Smokin’ at the Huntington Several intrepid Culver City Art Group members braved the heat and smoke on Sunday, August 29 to meet at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena. The last time our group descended on the Huntington five years ago it was a stinking hot day around 105 degrees. So, being gluttons for punishment, we ended up picking a similar day. Added to the heat was the smoke from the adjacent Station fire that ate up 150,000 acres of the Los Angeles area.

But soaking in the beauty of the gardens, we hardly noticed what was going on just next door. As an artist, or any kind of creative person, if you can't find inspiration in this place, you just aren't going to find it anywhere!

First we roamed around the gardens with the intention of hitting the galleries later on as the heat intensified. The Botanical Gardens contain more than 14,000 different kinds of plants in more than a dozen themed garden areas. We spent a good amount of time in the Desert Garden and Conservatory reveling in the gorgeous cactus and succulent varieties. Many years ago when I had a house my pride and joy was my cactus/succulent garden. As the sun and heat devastates any kind of flowering plant on my front balcony, perhaps it’s time to grow a mini succulent garden in pots—worth a try! I will report back. We visited the peaceful lily ponds and the stunning Japanese Garden where I enjoyed a welcome cooling Silver Jasmine iced tea. By now the plume cloud of smoke hanging over the next ridge of mountains was unavoidable. Magnificent in its own way, of course it was bringing heartbreak and destruction on its wings.

It‘s impossible to do justice to the Huntington in one afternoon, but on this trip we visited areas we had not seen on our last excursion. And there is still more to see. We ended the afternoon in the new (to me anyway) Scott Galleries of American Art from the Colonial Period through mid 20th century—not quite my cup of tea. Then the refurbished (since our last visit) main Huntington Gallery (which was the residence) housing Gainsborough’s Blue Boy. The heat by then had penetrated our bones, and we were ready to leave.

On the way out I had to stop for a quick sprint around the exhibit on Samuel Johnson in Library Hall. As one of my favorite historical English characters I’m always interested to learn a little more about him. Some wonderful books, manuscripts, and paintings tell his story—I was happy I didn’t miss that.

As there are so many places to go and so many places to see in our Southern California playground, perhaps it will be another five years before we delight in the Huntington again. If it is, so be it, but I hope not!

(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Your Bright Future Quickie

August 23 I had the good fortune to return to LACMA for a second look at the Pompeii and the Roman Villa Exhibit. This time I remembered my camera and was able to take a couple of shots of the outdoor pieces for the Your Bright Future exhibit which I wrote about on my Busing to Art blog. As you can see these are fun to walk around if you are a kid or a kid at heart. The exhibit closes September 20.

(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins)

Tea is Tea is Tea...

Or is it?

On Friday I had to make another trek up to the UCLA Med Center. Senility is definitely setting in. I sorted out a bus leaving at 10:09... wait a minute, if my appointment is at 10:00am, how can I leave at 10:09? At that point I had ten minutes to get ready and run like the wind to the bus stop.... only to see the back of my bus as it disappeared down the street. Not a good start to the day, but things definitely picked up after that.

August 16 Steeped in History, the Art of Tea opened at the Fowler Museum on the UCLA campus. As the museum opens at noon, I had some time to fill after the doctor's appointment before heading on over there. One of my favorite areas is the Murphy Sculpture Garden on the north campus. It's a pleasant mixture of a variety of trees, grassy berms, meandering paths, concrete seating areas that blend into the landscape, and yes, sculptures. I am no expert on sculpture, nor is sculpture my favorite art medium, but in this setting, what's not to like?

I sat for an hour at one side of the garden shaded by some trees so I could see it in its entirety. I watched people walking along the paths. Nobody ever seems to actually stop and look at the individual sculptures, but I do know from personal experience, as you spend time in the garden, even walking from one side to the other on a regular basis, you can't help but be aware of them. They seem to be growing out of the ground as much as the trees and plants. They have become not individual pieces of art but part of the whole. I think this is why this garden works so well. Everything belongs together.

As I was sitting there, time seemed to slow down. When I was younger and immortal I was always in a hurry to get to the next thing, whatever that might be. Now that my mortality is catching up with me, I am perfectly happy to stay in the present. I have had to train myself to sit still, physically and mentally, but it has paid off. I am more content observing quietly than jumping up and being the one observed. It would be more logical the other way around: to sit still when there is all the time in the universe ahead, and to be on the move, doing all there is to do, when there is less time left. Maybe because I've done so many things, I can happily sit and reflect on them, and doing more now seems less important—oh, I can see we are going to get convoluted here! Let's just say that now I am better at sitting still and letting the world come to me, rather than the other way around.

Time for Tea. I like the Fowler Museum as it is small and manageable. The exhibits are well presented and informative. Upon leaving this exhibit I felt as though I had earned my PhD in Tea! There are hundreds (probably an understatement) of kinds of teas in the world, albeit all from the same basic plant, and over two dozen are displayed in their various forms at the entrance to the exhibit, from loose leaf to compressed cakes, with exotic names like Yunnan Black Needle and Dragonwell Superior. From there on it is a veritable Disneyland of Tea.

