San Diego, like Shakespeare’s Cleopatra, “…age cannot wither nor custom stale her infinite variety…” enjoys a glamorous reputation. The Southern California city, is a sparkling jewel set about with water and dotted with lovely hotels, fabulously fun entertainments, and historical sites such as SeaWorld, San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, architecturally adventurous Balboa Park with its many museums, the USS Midway, and the first of the 21 California missions, Mission San Diego de Alcala, established by Franciscan Friars in the 18th century for the Spanish crown.
It is true to say that no matter how many times one visits San Diego there is always more to see and relish. Having written about San Diego for decades it is refreshing to know there is always something left unexplored to which one can look forward. Though summer is past, fall offers continuing warm weather, with fewer tourists, online discount coupons and lower hotel rates.
There are many special events to entice visitors: Fleet Week San Diego, actually runs into mid-October with many events, including US Navy ship tours; Miramar Air Show, Oct. 2, 3 and 4; SeaWorld’s Halloween Spooktacular; Little Italy Festa, Oct. 11 and SD Wine & Food Festival, Nov. 18-22. Admission to SD Zoo and SD Wild Animal Park is free for children ages 3-11 in October. The Da Vinci Experience (to Nov. 1) at the SD Air & Space Museum features over 30 full-sized and interactive replica Da Vinci machines along with reproductions of 12 of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings. It’s best to consult the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, one of the best such sources, for complete information on the vast array of attractions: www.sandiego.org or call 619-236-1212.
Recently we treated two of our grandchildren, Michelle, 11 and Andrew, 9, to a few days in sunny San Diego in order for me to be introduced to the killer whale, Shamu – a celebrity nearly as famous as the late Michael Jackson. Alas, we had missed him on previous visits to see artist Edgar Degas’ Little Ballerina sculpture, the Pompeii exhibit, the SD Zoo pandas, the Wild Animal Park giraffes, the USS Midway and the mission San Diego de Alcala. I was intrigued to see this world renowned performer. As I consider myself to be something of a “non-fish” person– yes, I know Shamu is not a fish, but our cousin mammal - I was not anticipating what happened to me at SeaWorld. While there are a wide variety of animals such as polar bears, penguins, walruses, dolphins, sharks, fish, whales, etc., at SeaWorld I wanted to see Shamu.
San Diego SeaWorld is an easy drive from our homes in Orange County, CA, and to cut down on driving even more we selected hotel accommodations ten minutes from Shamu’s place…we didn’t want to waste a moment. So after settling into the lovely Paradise Point Resort & Spa on Mission Bay, www.paradisepoint.com, a 44-acre charmer with lavish tropical gardens, five pools, bike trails, marina and an 18-hole putting green (Andrew’s favorite), we dashed over to see Shamu.
It was love at first sight.
Much to my surprise – and not a little embarrassment – I became emotionally enthralled as Shamu began to perform. Silly to say, but I felt as I did the first time I’d seen Frank Sinatra in person and immediately understood his half century successful career. I felt he was singing especially for me. And Shamu – with apologies to Frank – was nearly as enticing. Shamu seemed to be smiling at me as he slid up from the water in a marine salute to the audience. My emotional response accelerated and produced a near-Stendhal syndrome experience. I’d heard about the Stendhal or Florence syndrome after being dazzled by the art at the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy. Apparently, it is a recognized phenomenon in Italy. A highly emotional response consisting of a mixture of awe, wonder, delight in great art or natural beauty which can produce, among other things, dizziness, fainting or weeping.
How else to explain that Shamu, in his own way, was nearly as awesome, in the correct sense of that over-used word, as a Florentine art treasure. It seemed to me Shamu is one of the wonders of the world.
Shamu is sleekly black and white, spectacularly beautiful, agile and talented – and yes, he certainly has personal charm. It was the Sinatra effect all over again. This glorious creature graciously enacted improbably daring – they looked that way –skills just for me. Well, OK, for the entire audience.
The show is artfully conceived and Shamu is presented in a creative narrative in an aquatic theater overseen by highly talented trainers and performers. And like the Stendhal response I nearly wept with the beauty of what I was seeing. Even now, I’m not sure why I responded so emotionally to what is, after all, only an animal act. I can only say the Shamu (actually there are several killer whales that enact the role) I saw perform has “it” – that indefinable quality that grabs an audience and leaves an indelible impression.
