost a most caring father, despite the fact that Mao's long reign had been very destructive and oppressive, which could only be topped by the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Some historical pictures showed how Chinese people showed their collective grief.

I was very young and just started my school. The overwhelming showing off grieve by the adults made a great impression on me, with mixture of fear and joy. It was the kind joy when a calamity we had often prayed for, say before an unprepared final exam, miraculously materialized.

However, I knew that such joy was not to be revealed. At the time, I was not aware of the evilness of Mao therefore didn't harbor any hatred against him yet.

On the national mourning day, we were herded to some room lying between our make-shift classroom, rented in residential area by local government due to lacking classrooms in schools, and my home for a memorial service. The grim atmosphere in the dark room again was impressive and if anyone in my class cried, I suspect it was mostly due to fear or hallucination. But I didn't witness any because we had to bow our heads and look at our feet. Or others' feet. I heard a rumor that a girl spat on her cloth shoes to make them wet as if soaked by tears. I suspected that this was just malicious gossip, but couldn't dismiss it with absolute confidence. We first-graders were capable of playing many tricks to score over others, in order to wangle some praises from our teachers.

When I returned home, I rested in the hallway before I entered our flat, to ensure that any trace of schadenfreude smile be erased from my face. Before I finished hiding my glee, my mother suddenly came out of our flat and startled me. I must looked unnatural due to my inexperience and not having mastered the requisite art of deception. She insisted on interpreting my abashment as the result of my being caught weeping out of grief and felt embarrassed by that and heaped upon me with extravagant praises which I tried to evade in vain. She would not or refused to understand my explanation. Perhaps, her version would have put her mind at better ease?

Anyway, during those days, kids had a little bit more leverage to do whatever we pleased. Besides, after we'd witnessed how adults howling like wounded animals in the most ungainly ways, their collective authorities eroded quite a bit.

Sometimes, it was even comical.

The last picture above showed that all the mourners had a black band on their left arms - a sign for mourning in then China. If the deceased were a woman, the band should be worn on the right arms by her mourners.

In one P.E. class in the following days, we were drilled repeated to turn left or right because some of my classmates had trouble in following the commands of "Left Turn" and "Right Turn". Some of us were not quite able to tell left from right. To make things simple, our P.E. teacher told us that it were our left arms wearing the black band, therefore, we ought to turn towards that direction when he called out "Left Turn".

Even so, one boy still turned to his right on such command. Our P.E. teacher was furious and almost struck the poor boy before he realized that the boy was wearing his black band on his right arm.

I don't remember the name and the face of that poor boy. But he must be a poor one. I remember that most of us have beautiful shining new black band made of some nice, wrinkle-free material while his was a miserable looking one, trimmed out of an old pair of trousers or jacket. Surely his parents did not purchase black cloth for the band despite the fact that all residents were given extra rations for cloth that month and for that we despised him and laughed at his mistake most heartily.

Photorealistic Caravaggio

2011-12-21T18:40:00.000-08:00

My friends are often surpised to learn that Caravaggio has never been my most favorite artist -
indeed, I like him very much, but never truly in love with his paintings - despite the fact that he had many qualities to recommand him, such as the heightened theatricality and emotional charge, the provocative poses of the youths, his bold coloration, and the sleek beauty of the fabrics, fruits and other objects - all of which were solidly in the realm of my admiration.

Therefore, my attitude towards Caravaggio baffled even myself till recently.

I'm reading an art book, the Arts of Man, by Eric Newton, which traced the art development though styles and movements.

On page 170, it commented a painting by Caravaggio, "St. Matthew and the Angel", c. 1600:

It was probably painted in 1600. The Mannerism of late 16th Century was coming to an end. The baroque style that was to succeed it a few years later had not yet established itself. Caravaggio was a born rebel and his startling realism, which not only presented staints as peasants, with the faces and gestures of peasants, but portrayed them in the harsh cold light that we loosely call "pohotgraphic", at once shocked the conventional but soon delighted the adventurous.

Once his innovations were understood they spread like wildfire both to Holland, where a group of painters centered on the Utrecht imitated his choice of types and his sytem of dramatic lighting, and to Spain, where the yound Velasquez even outdid him in realistic intensity. There was a brief period during which it almost looked as though the new realism might become the accepted style of painting throughout Europe. But in the end the photographic vision of Caravaggio was superseded by the exuberance of Rubans and the profundity of Rembrandt. Velasquez, himself, eventually abandoned the harsh cold shadows of Caravaggio and worked out a new system. In his portrait of Queen Mariana, it is evident that the influence of Caravaggio has at last been shaken off.

These paragraphs pointed out the reason behind my somewhat resistance towards Caravaggio. To me, despite the obvious reasons to recommend Caravaggio, I found his somewhat plastic photorealism a little bit off putting. However, what Caravaggio produced was far more interesting and engaging than the utlra-photorealistic paintings popular as a movement that began in the U.S. in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information creating a painting that appears photographic. One has to ask what the point is to recreate something as real as that. Without an re-interpretation, this clinical photorealism is slavish and cold-hearted.

I am also very relieved that the photorealism forged by Caravaggio didn't not dominate the art scene for long. He was a unique artist and his style suited him perfectly but in the lesser hands, that kind of photorealism could become very boring soon.

"Boule de Suif" and "The Flowers of War" - on Sacrificing the Prostitutes for the "Greater Good"

2011-12-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

A blockbuster movie came out of China, The Flowers of War, which just was nominated for a Golden Globe best foreign film award, compelled me to compare it to another artwork on the sacrificing of prostitute(s) for the "greater good".

It was a very BIG movie, based on the horrifying events of the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, adapted from the novel The 13 Women of Nanjing by Yan Geling which tells the story of thirteen prostitutes who stepped in for female university students who were to be taken as "escorts" for the invading Japanese Imperial troops during the period when nearly 20,000 women and girls were raped and killed. The production cost was reported to be close to US$100 million.

Noble story. However, the advance promotional images, trailers and the premiere gala pictures made one suspect that this self-sacrificing story was told in a way with an almost sadistic glee, with the renown director Yimou Zhang demonstrated his unbelievable ability to turn any kind of human suffering and tragedy into a sumptuous visual banquet.

According to summaries I read from the reviews and garnered from trailers, there was an entertaining grand entrance of those prostitutes who were supposedly fleeing from terrifying soldiers - in elegant, glamorous tight-fitting gowns, with perfectly permed hair, impractical high-heels and glossy, shining lips to match. Didn't they know that by dressing that way, they were courting trouble? They looked like coming to a resort for a relaxing vacation. Were they really so brainless? Apparently, all these were calculated to create an even more entertaining scene - a cat fight between these "loose" women and uptight, prepubescent catholic school female students.

Then a love affair between an American outsider and the leading prostitute. They talked about love, not just out of ordinary behavior when cornered in an impossible position. No, they were taking about true love.

Then, the loving shots of those perfect bodies being exposed inch by inch when the prostitutes took off their colorful gowns, in order to change into the students' plain ones.

From the summary, it seemed a claustrophobic and intimate story, begging to be told in an austere and contained way. Instead, Zhang served us a full course meal, in technicolor, with canvas as big as that of the proscenium stage of the Metropolitan Opera. There were many virtuosic shots of the war to make you want to cheer for the technical known-how, and many more gorgeous and flashy shots of feminine beauty to entice the audience to drool.

One of the reviewers from Variety said thus:

Zhang entertainingly tracks the tensions among this strange gathering of individuals, even staging a near-catfight between the indignant students and their diva-like guests. But the infighting comes to an end when Japanese troops invade the church and, not realizing there are courtesans hiding in the vicinity, try to force themselves on the students -- a sickening scene marked by the girls' screams and the sounds of clothing being ripped, all whipped into a frenzy of terror by d.p. Zhao Xiaoding's handheld camera. Yet the attackers are momentarily held at bay when Miller, in a moment of moral courage worthy of Karl Malden in "On the Waterfront," finds a way to stop their assault.

The sequence grips even as its stylistic heavy-handedness elicits a wince, something that could be said of the picture as a whole. Scene by scene, "The Flowers of War" is an erratic and ungainly piece of storytelling, full of melodramatic twists and grotesque visual excesses (a bullet pierces first a stained-glass window and then a girl's neck), which are nonetheless delivered with startling conviction. Zhang has no interest in sparing the viewer's sensitivity, and his willingness to push past the limits of good taste is what paradoxically lends his film a curious integrity."

Review posted on Slant Magazine stated that:

When Japanese soldiers invade the sanctity of a Catholic church in occupied Nanking, they demand the presence of the prepubescent students at an official function, one which, given an early scene of Japanese infantrymen attempting to brutally violate these very girls, will certainly involve rape and likely lead to their deaths.