As you would guess, I enjoyed the many examples of ceramic tea pots and tea cups, from modern to whimsical to traditional. One of these days I WILL unpack one of those bisque teapots in my garage and paint and fire it, for sure...

Other highlights of the presentation included paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, historic documents, accoutrements and furniture—everything you need to understand the centuries of culture, politics, art, suffering, beauty, philosophy, pleasure, and conflict involved in the extraordinary history of tea. I spent close to an hour and a half taking in the exhibit.

Interestingly, I learned that Samuel Johnson (whose Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755) and his biographer and friend James Boswell, both suffered from severe depression. Johnson "cured" himself by drinking tea, while Boswell only deepened his depression by drinking alcohol.

Over the past few months I have made a conscious effort to drink more tea. My favorite is Salada Earl Green, green tea flavored with oil of Bergamot. I sometimes mix this with other tea such as ginger, black, or herbal tea, sometimes with a lemon slice, sometimes iced, sometimes hot. I find the Salada Earl Green to be particularly uplifting: it seems to the combination of the green tea and the Bergamot. When I am tired, lacking motivation, upset, or down, drinking this tea does wonders for my spirits—I consider it my miracle brew. When I find it at the market I buy several boxes to ensure I don't run out.

Moral of this story: when you visit the Fowler Museum, make a little effort to hang out in the Sculpture Garden, and vice versa. Or, if you have to make an appointment at the Medical Center, improve the day by spending some time with nature and art. Then go home and make yourself a "cuppa."

A River of Art For hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spanish, the Los Angeles River provided water and food for the Gabrielino Indians. In 1769, the members of the Gaspar de Portolà expedition settled on the banks of the river and named it El Río de Nuestra Señora La Reina de Los Ángeles de Porciúncula: The River of Our Lady Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula. It was known as the Porciuncula River.

Today, after a change of course or two, the Los Angeles River runs 51 miles from the west end of the San Fernando Valley to its mouth in Long Beach, mostly encased in concrete because of the river's tendency to flood. In recent years there has been a movement to safely remove the concrete and to restore the vegetation, and hence the wildlife, to a more natural environment.

Saturday evening BG and I attended the opening reception for Carole Garland's exhibit at TAG (The Artists' Gallery 2903 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404) with the Los Angeles River as her theme.

As a member of the Culver City Art Group, I have watched the development of Carole's art for some time. She just keeps on getting better and better, and I feel like now she has really hit her stride. I believe the point at which somebody crosses over from being merely a painter to an artist in their own right is when a distinguishable style emerges—and that point has definitely been reached by Carole. I like her soft, impressionistic style immensely.

The painting above (although not strictly the LA River, as its subject is the Wetlands) is a beautiful example of her style. The colors and layout are perfectly harmonious.

The exhibit runs through August 15. Swim on over there.
(Photos copyright roslyn m wilkins.)

The Artful CheckupThis image is from the Icons of the Desert website. See website for further copyright information. Photo: Tony De Camillo for the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University

Time for my annual checkup so, in my new public transportation mode, I took the Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica Bus Line) from Culver City up to Westwood and the UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) Medical Center. With the 40-minute ride (this route encompasses almost the entire universe) and a combined 20-minute walk, this little adventure lasts one whole hour as opposed to half that time by car. So once again, it's a matter of weighing the value of one's time against the operating costs and mileage on the family car plus the $11 parking fee. Right now my preference is for the bus over fighting traffic and looking for a parking space.

I was able to plan the day so that I had doctors appointments in the morning and late afternoon. This gave me the time slot I needed to walk over to the Fowler Museum on campus. For over two months now I have been staring at the brochure announcing the Icons of the Desert exhibit, a collection of Australian Aboriginal paintings from the early 1970s with the extended exhibit of Innovations in Western Desert Painting, 1972-1999. I was so excited about seeing these abstract images I was almost afraid I would be disappointed when viewing them in person. But not to worry. I was totally immersed in the wonder of these paintings, composed of lines and dots in earthy tones. The best part is that each painting tells a story according to Aboriginal lore. The viewer cannot understand the story without a written description, but this does not diminish the power of these works. I felt a direct spiritual connection to these designs. One can argue that all art is spiritual. However, I sensed these pieces had a life of their own, beyond the two-dimensional representations that I was looking at on the walls of the museum.

Sunday, August 2 at 2:00pm there are two lectures on this exhibit, free with no reservations required. I am tempted to attend.

Unfortunately, this exhibit ends August 3, but you can still catch it at New York University through December.

Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives, is a display of 250 artifacts from the Fowler Collection exploring the impact of art on people's lives in various cultures worldwide. There are several pieces displayed that I want to research further on the internet, such as the papier mache art of the Linares family and the ceramics of Jorge Wilmot. This is ongoing.

Reflecting Culture: The Francis E. Fowler, Jr. Collection of Silver is a permanent installation with some stunning examples of silver artifacts such as teapots and goblets.