We also saw the dolphin show, which was wonderful. The dolphins are trained to swim around the perimeter of the water tank while flipping water at guests – who love it! It was fun, but I did not fall in love with any of the performers, same with the dog show. Cute pooches doing cute things, but no love affair developed. The Wild Animal Park denizens were lovely to see, especially the giraffes that come up close to the guest tram to nibble one of the few trees – maybe they it would be good to plant more trees in the animal area. Anyway, again, no bells ringing. Yet, I’m willing to bet that each visitor will have his or her unique experience in response to the splendid variety of experiences within San Diego. No doubt someone has fallen in love with the giraffes or dolphins, as I did with Shamu. This is a city which offers so many entertainments return visits are necessary.
With fall there are more special promotional discounts on parks and accommodations.The best strategy is to first check the San Diego Visitors & Convention Bureau, then the individual attractions you wish to see. Leave time for unexpected delights that will certainly turn up. One should check online for discount coupons for SeaWorld and other attractions, as well as hotel rates, vacations packages and operating hours for various attractions. Request any available informational booklets, brochures, coupons, etc., be mailed to you. Once you go, you’ll know and will return again & again.
Before you go:
* SeaWorld – www.seaworld.com, and www.seaworldsandiego.com, 1-800-25-SHAMU.
* San Diego Convention &Visitors Bureau – www.sandiego.org, 1-619-236-1212.
* Paradise Point Resort & Spa – www.paradisepoint.com, 1-858-274-4630.
Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Long Beach Museum of Art: “Novel Constructions – Artists Create Monumental Books” May 1 through August 16, 2009
There’s still time to catch the captivating exhibit, “Novel Constructions – Artists Create Monumental Books” at the charming Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. The exhibit closes August 16 and I’m sorry I didn’t see it earlier.
When I first walked into the exhibit I was, by turns, puzzled, confounded, but ultimately delighted, by the novel approach crafted by the six artists who created the works in the exhibit.
I was taken by surprise by the circular wordy disks artist Cheryl Sorg created. At first glance it is not apparent there is text in the graceful shapes on what appears to be huge plastic panels. Upon closer inspection the monumental scope of her creation comes into view and one is charmed by the originality and celebration of the printed word. It is a monstrous task to cut and paste, all in a circular format, the printed pages used in the display. How she achieved the precise design is a wonderment. The museum brochure tells us “…she cuts the books apart line by line, sometimes word by word, and reassembles the text with acid-free clear tape on to the Mylar.” I was delighted by the works featuring printed texts. Anyone who loves books may feel the same.
The installation, 280, by Edith Abeyta, refers, according to the artist, to the number of ill-fated French Queen Marie Antoinette’s prison cell. The entire room display is framed, according to museum information, by pages from Marie Antoinette’s diary. There is a cot and other pieces of furniture in the enclosure, creating a fanciful setting for the queen’s final days. The actual cell in which the queen spent her final days was eventually turned into a chapel.
The entire Novel exhibit features not only the printed texts, but books of leaves, tarpaper and other unique altered books. It is a fascinating exhibit.
The museum’s “Dark Forest” exhibit features a gallery full of sculptures by David Simon, based upon the contemporary play The Black Rider: The Casting of the MagicBullets. The Faustian storyline gives birth to strangely realistic figures shown to advantage in the eerie low-lighted gallery.
The Long Beach Museum of Art, situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean is a gem of a venue with always interesting exhibits. The Museum’s “Family Artmaking Workshops ”encourage children to “come get your hands dirty and your brains engaged!” These FREE drop-in workshops for adults and children, take place Fridays from 1:00 -3:00 p.m. in the Ralston Family Learning Center on August 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Long Beach Museum of Art
2300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA90803
562-439-2119
www.ibma.org
Museum hours: Tues. –Sun. 11 a.m. -5 p.m.
Fridays are free.
Admission-$7 adults, $6 students & seniors
Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2009
###
When I first walked into the exhibit I was, by turns, puzzled, confounded, but ultimately delighted, by the novel approach crafted by the six artists who created the works in the exhibit.