Also camping out at the church is John (Christian Bale), an American mortician turned surrogate priest, and a dozen prostitutes who've come to seek sanctuary. With the hookers hidden away from sight, that benevolent group hits on the idea of pulling the old switcheroo, dressing themselves as the students and going willingly to their doom in the girls' place. There's some debate as to the moral efficacy of the maneuver, some pathos milked from John's inevitable romantic attachment to one of the prostitutes, and from the equivalencies the film draws between the young girls and their older counterparts, both of whom were subjected to childhood-defeating stresses at a young age. But mostly, the decision is one readily accepted by both the film and its characters without too much handwringing and the film's heavily educed final act simply milks unnecessary tension in the endless preparations for the final horrible moment.

Lastly, MovieWeb.com said this about the movie:

As with other films by Yimou, principally "Raise the Red Lantern" (a powerful lord with three wives puts a red lantern outside the home of the spouse he will honor that night, leading to vigorous competition among the women), cinematography is so gorgeous that you can't be blamed for thinking that plot and performance take second and third place. In "The Flowers of War," photographer Zhao Xioding, shooting on location in Nanking, puts to shame all cheapskate producers who rely on digital photography at the expense of film, with all the lushness that only celluloid can evoke. The slow motion takes of panes of glass breaking, or bullets piercing the stained glass windows of a cathedral, the composite shots of exquisitely costumes courtesans are easily enough to make your attendance at this film more than worthwhile. Whether the story, given its saccharine patina, its graphic look at the expression "the prostitute with the heart of gold," can begin to match the cinematic looks, is quite another story.

This moving little humanist story was turned into an overwrought melodrama, largely due to Zhang's determination to beat Hollywood at its own game. He is a visual artist and exhibitor, but not a humanist. And the biggest problem I was that it seemed a foregone conclusion that the prostitutes ought to be sacrificed to save the more innocent ones. No question asked. That upsets me. The movie apparently didn't dig into the psychology of the characters. There were just situations and Voyeurism sensation. The sumptuousness was seriously improper and implausible.

Look at the below images I culled online for the points I made.

Movie Poster

Production Photo

Production Photo

Production Photo

Poster

Premium promotion

Trailer

This movie, naturally reminded me of another literature regarding the the sacrifice of prostitutes -- Boule de Suif, the short story by the French writer Guy de Maupassant. Wikipedia summarized the story as below:

The story is set in the Franco-Prussian War and follows a group of French residents of Rouen, recently occupied by the Prussian army. Sharing the carriage are Boule de Suif (Suet Dumpling Butterball, also translated as Ball-of-Fat), a prostitute whose real name is Elisabeth Rousset; the strict Democrat Cornudet; a shop-owning couple from the petty bourgeoisie, M. and Mme. Loiseau; a wealthy upper-bourgeoisie factory-owner and his wife, M. and Mme. Carré-Lamadon; the Comte and Comtesse of Bréville; and two nuns. Thus, the carriage constitutes a microcosm of French society as a whole.

The occupants initially snub Boule de Suif but their attitudes change when she produces a picnic basket full of lovely food and offers to share its contents with the hungry travellers.

At the village of Tôtes, the carriage stops and the occupants realise they have blundered into Prussian-held territory. A Prussian officer detains the party at the inn indefinitely without telling them why. Over the next two days, the travellers become increasingly impatient, and are finally told by Boule de Suif that they are being detained until she agrees to sleep with the officer. She is repeatedly called before the officer, and always returns in a heightened state of agitation. Initially, the travellers support her and are furious at the officer's arrogance, but their indignation soon disappears as they grow angry at Boule de Suif for not sleeping with the officer so that they can leave. Over the course of the next two days, the travelers use various examples of logic and morality to convince her it is the right thing to do; she finally gives in and sleeps with the officer, who allows them to leave the next morning.

As they continue on their way to Le Havre, these 'representatives of Virtue' ignore Boule de Suif and turn to polite topics of conversation, glancing scathingly at the young woman while refusing to even acknowledge her, and refusing to share their food with her in the same way that she did at the beginning. As the coach travels on into the night, Cornudet starts whistling the Marseillaise while Boule de Suif seethes with rage against the other passengers, and finally weeps for her lost dignity.

To me, Maupassant dug far deeper into human psyche and our conduct, relations in a coded social structure and how the humiliated and persecuted were always applauded to their "voluntary" sacrifice for the "greater good" then condemned for their immorality once the crises for the rich and powerful have been averted.

I'm not condemning the movie "The Flowers of War" on their praising of the prostitutes' sacrifice. Rather, I'm asking why wouldn't the movie concentrate on saving them instead.

Remembering Václav Havel (5 October 1936 - 18 December 2011)

2011-12-18T11:49:00.000-08:00

Amongst the political figures from the second half of the 20th century, one of them truly earned my admiration - the former president of Czechoslovakia then of Czech Republic, Václav Havel (5 October 1936 - 18 December 2011), who died today.

He was a renowned playwright and poet and before the fall of the communist regime, he was a leading voice of dissent and had been imprisoned due to his involvement with the human rights manifesto Charter 77, which brought him international fame as the leader of the opposition in Czechoslovakia.

1989, I was a college student and marginally participated the mass demonstration for democracy and free press in China, and only witnessed the brutal crackdown by the government in mid-year and then with envy, saw the success of the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, which led to the end of the communist government and launched Havel into the presidency.

I admired the then Chinese Communist Party chief, Zhao Ziyang, for his refusal to participate in the crackdown with troops, yet, grieved that there was no Chinese Havel to lead the fight for human rights and democracy in my native country.

Many years later, in 2002, after I had become the U.S. citizen, I visited Czech Republic and was by chance, had one of the most amazing experiences in my life.

We arrived in Prague in the evening and the next day, we visited the imposing Castle - the inspiration for Franz Kafka's eponymous novel. There were musical performances in the castle, and the musicians would appear in period costumes. It would be fine and fun but just a tad too precious and touristy. I made a decision that after the tour of the castle and the cathedral, we ought to go to theMunicipal House to try our luck to buy a pair of tickets for that evening's opening performance of Prague Spring International Music Festival. It was on May 12, the day of the opening of the festival, also the day of the composer Bedřich Smetana's death, and the program would be Smetana: Má vlast (My Country), an evening-length six movements tone poems. Smetana is considered the founding father of the national music movement and in Má vlast, he combined the symphonic poem form pioneered by Franz Liszt with the ideals of nationalistic music which were current in the late nineteenth century. Each poem depicts some aspect of the countryside, history, or legends of Bohemia.

When we arrived at Municipal House, a couple hours before the performance, we realized that this would be a grand gala performance and our chance of getting a pair of tickets was practically none but we were extremely luck because someone just returned a pair of tickets to the box office. After procuring the tickets, we pushed through guests just got off the limousines to have a quick bite for dinner.

When we came back, we automatically went to the nose-bleeding seats but was sent down to a corridor. We saw people at the far end of the corridor but they didn't not talk to us and only gestured that we could go no further. Eventually we found our seats, in a box, to the left of the stage.

Just before the performance, some music started and people started to get up so we followed suit and then realized that the president Havel and the First Lady of Czech Republic emerged from that box we tried to crash in. It was a thrilling moment. I am not a hero-worshiper but I had deep admiration for Havel - for his tireless fight for human rights, for his wisdom and his integrity. He was not typical politician and he relied on his humanism to guide his country towards a better future.

Czech people love their music and Smetana's music spoke eloquently of the characteristics of the land and its inhabitants. The performance of the soulful and stirring music was absolutely electrifying and the presence of the Havels definitely etched this concert into my memory.

Winter Morning Moon

2011-12-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

One morning, shortly after the full moon eclipse, I was startled by the clarity of the moon against the deep blue winter morning sky.

The moon invoked a feeling which was both cosmic and intimate, as even the primitives would have felt hundred of thousands years ago, when they took a break of daily chores and started to contemplate:

Silke Otto-Knapp at Berkeley Art Museum

2011-12-11T16:21:00.001-08:00

Last week, I stopped by the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM) briefly and was delighted to see the special exhibit "Silke Otto-Knapp: A light in the moon / MATRIX 239" (September 30, 2011 - January 15, 2012).

The website of Berkeley Art Museum stated that:

With layered washes of similarly hued watercolors, the canvases of London-based German artist Silke Otto-Knapp seem at first monochromatic, but slight changes in light or a viewer’s position reveal figures or landscapes. Conflating the mediums of painting and performance, Otto-Knapp draws from the vocabulary of abstraction to renew our engagement in the act of seeing.