Busing to Art

Being forced to live in a state of "less is more" I have now discovered public transportation. In a previous blog I reported on my adventures busing and training to downtown LA with my friend GZ. Since then I have become even more adventurous.
Last Saturday I had a ticket for the lecture on The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani at the Getty Villa and invited GZ. Knowing she had no fear of public transportation I thought it would be fun if we could both find our individual ways there, she from West Hollywood, me from Culver City. She assured me she had a straight shot on the number 2. I took line 33 to Fairfax, then line 584, which dropped me off across the street from the Villa (after a rather convoluted trip that took almost two hours, partly my fault but partly because the West LA Transportation Center is several miles east of me from where I can take a bus to anywhere in the known universe, even if I want to go west).
It turned out her bus had changed the route and she had to walk a mile on Pacific Coast Highway with no sidewalks and traffic coming up behind her at 60 plus miles an hour. Going home we both took the #584 to Fairfax then went our separate ways.
The "Golden Graves" date from around 450-250BC and since the 1930s, archaeologists have uncovered 28 burials. Vani is in the area of today's Georgia, Russia. A highly developed civilization has been discovered that had its own religious and artistic practices, while embracing influences from neighboring cultures.
The kingdom of Colchis gained fame as the destination of Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, and indeed, the region has proved to be rich in gold.
The gold jewelry and other objects found in the graves are exquisite and sophisticated. Granulated gold (extremely small gold beads the size of termite castings) were intricately imposed on some of the pieces.
There are also non-burial items in the exhibit such as the elephant lamps and some figurines, all equally interesting in the discussion of this artistic culture.
This exhibit goes through October 5, 2009. As parking at both Gettys is now $15, unless you have a car full of people, I would suggest looking at that bus schedule.

So, for something completely different I decided to bus up to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) on Friday. This was a one-hour trip, door to door, and as Fairfax was a mess on a Friday afternoon, I thought that was pretty good time. I was interested to see Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists From Korea at the BCAM (Broad Contemporary Art Museum, a part of LACMA), otherwise known as the Broad (pronounced "Brode").
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of a lot of contemporary art but I kinda liked this exhibit. I enjoyed walking through HappyHappy at the entrance comprised of strings of brightly colored plastic containers and the chain link fences at the Sixth Street side where you can add your own plastic items. I also liked looking out of the Ahmanson Building to see the swaths of colored fabric criss-crossing the windows.
One of my favorite indoor pieces was the room where there were six movies playing, each one set in different parts of the world. The artist stood still and silent while people passed her by. The passersby became part of the piece too, some ignoring her, some puzzled by her, some smiling or laughing at her presence.
The other was the person-sized stuffed animals. The signage said illegal aliens were inside the costumes as a "performance." One was a rabbit, the other a family of different animals. I found it interesting how my perception changed when for a second I believed there really were people inside, then that they were illegally in this country earning $5 a day for their performance, then the realization that there couldn't be anybody inside.
After that I wandered around the permanent collections, not stopping at anything in particular, just breathing in all the art as a whole, ingesting the peace and serenity.
I walked around outside in the park, viewing the full scale models of the woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers caught in the tar pits tens of thousands of years ago. Climbing the berm to the top of the Page Museum, I saw couples, singles, families, tourists, Angelenos, all enjoying themselves on this wondrous, sun-filled day in southern California... all my problems, dilemmas, unmade decisions, and other troubles of the past months, weeks, and days were nowhere to be found. I was in the moment.

Century Plaza Needs Your Help

Below is information I copied from the Los Angeles Conservancy website:

CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL: One of 11 Most Endangered Historic Sites in U.S.
How You Can Help

To Learn More

Century Plaza Hotel in the News

Did You Know?

Moments In History
Photo courtesy Yamasaki Associates
On April 28, 2009, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Century Plaza Hotel (Minoru Yamasaki, 1966) in Century City to its 2009 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list highlights historic places throughout the U.S. that face destruction or irreparable damage.

The owners of the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City announced plans to raze the building and replace it with two 600-foot towers in December 2008. The new project would include a boutique hotel, condominiums, and mixed-use space, plus two acres of open space. The venerable hotel received a $36 million facelift less than a year ago. HOW YOU CAN HELP
The Los Angeles Conservancy is leading the charge to save the Century Plaza from demolition. Here's how you can help:
1. Pledge your support for preserving the Century Plaza. Join our growing network of people throughout L.A. and the world in voicing your support for the hotel's preservation. We won't share your information with anyone, and we'll use it only to gauge the level of support for the Century Plaza and update you on breaking news on this specific issue.

Ronald Reagan at the CenturyPlaza Hotel with Mary Lou Rettonand the 1984 Olympic team. Photo courtesy Ronald Reagan Library.
2. If you're part of an organization, consider joining the Conservancy's growing coalition of groups who support preservation of the Century Plaza. For more information, contact Flora Chou at fchou@laconservancy.org or (213) 430-4211.
3. Become a part of the conversation on Facebook and engage in the Conservancy's Century Plaza discussion board. Voice your opinion and find out what others are thinking. Visit our Facebook page and become a fan to get the most up to date information on this issue.
4. If you're not already a member, join the Conservancy to give us greater strength in numbers.
5. If you'd like to make a donation, consider a gift to the Conservancy's Preservation Advocacy Fund to help with expenses for support materials, outreach, and other costs related to protecting the hotel from demolition.