I was taken by surprise by the circular wordy disks artist Cheryl Sorg created. At first glance it is not apparent there is text in the graceful shapes on what appears to be huge plastic panels. Upon closer inspection the monumental scope of her creation comes into view and one is charmed by the originality and celebration of the printed word. It is a monstrous task to cut and paste, all in a circular format, the printed pages used in the display. How she achieved the precise design is a wonderment. The museum brochure tells us “…she cuts the books apart line by line, sometimes word by word, and reassembles the text with acid-free clear tape on to the Mylar.” I was delighted by the works featuring printed texts. Anyone who loves books may feel the same.
The installation, 280, by Edith Abeyta, refers, according to the artist, to the number of ill-fated French Queen Marie Antoinette’s prison cell. The entire room display is framed, according to museum information, by pages from Marie Antoinette’s diary. There is a cot and other pieces of furniture in the enclosure, creating a fanciful setting for the queen’s final days. The actual cell in which the queen spent her final days was eventually turned into a chapel.
The entire Novel exhibit features not only the printed texts, but books of leaves, tarpaper and other unique altered books. It is a fascinating exhibit.
The museum’s “Dark Forest” exhibit features a gallery full of sculptures by David Simon, based upon the contemporary play The Black Rider: The Casting of the MagicBullets. The Faustian storyline gives birth to strangely realistic figures shown to advantage in the eerie low-lighted gallery.
The Long Beach Museum of Art, situated on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean is a gem of a venue with always interesting exhibits. The Museum’s “Family Artmaking Workshops ”encourage children to “come get your hands dirty and your brains engaged!” These FREE drop-in workshops for adults and children, take place Fridays from 1:00 -3:00 p.m. in the Ralston Family Learning Center on August 7, 14, 21 and 28.
Long Beach Museum of Art
2300 E. Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA90803
562-439-2119
www.ibma.org
Museum hours: Tues. –Sun. 11 a.m. -5 p.m.
Fridays are free.
Admission-$7 adults, $6 students & seniors
Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2009
###
Man on the Moon: Nixon Library Apollo Exhibit
Before Galileo built the first complete astronomical telescope, 400 years ago, humans were nearly universally unaware of the specifics of the solar system. In fact, it was accepted the Earth was the center of the Universe and only in imagination did man fly to the Moon. Yet, in 2009, the International Year of Astronomy as designated by the United Nations, in recognition of Galileo's first telescope observations, American men walked upon the Moon. It is a time to celebrate Galileo and his scientific decedents, the astronauts and scientists and builders of the NASA lunar projects
Those of us fortunate enough to have been alive July 20, 1969, to watch a world-wide television broadcast saw Commander Neil Armstrong float down from Earth’s spacecraft, Eagle, onto the virgin surface of our Moon, enshrining man’s footprint with the words, “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
It was wondrous. Beyond thrilling. Heroic. As a nation it was, as President Richard Nixon later said, in a phone call to the astronauts, “…proudest day of our lives…”
As my babies slept, I, along with an estimated half a billion other persons, were privileged to experience the fulfillment of mankind’s ancient dream to touch the man in the moon. The astronauts became one with that dream and brought it home to us all.
Now we are reliving the excitement and wonder with the 40th Anniversary of the first lunar landing by Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar-Module Pilot, Buzz Aldrin and Command-Module Pilot Michael Collins. There have been TV shows and print coverage galore. For those who would like a more personal review, make plans to visit The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum’s exhibit, “Man on the Moon: The Fortieth Anniversary.” Located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd,Yorba Linda, CA, the exhibit runs through January 30, 2010.
Like Neil Armstrong’s public persona, the Nixon exhibit is a rather unassuming low-key affair. It features a variety of artifacts – space suit, small lunar module model, moon rocks, plaques, printed documents, audio tapes and photos of the astronauts, including the iconic color photo of the three Apollo 11 astronauts. There they are – their faces radiating some indescribable secret - rendering them forever young and heroic in our imaginations. For they were our star emissaries, with their ‘satiable curiosity, to find out exactly what the Moon is made of.
The Man on the Moon exhibit features descriptive and hands-on exhibits on all six Apollo missions that reached the Moon and the one that did not, Apollo 13. Artifacts given to President Nixon from NASA astronauts from the Apollo 11 to Apollo 17 lunar missions are featured. Apollo in-flight suits and a lunar sample bag are also on display. There is also a pair of astronaut underwear with descriptions of the “waste management” features.