Otto-Knapp's images were extremely haunting and had a delicate beauty, even the somewhat awkward postures of the human figures hypnotized me with their inevitability and "naturalness", like the chromatic music by Bellini or Wagner. Understated yet with myriad layers of meanings. Never melodramatic.

There was another special exhibit, 1991: The Oakland-Berkeley Fire Aftermath Photographs by Richard Misrach, resonated with more urgency with local residents who just witnessed a fire destroying a four-story 1916 building, including all the 39 apartments and two very popular restaurants, on the iconic but economically struggling Telegraph Avenue.

The BAM website said this about the exhibit:

In October 1991, immediately following a catastrophic firestorm that struck the Oakland and Berkeley hills, renowned Bay Area photographer Richard Misrach ventured into the fire zone armed with his eight-by-ten-inch view camera. Working alone amidst the ruins, he roamed devastated neighborhoods, recording stark vistas and intimate details of destroyed homes. The resulting images are distinguished by Misrach’s masterful framing of his subjects: the compositions are dramatic without being sensational and incisively reveal a world transformed.

Indeed, the eerie and alien landscape showed the devastation without being unduly sensational and that was a very impressive achievement:

Again, I savored the industrial, muscular looking building as much as I could because due to seismic reason, this building would cease to serve as the museum in a not so distant future.

Disorienting Timeline

2011-12-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

Recently I read several books on Renaissance artists and I was quite disorientated by the timeline of the world history.

I had quite good education when I grew up in China and we studied both Chinese and world histories but these two strands of history lines remain disjointed and when I am confronted with historical events or figures from these two spheres, they often have struck me different senses of remoteness.

For example, the nine crusades took place from 1096-1272, during those time, China was called Song Dynasty (960-1279), which was a time the Chinese saw the prosperous trades, commerce and arts, yet constantly losing lands to the northern nomadic nations. Song was conquered by the Mongolian. To me, Song Dynasty didn't not invoke the romantic knight culture permeated in the ballads and epic poems such as La Chanson de Roland, or Orlando Furioso. Rather, it was a period of familiar and tangible, a period of craftsmanship and petty bourgeoisie, not dissimilar to the Renaissance period in Europe. We understand the joy and pain of those Chinese folks, but have hard time to understand those strange etiquette of the knightly courts and the reining ladies.

Musée National du Moyen Âge: Lady and the Unicorn

The Italian Early Renaissance occurred during 1400-90 and the High Renaissance took place in the period of 1490-1530, when China was called Ming (Dynasty) (1368-1644), which was second to the last. Since I have learned so many dynasties and their stories preceding to it, Ming Dynasty was almost a modern time to me. Because my knowledge of western history was confined to the ancient Greece, Roman, and a bit of Medieval time, the Renaissance time was assigned to a more ancient time frame in my mind.
The Baroque era in the west took place in the period of 1600-1700. Thinking of Bach, Mozart. They were relatively ancient figures. Yet, again, in China, the last Dynasty Qing came into existence from 1644. Comparing to all those long and varied stories of the proceeding dynasty, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was almost intimate to many Chinese.

This sense of confusion does not dissipate with my increasing familiarity with western history. The more details I learn, the more confused I got. This confusing sense actually is quite enriching.

City wall dated from Ming Dynasty, Xi'an, China

Colorful Leaves on Dark Road

2011-12-06T18:09:00.000-08:00

Several days ago, after a cold shower, many beautiful red and yellow leaves rested quietly on the dark paved road, with beads of rain on them like adoring jewels. Both lovely and melancholic.

On Authenticity and Mastery

2011-12-05T02:00:00.000-08:00

There are a spate of news in the art world involving the authenticity of paintings by famous artists, from New York, Amsterdam and China.

The biggest news was the possible forgery story reported by New York Times, Possible Forging of Modern Art Is Investigated. The reported said that

Federal authorities are investigating whether a parade of paintings and drawings, sold for years by some of New York’s most elite art dealers as the work of Modernist masters like Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock, actually consists of expert forgeries, according to people who have been interviewed or briefed by the investigators.

Most of the works, which have sold individually for as much as $17 million, came to market though a little-known art dealer from Long Island, Glafira Rosales, who said she had what every gallery dreams of: exclusive access to a mystery collector’s cache of undiscovered work by some of the postwar world’s great talents, including Mark Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn.

In several cases, Ms. Rosales sold the works through an art-world luminary, Ann Freedman, until 2009 the president of the prestigious gallery Knoedler & Company on the Upper East Side. Other works were sold by Julian Weissman, an independent dealer who had worked for Knoedler in the 1980s and had represented Motherwell when he was alive.

A lawyer for Ms. Rosales, Anastasios Sarikas, acknowledged that she was a target of the inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Sarikas said that his client had "never intentionally or knowingly sold artwork she knew to be forged."

The Knoedler gallery, which abruptly closed Wednesday after 165 years in business, has not been implicated in the investigation. But on Friday a London collector, Pierre Lagrange, who bought one of the works, "Untitled 1950" by Pollock, for $17 million in 2007, sued the gallery and Ms. Freedman, contending that it is a forgery. His forensic analysis found that two paints in the work had not been invented until after Pollock's death, the suit said.

Below are two of the works suspected of being forgeries, one was once attributed to Robert Motherwell and the other Jackson Pollock:

A painting no longer attributed to Robert Motherwell. [Image source: NYTimes.com]

A painting exhibited as a Jackson Pollock. In 2003, an independent art research group declined to authenticate it for a potential buyer, citing unanswered questions about its provenance [Image source: NYTimes.com]

Another story came from Beijing, China. According to People Daily, a Chinese painting, West Lake Cooking Smoke, by Mr. LIANG Baiyun, a former student of the much more famous painter, Mr. XU Beihong (1895-1953), was being offered at Beijing Poly 2011 Autumn Auction as work by Xu, after the tinkering of signatures and other inscriptions. People Daily elaborated that the painting had been included in Christie's 1992 Spring Auction in Hong Kong. The original inscription stated clearly that Mr. Liang invited Mr. Xu to write more inscriptions on the painting. It was largely due to Mr. Xu's calligraphy, the painting was included in Christie's aution.

On December 5, 2011, when it made appearance in Beijing, the alleged Xu' painting look exactly the same as the one by Liang, [see picture below, the left was offered in Hong Kong, attributed to Liang, while the right was offered in Beijing and attributed to Xu], except for the absence of Liang's seal at lower right corner and part of the writing was changed from Liang invited Xu to write an inscription to Liang invited Xu to paint the painting.

[Image source: People.com.cn]

To my eyes, they look the same, if the images provided by People Daily were true.

The third story was the authentication of a Rembrandt painting, Bearded Old Man, which was attributed to his student(s).

X-ray analysis revealed outlines of a self-portrait underneath the 1630 "Bearded Old Man." [Image source: Rembrandt House Museum / AP]

SFGate.com reported that

Experts have reclassified a painting of an old man long thought to have been made by one of Rembrandts' students as having come from the hand of the Dutch master himself, after X-ray analysis revealed outlines of a self-portrait of the artist as a young man underneath.

Ernst van de Wetering of the Rembrandt Research Project cited the new X-ray scans of the painting "Bearded Old Man," in addition to stylistic analysis and circumstantial evidence in support of the conclusion.
Van de Wetering dates the small (6 by 8 inches) but emotive painting to 1630, when Rembrandt van Rijn would have been 24 years old. His reputation as a portraitist was rapidly growing and he was preparing to leave Leiden for Amsterdam, which at that time was enjoying its golden age as a major naval power.
The painting shows a man with unkempt white hair, lost in thought with just a hint of sadness.

The scans revealed what is thought to be an uncompleted self-portrait by Rembrandt underneath, though the X-rays reveal only bare outlines.

Van de Wetering said that the style and quality of the painting itself provide the strongest arguments for its authenticity, but the existence of the underlying portrait was important, too.

However, four works formerly attributed to his students - a talented group in their own right - have been reclassified as by Rembrandt since 2008, often with the help of new technology.

All these made very interesting read and challenge people's perceptions on the value of artworks, connecting to established brand (artists) or not.

Ideally, artworks should be judged by artistic merits alone but since the perception of artworks are mostly subjective and if they were a financial burden, in practice, branding was just as important. As a painter, surely I would love to see my name as a successful brand, to enable more people to appreciate my work. I am not guilty free from judging works by its authorship. Therefore, I cannot condemn such tendency of human condition.

I do hope is that art buyers would buy works more relying on if the works would truly touch, impress, stun and move them, and try to be influenced by the branding less.