Four decades after the historic Moon landing we tend to forget how laden with danger these missions were. Of course, in retrospect it seemed destined to succeed. However, those involved knew nothing of the kind. They prepared, trained, tested and made the spacecraft as safe as possible...but in the end it took the courage of the astronauts of test the viability of each and every spacecraft. Anything could happen and only the dedication and skill of those 400,000 workers on the ground who built the crafts, as well as the highly competent test pilots - astronauts - in space to keep disaster at bay. Nonetheless, to be prepared in the event of a tragic circumstance for the astronauts on the Moon, a press release with statements by President Nixon was prepared ahead of time. Fortune was with the US and it was not needed. .
The typed statement, written by William Safire, dated July 18, 1969, reads in part –
“…Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace…they know there is no hope for their recovery…”
How marvelous the three space explorers were returned home to help continue the NASA missions. It wasn't only Americans who were awed by the accomplishments. Leaders from around the world send messages to the US president.
One congratulatory note, from India’s Indira Gandhi, reads in part, “July 21, 1969…all…hailing historic achievement of the United States and her astronauts…thrilled at this victory for mankind won by your country’s science and spirit of adventure…pray…for safe return.” An appropriate message - eloquent & heartfelt.
The exhibit puts the visitor into the moment of that era. One simple plaque is a heartstopper - “America’s Men in Space – Mercury Gemini Apollo - They worked together in the high adventure of exploring space, and helped make the heavens a part of man’s world.” The plaque carries the engraved signatures of the astronauts.
The astronauts’ work can be viewed as the fulfillment of every human’s desire who gazed in wonder at the heavens, making star pictures of the constellations to tell the stories of Gemini, Taurus and the other ten constellations.
Four hundred years ago the Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist, Galileo Galilei, 1564-1643, constructed the first complete astronomical telescope (1609) which enabled Galileo to confirm Copernican theory of the solar system with the Earth orbiting the Sun. No doubt he must have known – or hoped - that someday man would create the means to fly to the Moon. For seeing is never enough. Man’s ‘satiable curiosity must find fulfillment.
It's a good time to celebrate - by Americans and the world - the astronauts 40th Anniversary of the first lunar landing as well as the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescope observations of the heavens. Galileo pointed the way - the astronauts followed.
The American astronauts embody the fulfillment of ancient wonderment at the heavens.
We Americans can be proud.
Contact: The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
714-983-9120
Http://www.nixonlibrary.gove
nison@archives.gov
Hours: 10-5, Mon.–Sat.;11-5, Sun.
Admission: Adults -$9.95; children age 7-11, $3.75; younger children free.
Seniors $6.95, Militaryw/ID $5.95, Student $6.95
School groups are free.Contact nixon@archives.gov.
###
Those of us fortunate enough to have been alive July 20, 1969, to watch a world-wide television broadcast saw Commander Neil Armstrong float down from Earth’s spacecraft, Eagle, onto the virgin surface of our Moon, enshrining man’s footprint with the words, “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
It was wondrous. Beyond thrilling. Heroic. As a nation it was, as President Richard Nixon later said, in a phone call to the astronauts, “…proudest day of our lives…”
As my babies slept, I, along with an estimated half a billion other persons, were privileged to experience the fulfillment of mankind’s ancient dream to touch the man in the moon. The astronauts became one with that dream and brought it home to us all.
Now we are reliving the excitement and wonder with the 40th Anniversary of the first lunar landing by Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar-Module Pilot, Buzz Aldrin and Command-Module Pilot Michael Collins. There have been TV shows and print coverage galore. For those who would like a more personal review, make plans to visit The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum’s exhibit, “Man on the Moon: The Fortieth Anniversary.” Located at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd,Yorba Linda, CA, the exhibit runs through January 30, 2010.
Like Neil Armstrong’s public persona, the Nixon exhibit is a rather unassuming low-key affair. It features a variety of artifacts – space suit, small lunar module model, moon rocks, plaques, printed documents, audio tapes and photos of the astronauts, including the iconic color photo of the three Apollo 11 astronauts. There they are – their faces radiating some indescribable secret - rendering them forever young and heroic in our imaginations. For they were our star emissaries, with their ‘satiable curiosity, to find out exactly what the Moon is made of.
The Man on the Moon exhibit features descriptive and hands-on exhibits on all six Apollo missions that reached the Moon and the one that did not, Apollo 13. Artifacts given to President Nixon from NASA astronauts from the Apollo 11 to Apollo 17 lunar missions are featured. Apollo in-flight suits and a lunar sample bag are also on display. There is also a pair of astronaut underwear with descriptions of the “waste management” features.
Four decades after the historic Moon landing we tend to forget how laden with danger these missions were. Of course, in retrospect it seemed destined to succeed. However, those involved knew nothing of the kind. They prepared, trained, tested and made the spacecraft as safe as possible...but in the end it took the courage of the astronauts of test the viability of each and every spacecraft. Anything could happen and only the dedication and skill of those 400,000 workers on the ground who built the crafts, as well as the highly competent test pilots - astronauts - in space to keep disaster at bay. Nonetheless, to be prepared in the event of a tragic circumstance for the astronauts on the Moon, a press release with statements by President Nixon was prepared ahead of time. Fortune was with the US and it was not needed. .
The typed statement, written by William Safire, dated July 18, 1969, reads in part –
“…Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace…they know there is no hope for their recovery…”
How marvelous the three space explorers were returned home to help continue the NASA missions. It wasn't only Americans who were awed by the accomplishments. Leaders from around the world send messages to the US president.
One congratulatory note, from India’s Indira Gandhi, reads in part, “July 21, 1969…all…hailing historic achievement of the United States and her astronauts…thrilled at this victory for mankind won by your country’s science and spirit of adventure…pray…for safe return.” An appropriate message - eloquent & heartfelt.
The exhibit puts the visitor into the moment of that era. One simple plaque is a heartstopper - “America’s Men in Space – Mercury Gemini Apollo - They worked together in the high adventure of exploring space, and helped make the heavens a part of man’s world.” The plaque carries the engraved signatures of the astronauts.
The astronauts’ work can be viewed as the fulfillment of every human’s desire who gazed in wonder at the heavens, making star pictures of the constellations to tell the stories of Gemini, Taurus and the other ten constellations.
Four hundred years ago the Italian astronomer, mathematician and physicist, Galileo Galilei, 1564-1643, constructed the first complete astronomical telescope (1609) which enabled Galileo to confirm Copernican theory of the solar system with the Earth orbiting the Sun. No doubt he must have known – or hoped - that someday man would create the means to fly to the Moon. For seeing is never enough. Man’s ‘satiable curiosity must find fulfillment.
It's a good time to celebrate - by Americans and the world - the astronauts 40th Anniversary of the first lunar landing as well as the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescope observations of the heavens. Galileo pointed the way - the astronauts followed.
The American astronauts embody the fulfillment of ancient wonderment at the heavens.
We Americans can be proud.
Contact: The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
714-983-9120
Http://www.nixonlibrary.gove
nison@archives.gov
Hours: 10-5, Mon.–Sat.;11-5, Sun.
Admission: Adults -$9.95; children age 7-11, $3.75; younger children free.
Seniors $6.95, Militaryw/ID $5.95, Student $6.95
School groups are free.Contact nixon@archives.gov.
###
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Eternal Beauty, Eternal Rome: “Pompeii and the Roman Villa – Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples”
By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright 2009
The ancient city of Pompeii, Italy, has fascinated the world since excavations began in 1748 on this city buried more than 1700 years ago. Victim of Mt. Vesuvius’ cataclysmic volcanic eruption on August 24, 79 AD, it remains one of the world’s most important travel destinations.
Today, visitors can get a taste of the lost city of Pompeii at Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s (LACMA) exhibit, “Pompeii and the Roman Villa - Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples.” The show runs from May 3 through October 4, 2009. It is testament to the voracious appetite ancient Romans had for all Greek culture and art. That single-mindedness resulted in priceless treasures being preserved for nearly two thousands of years.
Fortunately, we know exactly what happened to the ill-fated people of ancient Pompeii thanks to the scholar, Pliny the Younger, who wrote a detailed eyewitness description of the sudden explosion, in 79 AD, of Mount Vesuvius on the Bay of Naples, Italy. The powerful volcanic eruption, together with earthquakes and tsunamis, devastated the coastal area and the cities were covered under volcanic rock and nearly forgotten, until 1738 when the royal family of the region initiated excavations on Herculaneum and on Pompeii ten years later.