This discussion leads to the fourth story in the artwork, which involved one of the most influential collectors in the world, Charles Saatchi. British newspaper, Guardian reported that Saatchi portrayed the art world as 'Vulgar, Eurotrashy, masturbatory':

Charles Saatchi has launched an incendiary attack on the buyers and dealers who populate the art world. Photograph: James King for the Observer [Image source: guardian.co.uk]

Charles Saatchi, the most important British art collector of his generation, has launched an incendiary attack on the buyers, dealers and curators who populate the contemporary art world and concluded that many of them have little feeling for art and cannot tell a good artist from a bad one.

He says: "It is the sport of the Eurotrashy, hedgefundy, Hamptonites; of trendy oligarchs and oiligarchs; and of art dealers with masturbatory levels of self-regard." Saatchi described the Venice Biennale, scene of the world's biggest contemporary art jamboree, as a place where these people circulate "in a giddy round of glamour-filled socialising, from one swanky party to another".

"Do any of these people actually enjoy looking at art?" asks Saatchi. "Do they simply enjoy having easily recognised big-brand-name pictures, bought ostentatiously in auction rooms at eye-catching prices, to decorate their several homes, floating and otherwise, in an instant demonstration of drop-dead coolth and wealth? Their pleasure is to be found in having their lovely friends measuring the weight of their baubles, and being awestruck."

For 30 years he has been a voracious buyer of new art and was instrumental in the success of the Young British Artists movement, buying up the best of the likes of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin and exhibiting it at the groundbreaking Sensation show at the Royal Academy in 1997.

But Saatchi says he finds the new art world toe-curling. "My little dark secret is that I don't actually believe many people in the art world have much feeling for art and cannot tell a good artist from a weak one, until the artist has enjoyed the validation of others.

"Few people in contemporary art demonstrate much curiosity, and spend their days blathering on, rather than trying to work out why one artist is more interesting than another."

The Turner-nominated artist Louise Wilson – half of the Wilson twins – said: "Many artists and art works have now definitely become a brand in a sense and some people may well go 'I'll have a Koons and a Gucci.' You can see that happening in certain contexts so in a way he does raise some interesting observations."

The curator Norman Rosenthal said it was impossible to generalise.

"It is very difficult to make a good exhibition," he said, "and the real problem is the art world has become so huge. When Charles and I were younger and doing the world of art it used to be much easier to sort it all out."

What effect Saatchi's intervention will have on a buoyant contemporary art market remains to be seen but Sarah Thornton, the author of Seven Days in the Art World, predicted it would change little.

"This is so disingenuous of Charles Saatchi because he is selling art to these people and he is their role model. I find it shocking that he would come out and say this because his gallery has become a showroom for upcoming auction lots."

Thornton said Saatchi had made many millions selling on much of his collection. "He is feeding the people he is condemning." She put his comments down to "misanthropy".

Saatchi has had a London gallery for contemporary art since 1985 in different locations including St John's Wood, County Hall and since 2008 the former Duke of York's HQ in Chelsea.

According to the Art Newspaper's survey, in 2009 and 2010 the most visited UK show was Van Gogh at the Royal Academy followed by five shows at the Saatchi.

Mr. Saatchi definitely had some point but like it or not, this trend will not change and had not changed since Renaissance time. It was due to Da Vinci's reputation that he was invited to the French court. Artists, who have always been relying on influential patrons and dealers to make good names for themselves, will continue to struggle to establish and nature such valuable relationship, and to adept to the rules of the art-world, despite the fact that most of them would rather spend all their time and energy their studios.

"So Low Show" at Worth Ryder Gallery, UC Berkeley

2011-12-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

"So Low Show" of the honored students at Art Practice Department, University of California, Berkeley opened on 30 November 2011 at Worth Ryder Gallery. There were many fascinating artworks on display. The exhibit consisted of mostly installations and prints, one photography, several watercolors and only one painting. Tradition is definitely perceived as less edgy in academic setting for sure. Installation, performing arts and other flashy stuff are the order of the day. Cannot blame the kids for wanting to be hip.

What I like most are two installations (see images below) - they were equally evocative and even transcendent. Most important to me, they were beautiful to behold, which is not always the case in modern art.

Sketch, Stephanie Smith, metal, graphite

Another my favorite piece was a gesso, charcoal and graphite on canvas by Jessica Kreck below, which was beautiful, moody and mysterious. The execution was excellent.

Untitled, canvas, gesso, charcoal, graphite, Jessica Kreck

There was a series of prints, showing various presses, by Valerie Carbajal:

Some Days are Easier Than Others (Two), Hard ground etching, 6" x 8" zinc plate, Finesse luggage bag, Valerie Carbajal

(Eight)

(Sixteen - Twenty-One)

I also like the same artist's print "We are not Equals; We are Different" below:

We are not Equals; We are Different, Soft ground etching with embossment, Valerie Carbajal

A very fun and ambitious installation was "Home Sweet America", made of handmade wood toys, rug, flags, found furniture by Ariel Ruby. This piece was so engaging that it was heartening to see many people stopped there to play with the toys and to color the wonderful book created by the artist.

Home Sweet America, Handmade wood toys, rug, flags, found furniture, Ariel Ruby

The more traditional works were represented by Bliss Morton, who had wonderful five watercolor and ink paintings, though I did find the most realistic one dull:

Watercolor, Bliss Morton

The Junkyard I (right), Ink and Watercolor, Bliss Morton

The Homestead, Watercolor, Bliss Morton

Other interesting ones are a side way photograph and a group of ceramic (?) plates but I did not find them very meaningful:

Another large-scaled installation strove hard to be avant-garde but the result was a mess and ugly, and I had no stomach to figure out its meanings, if any. My loss?

Overall, it was a wonderful show and the artists ought to be congratulated for their thoughtful endeavors.

How China Beats the U.S.

2011-11-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

Globalization enabled corporations to cut costs, pay less salaries and pensions and reduce inventories. Internet age made it much easier to have as low raw material inventory as possible. The downside of this is that any interruption of the flow of the materials would cause chain-reactions down the pipe and all the way to the end users or consumers.

Take the flooding in Thailand for example. American Public Media reported that "Thailand was such a key manufacturing base. It is a key point of transit for both computer parts -- hard drives in particular -- but also auto parts. It supplies other parts of the world but it also has assembly plants here; so in both cases in the auto industry.

"But also the parts shortage is causing big problems much further afield. In the United States and in Europe, for instance, Honda has had to cut production. Same with computer hard drives. Looking ahead towards the Christmas rush, there are already worries that they're just not going to be able to get the kind of parts they need. So it is a crucial hub in this region -- not just for Asia, but much further afield."

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused similar headache globally as well.

We better prepare for such troubles in the future. Overtly relying on the foreign suppliers, could be a security risk.

China, with its accumulating wealth, is heading to a clashing course with the U.S. headlong. If these two countries are engaged in a war, China could beat the U.S. easily by withholding shipments of all those iProducts, such as iPhone, iPad, etc.

The inconsolable American consumers will storm our governments and pledge their allegiance to whoever would deliver their coveted goods and would be gladly to start to sing "The East is Red"!

[East is Red was a folk-song based ode to the great dictator Mao Zedong.]

Inside Richard Serra's Sculpture "Sequence" at Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

2011-11-29T05:37:00.000-08:00

Three weeks ago, I visited Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center and was deeply impressed by an outdoor monumental steel sculpture "Sequence" by Richard Serra. Due to time constraint, I wasn't able to go inside the twirling spiral spaces formed by curved gigantic steel plates.

Last Friday, I was able to do just that and I was even more astonished, enchanted and enraptured. The most interesting aspect, besides its gigantic size and endless changing forms, is the ever changing interplays of colors, shades, shadows and lines. The warm autumnal sunlight gave it a particularly inviting tinta, in the natural environment, and an unexpected sensuality.

I wonder what it might look like once it's moved to the new wing at SFMOMA. If it would be held indoors, I'm afraid that some of the magic would be lost. Therefore, try to see it, and walk around and through it before it leaves Sanford.

Below are several pictures I took and video compilations:

Second Thoughts on the Sculpture "The Blind" by Lorado Taft

2011-11-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

On 17 November, I shared my thoughts the "Rodin and America" exhibit at Cantor Art Center, Stanford University. I was profoundly moved by a sculpture named "The Blind" by American sculptor Lorado Taft; this sculpture reminded me the novel "Blindness" (The City of Blind) Jose Saramago:

I was very happy to have the chance to see it again last Friday, and was able to spend more time to inspect this work more closely at leisurely pace.

Indeed, the second viewing had revealed many details I didn't take notice at the time when I was blown away by the weighty and dramatic mass as a whole.

Now, I noticed the modulations of the rhythmic lines of the group, the individualism of the faces, etc. I suddenly saw then, that in the middle of this group of blind people, a child, rested on his mother's shoulder and hands, were not blind. He obviously represented hope and future here. The open arms of the man behind him emphasized on the importance of this baby. The baby's right arm stretched out, in a pose could be constructed as blessing, such as baby Jesus does, or like that of the command of Chairman Mao.

Suddenly, this details completely changed my perception of this work. It became very sentimental and lost a great amount of gravity. I believe that the work was created in 1907-08, before the "Great War". I wonder if it were created after World War One, if the sculptor would not impose his optimism upon this group of down-trodden people. Maybe not. Or Maybe yes. Americans are by nature optimistic, almost pathologically so.

I am so disappointed by the artist's failure to be more profound and moving. What a missed opportunity!

Related article: Rodin and Richard Serra in Cantor Art Center, Stanford University

The Bountiful Table on Thanksgiving Night

2011-11-26T13:35:00.001-08:00

Finally, I am relaxed enough to post pictures of the dinner I enjoyed on Thanksgiving night, or Black Friday Eve as some might call it. Very gratifying.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:25:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This morning, when I went downstairs to get my morning newspaper, I was startled by the big package. Giving thanks to this? No way.

These are the things I thank for:

Happy holiday!

Construction As Art - UC Berkeley's Student Resident Hall

2011-11-23T06:17:00.000-08:00

University of California, Berkeley's new student resident hall at the Anna Head site has been growing steadily in the past few months and now, in anticipating of winter rainy season in San Francisco Bay Area, the construction crew wrapped most of the building in white sheets and made the construction site a unlikely art installation:

True, it is not as fancy as the wrapped Reichstag in Germany by Christo and Jeanne-Claude below, but is quite interesting in the understated way.

Taking Full Responsibility at UC Davis - Chancellor Katehi Must Go!

2011-11-22T05:13:00.000-08:00

Following up the police brutality against peaceful protesting students at University of California, Davis (UC Davis) (see video below), Chancellor Linda Katehi did some PR dance, took full responsibility and tried to apologize. The police chief at UC Davis had been put on paid administrative leave. But demand for the resignation of Chancellor Katehi continued.

Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis

People are devided at how much blame Katehi should shoulder. However, if she fails to resign or if the Regents fail to fire her, it is not convince to say that she has taken full responsibility. Hiding behind her subordinates would not do.

Remember, Chancellor Katehi was hired in 2009 with great controversy. Her $400,000 annual salary, approved by the UC Board of Regents, equated to a 27 percent hike from her predecessor and a 12.4 percent increase from her previous position at the University of Illinois. That happened during the time when the funding to the University from the state had been cut year after year, after staff and faculty were forced to take unpaid furloughs, and endless tuition hikes threatened the quality of the university system. It was an obscene amount of money thrown at a civil servant, a public university administrator.

I sincerely don't believe that she had ordered the spraying or green-lighted it. But, that fact hardly matters. If she had the aduacity to demand such exorbitant amount of salary, she must be held responsible for every action on campus during her watch. Otherwise, she should not have taken in such salary from the public university. It cannot be that achivements were hers but blames were others.

In a way, Katehi is the embodiment of what is wrong with our country and what people are protesting against. For too long, it has been profits for the rich and the finacial misery for the poor. That must change.

People have been frustrated by the lack of clear and tangible goals and demands from the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now, in UC Davis, there is a clear and tangible goal. It is holding Chancellor Linda Katehi responsible and have her replaced.

Chancellor Katehi must go!

Winter Storm in San Francisco Bay

2011-11-19T03:19:00.000-08:00

Winter storm is coming and though it inconvenient people, it does remind people how beautiful and wonderful the nature can be:

Above pictures were view of San Francisco, taken across the Bay from Berkeley last Thursday.

Rodin and Richard Serra in Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University

2011-11-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, before I went to Palo Alto for the opening of "Scapes" juried exhibit at Pacific Art League, which included my painting "Lake", I stopped by the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University briefly.

I had visited the museum many times, including accompanying my visiting parents from China, and saw many wonderful permanent collections and special exhibit. This time, since I had little time, I was really only skipping along the surface; even so, I still managed to record many amazing pieces.

The special exhibit was "Rodin and America: Influence and Adaptation" (through 1 Jan 2012), which juxtaposed many sculptures, sketches and works in other media by Auguste Rodin and other American artists under his influences. The work I admire most was Lorado Taft's extremely dramatic "The Blind", which predated Jose Saramago's Blindness (The City of Blind):

After that, I did see some of its famous Rodin collections:

I was mostly enchanted by the "Spirit of Eternal Repose", a 1898 Plaster work:

Other sculptures stood out are:

Horse, bronze, Deborah Butterfield

Untitled, 1989, Welded and rusted steel and rubber, Mark Lere

Granite Circle, Richard Long (on the balcony)

I didn't have much time therefore only looked permanent painting collections very quickly and these are Admirable paintings inside the museums are:

Front: Pink Companion, 1991, Cedar and graphite, Ursula von Rydingsvard; Left: Angel, 1983, Oil on Canvas, Sean Scully; Right: Untitled #14, 1969, John McLaughlin

Rodin and the Dancing Body: Tracing a Lineage

Man with Hand to Face #2, 1960, Oil on canvas, Nathan Oliveira

Window, 1967, Oil on Canvas, Richard Diebenkorn

Then, there would always be the meditative "Stone River" by Andy Goldsworthy:

And the last, the new temporary addition to Cantor Art Center, the rusty steel sculpture "Sequence" by Richard Serra. It was amazingly large, rustic yet sensual, almost echoed the Diebenkorn's "Window" (above):

linda cicero / stanford university news dept.

Richard Serra's 2006 "Sequence"
at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center
will move to S.F.

Image source: SFGate.com

Then, yesterday, SFGate.com reported that Richard Serra's immense sculpture "Sequence", "the interlocking steel spirals - which are 13 feet tall and together weigh a whopping 235 tons - will reside come 2016 in the Howard Street gallery of SFMOMA's new wing [Fischer Collection]. And since the addition's ground floor will be clad in glass, the much-praised "Sequence" should be visible even when the museum is closed.

As for 'Sequence,' it's not far away if you want a peek before 2016: This summer it was installed outdoors at the Cantor Arts Center on the Stanford campus."

My time at Stanford this time was too short for me to enter into the swirls. I definitely would get inside them before it moved to San Francisco. It looked amazing on Stanford campus and it is intriguing to see how it looks in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Related article: Second Thoughts on the Sculpture "The Blind" by Lorado Taft

Another Farce - Vladimir Putin Awarded Confucius Peace Award

2011-11-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

Another farce just staged in Beijing, where Confucius had been denounced in 1960-1990s and was invited back to buttress the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party, when the Confucius Peace Award Committee announced that the second such prize was to be awarded to Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Putin, a favorite world leader in China for his telegenic appearances, was cited for resolutely fighting back the separatists in Chechnya, and for vocally opposing NATO's air bombing of Libyan arm which under Khadafi's command was killing Libyan people.

The committee's legitimacy in China is quite murky. After the first such award given to a Taiwanese politician, who didn't attend the ceremony and a large bundle of cash was given to a little girl, people know nothing about, Chinese government determined that such committee didn't have the right permit to exist.

The current committee is either a reincarnation in China or in Hong Kong, consists mostly of die-hard Maoists scholars, who continue to champion the legacy of Mao Zedong, whom more and more Chinese deemed a tyrant who drove Chinese people to utter misery.

The news of Putin's win apparently has been greeted by Chinese people with a collective jeer and suppressed by government run media. Micro-blogs posted in many Chinese language sites even proposed to award future Confucius Peace Award to Hitler.

It is a farce indeed. Hopefully, Mr. Putin would attend the ceremony this time and hug his big bundle himself.

Student Exhibits at Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley

2011-11-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

Last week, I attended the opening of two simultaneous student exhibits at Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California, Berkeley. The gallery was affiliated with Art Practice Department and it showcased the many young talents, yearning to make marks on the art scenes.

The first show was a sculpture (aka installation) exhibit. The topic for each artists were written on a piece of paper and put into the "oracle" bucket (see picture below) for drawings. The often deceptively simple labels were to inspire and challenge the students to come up with their own take on these themes.

"Oracle" Bucket

The below installation/photography were dictated by the label of "Domesticate". The photos showed the little fence in different locations:

Fence

Fence

Domesticate

Other visceral installations are the tree trunk below and some nets and deconstruction of different objects, such as a backpack.

Tree

Tree

Net (Theme: Gender)

Net (Theme: Gender)

Deconstructed Single Backpack

Birdcage

Bubbles

The second exhibit was called "Falling Below" which featured some smaller scaled, but no less forceful, installations (or multimedia projects). They were very intriguing and even pretty to behold (artists might hate this but it was true).