As an Italian American, seeing an ancient Pompeii exhibit is a bit like going home. My 19th century Italian ancestors came from the Pompeii, Campania, Italy, area and when visiting that site several years ago there was a profound sense of connection. I was puzzled to see faces in frescos which looked familiar – then I realized they looked like people I knew, cousins and other relatives. Over the years I’ve seen many Pompeii exhibits in various museums and each has been different.
LACMA’s “Pompeii and the Roman Villa” is a bountiful feast of beautiful specimen art pieces, from Roman villas, in various media, designed to illuminate the richness of taste and refinement of the elite Romans who built spectacular villas around Pompeii. Other exhibits had slightly different perspectives.
The Art Institute of Chicago’s glorious display more than 25 years ago put the visitor immediately into the atrium, (center courtyard) of a Pompeii town home. One heard and saw the graceful fountain, just as the Roman families would enjoy. Last year’s San Diego Art Museum Pompeii exhibit showed another side of life in Pompeii, focusing on how the ordinary people of the area lived. There were huge commercial scales; models of storefronts; displays of goods for sale; where people lived (often above the store); the type of businesses they ran and the cleverness of the city engineers in keeping the city clean and prosperous. There was also a film which belabored the eruption of Vesuvius and the possibilities of future explosions - much like a Hollywood disaster film might show.
Some past Pompeii exhibits have included casts of dead bodies – actually the spaces where the bodies had been trapped in the eruption – but the LACMA show does not. This exhibit seeks to soothe with scenes and artifacts from magnificent villas, showing the glory of furnishings of great art. Interestingly, there are several fine paintings or frescoes of villas, but no scale models. As many villas covered huge tracks of land, such models would have added interesting information to the exhibit.
This show is an elegant collection of Roman and Greek artifacts, as well as 19th century European photo albums, paintings and books by those who traveled to the discovered cities and fell in love with the entire Bay of Naples region, including Pompeii, Herculaneum and other cities, after they were uncovered in the 18th century. These modern Europeans were amazed to see entire cities emerge from underground to reveal secrets of past lives. The news of the discoveries swept Europe, and ultimately North America, and people became just as fascinated with the art and culture of Pompeii as the ancient Romans had been with the original Greek art that informed so much of Pompeii culture.
Suddenly, all things Roman became the frenzy of fashion after the excavations began and anyone who aspired to refinement sought to attach themselves to Roman art. Many artisans were influenced by the discoveries of Pompeii and the art of the area, including the great English potter Josiah Wedgwood. He was inspired by the classical vases and jewelry found in the Pompeii region and opened a new factory, Etruria, in 1769 to produce jasperware art objects which utilized low relief designs based upon art pieces of antiquity.His designs were inspired by Greeks and Roman myths and were depicted in Wedgwood’s distinctive white relief on blue vases, tableware and other objects. Alas, a Wedgwood display does not appear in the LACMA exhibit. Nonetheless, it is an elegant exhibit filled with spectacular artifacts showing the great love of Greek art the Romans cultivated and passed on to us all in the Western World. For example, our Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., mimics this great architectural tradition, together with many public buildings throughout the country.
Ancient Pompeii and the surrounding coastline cities were popular and successful commercial and artistic centers centuries before the 79 AD eruption, attracting the Roman elite, artisans, merchants and entrepreneurs of every type. This was the place of the Lifestyle of the Rich and Roman, where ruling families and emperors such as Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula,Claudius and Nero had summer homes filled with the best of Greek culture and art. The lawyer Cicero had eight homes in the area. Fortunate for us, this LACMA show details the great love Romans had for Greek art and culture and how they emulated it all in every aspect of their homes and lives.
Posterity benefited from the tragedy of Pompeii. The circumstances of the destruction and preservation ensured the area’s place in history and art. On that day of doom for Pompeii, in 79 A.D, the nephew of Pliny the Elder, the commander of the fleet, wrote an eyewitness account of the volcano’s eruption (“Eyewitness to History”, edited by John Carey).