Eagle

Birds

Rooster

Bird Curtain

Money Bills

Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

2011-11-09T02:55:00.000-08:00

After Ashland, we went north a little bit then turned west towards the coast and traveled along Highway 101 for a while. There were many things to see - redwoods, elk's feeding ground, beach, old towns and then we cut across the wine country Sonoma heading home in Berkeley. Before we headed home, we stayed for one night in Arcata, which I discussed in the last post of this series.

Before we reached Arcata, we passed Crescent City, a working-class coastal town, which reminded me much of the serene and melancholic Netherlands.

At the harbor of Crescent City, we saw a nice woman feeding many feral cats - they were very adorable and quite domesticated to me:

Away from Crescent City, we traveled along the coast for a while and had wonderful sights:

Then, we passed a relatively small redwood park and a feeding ground for elk, but we was not lucky enough to sight them. However, the field was very beautiful:

We traveled along and saw more wonderful waves before we entered Arcata:

After not so restful Arcata, we stopped by Eureka briefly and saw large sea birds at the harbor:

Afterwards, we veered away from the coast and entered Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California to see the "Avenue of the Giants" - huge redwoods and they were giants indeed:

At the junction of Highway 1 and 101, we took the coastal route so I could see Mendocino, a famed California destination. Before we arrived, the coastal got quite lovely already:

Passing through Fort Bragg (above), we arrived at Mendocino and was able to take a little walk between storms:

To my pleasant surprise, there were cool galleries selling interesting artworks:

At last, we drove through the lovely Sonoma wine country and went back after when it was totally dark:

A very satisfactory trip!

Related Articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)
--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

"Scapes: Land, Sea and Urban" Juried Exhibition at Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, California

2011-11-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, 4 November 2011, the juried exhibition, "Scapes: Land, Sea and Urban" opened at Pacific Art League's main gallery in Palo Alto, California.

My painting, Lake, was chosen as part of the show. It can be seen from the street:

This painting was inspired by the environment disasters in many countries when wetland became dried due to drought, which often were the results of human activities.

The show included pieces of many styles and subjects, within the framework of "Scapes", as shown in the picture below when works were being dropped off and installed:

The winning entries were interesting in their own ways but not really that exciting and inspiring. However, I did like the second and third place winners.

First Place Winner

Second Place Winner

Third Place Winner

Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention

The two honorable mentioned entries were very uninteresting. Far better is this piece which received no mentioning:

But that's how it goes in juried shows. People have different preferences. There were two more shows in the Pacific Art League - one was the students' show and the other was the 90th anniversary history show of the League:

The League has huge space - studios, classrooms, galleries and a wonderful garden. It is proudly celebrating its 90th anniversary and rightly so.

Related article: Scapes: Land, Sea & City - Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, November 2011; Juror: Maria Medua (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery at Fort Mason)

Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10

2011-11-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

After Ashland, we took the coastal road back to Berkeley, with a stop at Arcata, Californa for rest and meeting friend. I had never been to Arcata and was told that it was a big hippie town; however, these advance warning did not prepare me for what I had experienced.

We arrived at the town square - Arcata Plaza, of whose edge my hotel situated, and started to unload our luggage. As soon as we approached the entrance to our hotel - Hotel Acata - a whiff of strong marijuana smothered me. Blessedly, it was not so bad inside the hotel.

The town was quaint and full of characters and quite young. I also liked the nice bookstore they had.

While waiting for friend at the hotel lobby, I saw a huge crowd cycling through the street and congregated in the center of the plaza, ended with a loud cheer when they all held their bicycles up high.

However, the enthusiasm of the youth went to far at night when our hotel became a party camp - loud music and smoke permeated the building in the middle of night. It was not until the early morning that the sound died down and I was able to sleep a bit. Naturally, I feeling towards Arcata turned sour. But that was short-lived.

We had a nice breakfast at the plaza cafe and then saw a lovely farmer's market and the offerings were very lovely.

Incidentally, that Saturday morning (1 October 2011) was the day that the plaza floor was divided and merchants sponsor a drawing contest. People started in the early morning and it would be done by noon. All kinds people participated this event and that totally redeemed Arcata.

Children were not merely onlookers. They were given space to express their own creativity as well:

We left before noon and on our way out, we saw a huge mural on the back of one of the buildings surrounding the plaza. That was a nice goodbye to Arcata.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)
--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

My Photo of Kirk Theatre, New York on CitySeekr

2011-11-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last September, I saw a play - Oresteia in Kirk Theatre, one of the theaters in the Theatre Row, Manhattan. Last week, I was contacted by CitySeekr.com for permission to use the photo. Naturally, I granted the use of the photo if they would give me proper credit.

Now, it is the featured picture for Theatre Row, New York on New-York-CitySeekr.com.

It is a wonderful play to see innovative plays and I'm glad they found my picture interesting.

Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9

2011-11-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ashland is a beautiful little town, comfortably nestling in love natural environment. The best aspect of that was that the downtown main street intersect with a lovely creek, around which was a large Lithia Park, which not only delighted visitors, but served as homes to many wonderful animals.

There were two ponds in the park - Lower and Upper Ponds, connected by the creek. There were fish, ducks and turtles lived there:

I was able to capture the sight of three little turtles coming out of the water to sun bath. They stayed there without moving for a long time:

In the drier part of the park, I saw a several deer enjoying their meals, happy, content and peaceful, without an iota fear of people:

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8

2011-11-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

There were many interesting shops, street art and art galleries in Ashland, Oregon. It was obvious that people there took great pride in their aesthetics and the presentation of themselves. Strolling in Ashland was very pleasant therefore and window browsing brought me many surprises.

One of the window shops featured some lovely intriguing shaped lamps and they positively glowed in the evenings and were great enticement for customers.

Other shop - antiques and crafts vied with understated offerings and always interesting and never vulgar:

Well, almost. This one below is nothing but vulgarity. It was in a shop full of Chihuly wares, therefore, it was almost mandatory:

But please don't be put off by this silly offering. Almost next door to it, there was a very serious art gallery - Hanson Howard Gallery, which showcased wonderful oil paintings by nationally renown artists. The exhibition was "Lost and Found" with paintings by Bobbie Jansen and sculptures by Nelson Davis below. I particularly love those oil paintings for the composition, the palette, and the ways the paintings were applied.

Hopscotch, Oil on canvas, 16" X 20" / Distilled Despair, Oil on canvas, 24" X 18" / Two Chair Abstraction, Oil on canvas, 24" X 18"

Morning Candlelight, Oil on canvas, 20" X 20"

I also love the oil paintings by Carol Ingram in the second room of the gallery - they were hauntingly luminous:

Tall Rocks, oil on canvas, 16" X 20" / Waiting, oil on canvas, 24" X 36" / Woman, oil on canvas, 10" X 12"

Indeed there were art work of all levels in every corner of the main streets, such as the dragonfly and the geese in a restaurant and the sculptures and art fountain in the main square below:

Even a window in the best coffee house in town (or anywhere), Nobel Coffee, looked like a piece of art:

I was quite satisfied.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:19:00.001-07:00

My contribution to the Halloween:

Angelic Voice - Philippe Jaroussky at Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley

2011-10-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Philippe Jaroussky,
2011 Misteria Paschalia Festival,
Kraków Philharmonic

French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky joined Apollo's Fire, a Baroque orchestra founded in 1992 and based in Cleveland, for a concert of music by Handel and Vivaldi this afternoon as a Cal Performances presentation at Hertz Hall, University of California, Berkeley, in a journey through the gamut of human emotions, as experienced through the roles created for the great castrato singers of the 18th century.

The program included: Handel: Chaconne from Terpsichore (Il pastor fido) • Arias from Oreste, Imeneo, Il Parnasso in Festa and Ariodante • Handel/arr. Sorrell: Prelude in A major for Solo Harpsichord • Vivaldi: Violin Concerto in E-flat major, Op. 8, No. 5, "Tempesta di Mare" • Arias from Catone in Utica, Giustino and Tito Manlio • Vivaldi/arr. Sorrell: Concerto Grosso "La Follia" ("Madness") • Allegro from Concerto Grosso in D major.

Cal Performances is often praised for presenting local debut performances by top talents from all over the world, especially the recital series of classical music, such as mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, and tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Last year, I attend the more heroic voiced Kaufmann recital at the larger Zellerbach Hall, the more ethereal voiced Jaroussky graced us at the more intimate Hertz Hall.

Jaroussky had been singing in the Baroque repertoire for a long time and has long been praised highly for his angelic voice and his keen musicality. His performance in Hertz Hall confirmed such reputation and I state again that I had never heard a sweeter voice before.

More crucially, unlike the reputation associated with the voice type of countertenor, Jaroussky had good amount of coloration at his disposal therefore his sing was never monotonous or glassy. His agile voice was very impressive in the Handel and Vivaldi's pyrotechnics but he was also able to invest the music with true emotions, firm and focused tone, and wonderful flexibilities. He was also able to connect with audience in an immediate way and any doubts due to the unfamiliarity with Baroque era dissipated as soon as he let his voice ripple through the hall.

All of his offerings - seven announced arias and three encores (The three encores were an aria by Porpora, "Venti, turbini" from Händel's Rinaldo, and "Ombra mai fu" from Händel's Serse) were of highest quality but I enjoyed the most was the slow and soulful music such as the Handel recitative and aria Ho perso il caro ben for Orfeo from Il Parnasso in Festa, mourning the death of his beloved Euridice and the romance encore. He simply convinced me that Orfeo should sound just like him, nuance after nuance.

He was full of grace, not only in his bearings but in his willingness to share the stage. The Apollo's Fire treated the delighted audience several music in various emotions and was greeted just as enthusiastically.

Pity that San Francisco Opera never saw fit to engage starts like Bartoli, Kaufmann and Jaroussky. Would it be nice to have a Vivaldi opera staged for the talents like Jaroussky and Bartol?

Philippe Jaroussky - Opium (Mélodies Francaises) - EMI Classics

Philippe Jaroussky - Carestini: Story of a Castrato - EMI Classics

Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 7

2011-10-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

During our stay in Ashland, we took a day trip to the renown Crater Lake. Before we arrived at our destination, we stopped by the "Natural Bridge" at the upper Rogue River for a short while.

The Rogue River was a large rapids and a lovely one. The wonderful thing to see here is the water had created courses underneath large rocks therefore the "natural bridges". We saw clearly how the water came out of and flew into "caves".

After we'd left the Natural Bridge, we continued to climb up to more than 8,000 feet elevation and arrived at the Crater Lake.

Wikipedia described the lake as:

Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly 2,148-foot (655 m) deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 (± 150) years ago by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. There are no rivers flowing into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 250 years.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, with its almost perfectly round shape, the incredible deep cobalt blue in the center and magically shimmering blue-green at the shallow water edges. The Rocks surrounded the lake was strong and tough and we even saw some snow at the bottom of the rocks.

We also saw a cute chipmunk at the edge of the lake, posing for tourists.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6

2011-10-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

The main purpose of my road trip was the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which runs from February through October every year. The three plays we planned to see gave us chances to see performances in all the three Festival theaters - Molière's Imaginary Invalid (Le Malade imaginaire) at the proscenium Angus Bowmer Theater, Shakespeare's Henry IV Part II at Elizabethan theater, and and Julius Caesar at the arena style New Theater, respectively.

Before we approached the box office to pick up our tickets, we walked by the Festival's Main Street office, which functioned like a tourist office. There was a small scaled but wonderful costume display - those used in last season:

The three theaters were next to one another and in the middle of this complex, there is a sunken square, which was used for a "Green Performance" on every theater night, usually showcasing local or visiting bands and troupes. One of the nights we saw a wonderful Flamenco sangs and dances.

Our first play, Imaginary Invalid, was not by Shakespeare but Molière - a typical early French court farce. Unfortunately, the "adopters" and director turned it into a physical slapstick. Beyond that, they managed to inject some body function jokes, in block letters, what Molière hinted at, therefore relieving the imagination requirement from the audience, hence robbed the audience's realization process, which would be more engaging than force feeding. Worst of all, they invented some physical deformities for the sake of laughing at these deformities most cruelly. I had described this play in my previously blog extensively and my curious readers can find my vent there: Illusion versus Reality, From Bake Sale in Berkeley to Molière at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Angus Bowmer Theatre, where Molièr's Imaginary Invalid was played

Next day, we are to see Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2 in the Elizabethan Theater. The theater was open during the day and we entered onto the balcony, while the backstage tour participants were in the orchestra seats listening to the tour guide.

The corridor of the theater had a good view of the hills in the distance but it was the inside of the theater which provided most fascinating view, with its Tudor style half-timbered structures behind the thrust stage. In contrast to the Elizabethan Globe Theatre in London, the stage in Ashland is below the sight line, instead of higher than the center. In the Globe, the middle of the theater was for standing audience only while the one in Ashland was furnished with seats. However, that was just details. The spirit was obviously Elizabethan or "Jamesian" (since Shakespeare wrote most his plays in the period when James I was reigning England, succeeding Elizabeth I).

At night, the theater looked really magical, with the starry night above the opening sky. Shakespeare's famous play was a difficult one to follow and stage, despite the moving scene of the reconciliation between Henry IV and Prince Hal, and the enormously popular Sir John Falstaff. The distance of the English history and unfamiliarity of the Elizabethan vulgar expressions contributed to the issues, and that, I suspect, goaded the creative team in Ashland to ham up the rustic and sexual innuendos. But it was a necessary compromise, since we otherwise simply would fail to respond. Rougher than it should be but definitely less awful than the previous night. Prince Harry was good, so was Falstaff and the King was quite excellent.

The last of our three plays was the very familiar Julius Caesar in the New Theater, a small arena style space, without the fourth wall.

Before the show, the stage was set at the entrance and the lobby, with picture posters of many assassinated political figures, and quotations for and against them on two sides of the posters.

Once inside, we saw actors in modern dress roaming around in the center of the "arena" freely and chatted with audience. Then the actress Vilma Silva introduced herself as the one to play Caesar and invited the audience to cheer whenever she raised her arms in triumphant V. It was a very bloody, brutal and in-your-face production. The ghost of Caesar became omnipresent after his/her murder. It was a viscerally exciting production and had good performances from the cast.

I wondered if it was gimmicky to have a female actor play Caesar, or have the soothsayer speaking Japanese. However, the performances won me over. Considering those posters featuring assassinated from all over the world, it was apparent that the producer wanted to present this as a universal statement and summary. Granting that we have long been accustomed to have black or Asian actors playing white characters or vice versa, only a female Caesar could take us out of the preconception that we were watching that particular character, Julius Caesar. People could argue if this was necessary or not. But as presented from this particular angle, it worked exceedingly well.

After the show, we walked by a window display of the history of the Festival and its theaters:

Three very different plays, three theaters, three styles. It did get better.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5

2011-10-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

We stayed three nights in Ashland Springs Hotel for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This hotel was a historical landmark building with a very grand looking and dominated the skyline of the city.

It had classic facade and understated architectural details on all sides.

The lobby was just as impressive as the exterior and the breakfast and late evening after show snacks were served on the mezzanine with the view of the grand lobby:

There were many interesting curio showcases in the lobby, along with other wonderful furniture such as the fireplace:

Our room was not big, enough to move about and nicely decorated with a sliver view of the street and rolling hills in the distant.

If one temporarily forgot that this is the Bard's hotel, this wallpaper on the lobby surely would have reminded the guest otherwise:

We had heard that the hotel was somehow connected to the Scientology organization but other than this little booklet, sitting along a Bible in the drawer, we could not tell it from any other professional hotels:

It was a nice stay. People who want to stay there could also investigate some package deals they had with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

Those Nasty Princesses - Turandot and Salome

2011-10-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

Early this month, I saw my second Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. Unlike the first time I saw it in the same production by British artist David Hockney on the same San Francisco Opera stage years ago with the truncated ending by Franco Alfano, this time, San Francisco Opera opted for Alfano's complete ending - Puccini died before he could complete his score for Turandot. The longer ending made the transition of Turandot from an icy monster to a succumbed lover a bit more convincing, without reducing the bombastically glorious outpouring of the melody based on the "hit number" Nessun Dorma.

Luciano Pavarotti sings "Nessun Dorma"

Even so, the story of Turandot as presented by Puccini and his librettist was still a very hard to stomach and accept. The story was simple: Chinese Princess Turandot, traumatized by a female ancestor's ravishment in the hands of invading male conquer, vowed not to surrender. She posed three riddles for suitors - whoever solved them won her, otherwise, lost his head. A tartar prince in exhile, Calaf won the battle and won her heart with a manly kiss.

Ridiculous stuff for sure. However, beneath the ridiculousness and operative monstrosity, there were deeper meanings which eluded Puccini, whose specialty was small scaled daily emotion, detached from the social fabric. His Madama Butterfly, his La bohème could be transport into any similar situation in any social and temporal setting, gaining universality but losing depth of social commentary as in Verdi or psychological insight as in Wagner.

If it were Verdi, he would not have failed to pick out the elements of cultural clash between the female dominant, docile court of China, though hiding behind a bloody curtain, and that of the intrusive militant, male outsiders. If it were Wagner, what a drama of battle of sexes we would have gain? In Puccini's hand, we got a gloriously melodic opera celebrating two most insensitive protagonists on stage. A lost opportunity, perhaps. However, we do need our bonbons.

One of the illustrations Aubrey Beardsley
produced for the first English
edition of Wilde's play Salome (1894)

Watching the severed head of a losing suitor, I remembered another princess who liked to lob off head, this time, to gratify her own sexual desire - Princess Salome, courtesy of Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss.

Awakening sexually on stage, and intrigued by the beauty of John the Baptist, who repulsed her advances, Salome demanded the head of Saint John on a silver platter and kissed the mouth of the severed head and tasted the blood. In less than two hours time, Strauss presented us a spoiled child growing into a monstrous woman in a highly corrupted court and innocence lost. His music was much more disturbing, way less heart tugging than Puccini's, but ultimately much, much more satisfying.

San Francisco Opera will present Turandot three more times this November - don't miss the rousing music, despite the gaudy and silly sets and costumes.

Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4

2011-10-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

After the McCloud, California, we arrived at Ashland, Oregon in the early afternoon. Coming into the town from highway, soon, we spotted the landmark hotel we are to stay - Ashland Springs Hotel in downtown Ashland:

Once we settled in our hotel, we took a stroll and saw another landmark in Ashland - the public library with its original wing of Carnegie Library (built by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie):

The business district had a historic look which combined artisan and artistic styles wonderfully:

A nice walk in the residential neighborhood near downtown revealed a wonderfully idyllic scene:

Looking beyond the downtown strip, one could see wonderful rolling hills, ever changing colors with the time of the day.

A little bit walking led us to a historical "Railroad District" which boasted a nice park, many galleries and wonderful coffee houses:

All in all, I was quite charmed by Ashland.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

Five Modern Masterpieces Said Destroyed

2011-10-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

It has been reported that paintings by Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Matisse and Leger stolen from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in May 2010, and valued at about $134 million, may have been dumped in a garbage bin and destroyed with the rest of that day's trash, according to testimony from one of three suspects in the theft, a 34-year-old watch repairman, reported the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche about the ongoing investigation.

Other suspects include a Serb called "Spiderman" who is accused of lifting the five paintings from the walls of the museum and then loading them in his car nearby. An alarm system failed and three night guards on duty didn't notice the theft, according to the museum.

The third suspect is an antique shop owner, who says he didn't order the theft, but he did give the paintings to the watch repairman who supposedly threw them away.

Among the missing artworks is Fernand Leger's "Still Life With Candlestick," Picasso's "Dove With Green Peas," Matisse's "Pastoral," Braque's "The Olive Tree Near Estaque," and Modigliani's "Woman With a Fan."

Pastoral, 1906, Henri Matisse

Olive Tree near l'Estaque, 1906, Georges Braque

Still Life with Candlestick, 1922, Fernand Leger

Dove with Green Peas, 1911, Pablo Picasso

Woman with Fan, 1919, Amedeo Modigliani

This is so heartbreaking. In order to combat such devastation, nations ought to change their criminal codes in order to punish such destruction of stolen artworks more severely.

This also shows the vulnerability of visual art. A literary work once written and published, can still be bring back even if all the published editions were destroyed, as long as the manuscript exists, or at long as one copy escaped destruction, such as booking burnings flaring up in human histories in all corner of the earth.

The advent of ebooks perhaps would make the preservation of written literature easier. However, we should not rely on this solely.

I dread for those several seconds when all power lines on earth are knocked out by an interference from the sun or outer space. If that happens, god knows how many invaluable works, not just art works, would be irretrievably destroyed.

A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3

2011-10-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Left the Burney Falls behind, we drove on the McCloud, California for the evening.

According to Wikipedia, "McCloud is a small town and census-designated place (CDP) in Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census, down from 1,343 at the 2000 census. Visitors use McCloud as a base to engage in nationally-recognized trout fishing in the nearby McCloud, Sacramentoand Klamath Rivers, or come to see and climb Mount Shasta, Castle Crags or the Trinity Alps."

We drove towards McCloud, guided by the landmark of Mt. Shasta.

On our way out of McCloud towards Ashland, we also saw a companion peak to Mt. Shasta:

McCloud was a quaint little town, with some Victorian houses, serve as Hotels and Bed and Breakfasts. Mt. Shasta was always present.

It had some charmingly rustic shops like these:

Our hotel, McCloud River Inn was a beautiful country Victorian. It has lovely lawns and woodlands and is a Nationally Registered Historic Inn. As the former headquarters for the McCloud River Lumber Company and the home of McCloud's first bank, we saw some interesting artifacts and in case we missed the connection to lumber, many decorations and utensils made of saws constantly made references to the past. Apparently, McCloud has large amount of snow in winter, demonstrated by the warning sign about the snow on the roof.

There was a long train track near our hotel and several rather well-kept cars sat there discretely:

During the breakfast, we learned from the hostess that there used to be a three-hour dining train ride, starting from McCloud and had attracted many tourists all year long.

According to the official website of Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, "the Dinner Train cars, with their deep "Pullman Green" and gold exterior finish, were originally built for the Illinois Central Railroad in 1916. Acquired in 1995, these "heavyweight" cars have been carefully rebuilt in the McCloud Railway's shops where meticulous attention to detail is evident in their rich mahogany and brass interiors. Our dining cars are named for north state counties Shasta, Siskiyou, and Lassen. Our Trinity car can be set up as a theater car for up to 70 people and can also be used for music and dancing."

The website also features the route and interiors of these glorious cars. It is such a shame that they are no longer in operation and it is doubtful that they would come back, since I heard from locals that even the tracks had been ripped apart and sold years ago. So sad.

Dance Car

The website also mentioned an hour-long Excursion Train, which is open air and starting from McCloud and it seemed to me that it was not in operation either.

Below is a compilation of videos of the Mt. Shasta and other peaks, shot on our way in and out of McCloud:

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregan Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1

"Lake" in "Scapes: Land, Sea & City" at Pacific Art League, Palo Alto

2011-10-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

My entry for "Scapes: Land, Sea & City" at Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, "Lake", has been accepted and will be part of the juried show, which will run from November 4th through 23rd. The juror for this competitive exhibition is Maria Medua, director of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery at Fort Mason.

Lake
Oil on Canvas
30" x 40"
Completed in 2007

© Matthew Felix Sun

The opening is on Friday, November 4th, 5:30 - 8 pm.

The gallery hours and location are:
668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Phone 650.321.3891, Fax 650.321.3617

Hours:: Mon-Fri 10 am - 5 pm
Sat 10 am - 4 pm

Latest Painting - "Green Abstract 2011"

2011-10-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

I just finished another painting - felt like cheating already because it was another abstract painting.

I think I am really in a state of being intrigued by patterns and interplay of dark and light shades. This one is predominated by boldly intermingled white and black strokes and patches over a muted earth green tone, with a dash of brown. It is quite understated piece but the tension was barely in check and ready to explode:

Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregon Trip, Part 2

2011-10-09T03:29:00.000-07:00

Following my trip to Sundial Bridge at Redding, California, I visited Burney Falls, a waterfall on Burney Creek, in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta Country, California.

According to Wikipedia, "The water comes from underground springs above and at the falls, which are 129 feet high, and provides an almost constant flow rate of 100 million US gallons per day (4 m³/s), even during the dry summer months.

"The falls are an example of river drainage regulated by stratigraphically-controlled springs, and also of a waterfall formed by undercutting of horizontal strata."

It was truly magnificent - not unimaginably tall, perhaps, but every inch of it was enchanting. The trails built around the water fall led people from vintage points high and low, and from facing the waterfall to be directly on top of it.

I visited it in late September, perhaps the low season of the melting snow, therefore, I imagine that the water amount would be even more impressive in spring. However, I don't complain. Whatever I'd seen, was unbelievably beautiful in this misty valley, including the gray mosses.

Related articles:
--> Coastal Northern California and Wine Country - Oregon Trip, Part 11 (The End)

--> Arcata, California - Oregon Trip, Part 10
--> Idyllic Parks and Cute Animals in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 9
--> Art in Ashland - Oregon Trip, Part 8
--> Natural Bridge and Crater Lake, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part7
--> It Got Better - Three Plays at Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Oregon Trip, Part 6
--> Ashland Springs Hotel - Oregon Trip, Part 5
--> Ashland, Oregon - Oregon Trip, Part 4
--> A Night at McCloud, California - Oregon Trip, Part 3
--> Burney Falls in McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Shasta County, California - Oregon Trip, Part 2
--> Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay, Redding, California - Oregon Trip, Part 1