“My uncle (Pliny the Elder), on active command of the fleet….” observed a threatening cloud and set out at once to investigate. …the huge cloud blackened the sky and appeared “…as being an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches…” The Pliny account describes how people fled with pillows tied to their heads to ward off the burning ash. Many survived, but still more perished, incinerated by volcanic ash. The uncle, Pliny the Elder, died of suffocation in attempting to rescue those trapped near the volcano. Pliny the Younger and his mother fled only after learning of the Elder’s death. This horrific story was recast in the 1834 novel, “The Last Days of Pompeii,“ by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, which has had many reincarnations in films and books. It is a story of endless interest to succeeding generations.
Today, visitors to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) exhibit, “Pompeii and the Roman Villa – Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples,” can relive the Mediterranean glamour in which the elite of first century Roman politics and commerce luxuriated. The LACMA Pompeii exhibit has a vast array of fine examples of stunning antiquities, from gigantic Aphrodite/Venus sculptures to beautiful frescoes, mosaics, bronze figures, jewelry and literature set off to advantage by the rich background of deep hunter green walls with white surrounds.
Images such as “ The Three Graces”, 1st century BC and “Relief of an Athlete with Hoop”, 1st century BC -1st century, AD, seem so familiar, as these classic figures have been reproduced repeatedly. It also reminds us that there’s nothing new under the sun. The hoop in the “Relief of an Athlete” was used in various ancient games, so the hula hoop is, in fact, rather ancient.
Here you will experience the luminous blue and green garden scenes so often used in a Pompeii villa, as well as towering sculpted urns, precisely carved cameo brooches and bracelets, exquisite gold, pearl and emerald earrings, delicate glassware, silver mirrors and finely cast bronze figures, including a magnificent Alexander the Great astride his beloved warhorse Bucephalus. A mosaic of Plato with his students indicates the reverence for Greek intellectual values which the Romans sought to emulate.
The ancient Romans knew a good thing when they saw it.
Already master militarists, architects, lawyers, administrators and engineers, whose magnificent roads have endured as long as the city of Pompeii, which had the dubious benefit of lying under volcanic ash for 1700 years, the ancient Romans fell in love with Greek culture and set out to capture it. That they vanquished Greece in 146 BC is almost beside the point, as they seized upon and elevated every aspect of Greek culture and built upon it.
The Romans loved the “old masters” from the “Golden Age of Pericles” of the 5th century BC, much as we today revere Michelangelo and Da Vinci. Beauty is eternal and the Romans saved and enlarged the best of Western art from the Greeks. We lucky few can see some of these ancient artifacts in Los Angeles, CA.
This exhibit benefits from curators Carol Matausch, Art History Professor at George Mason University, who developed the Pompeii exhibit for the U.S. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and Kenneth Lapatin, Associate Curator of Antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, who is guest curator at LACMA.
This exhibit at LACMA runs May 3, until October 4, and offers a tantalizing peek into an ancient luxurious era, which may resonate with modern viewers. It may seem somewhat reassuring that no matter how dire circumstances may be, some things endure, especially the love of beauty.
###
LACMA –“Pompeii and the Roman Villa”
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-857-6000
Admission –general admission $12; seniors/college students, $8; under 18 yrs free. After 5 p.m. pay what you wish. Second Tues. of month, free admission. Hours: Mon.,Tues., Thurs., 12-8 p.m.; Fri., 12-9 p.m; Sat., Sun., 11-8 p.m.
Parking –prepay at welcome center; parking across the street.
Friday, January 16, 2009
MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON
by Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Watching the story unfold of the US Airways jetliner's Hudson River landing January 15, 2009, filled Americans with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, awe and wonder.
As more was learned about the pilot and crew it was clear this incident - "Miracle on the Hudson" (no one is better than New Yorkers to create instant tag lines) - was apparently the most marvelously competent water landing - ditching is not the correct term for what Pilot Sullenberger did - ever seen.
Reports blamed an unfortunate flock of birds, which apparently collided with the jet engines minutes after takeoff. (Why can't the engines have a fine titanium mesh screen protector?) The jetliner was carrying 150 passengers and five crew members from La Guardia Airport, NY, to Charlotte, NC.
With two disabled engines, the pilots and crew had about as much time to decide and execute a plan of survival as it takes to microwave breakfast bacon - a few minutes. Yet, from among few options the water landing was targeted and executed with superb results.
That Captain Chelsey Sullenberger III and his co-pilot, who has yet to be named, demonstrated that elusive quality many think of as emblematic of the best of American character, and so sorely absent in public figures of late - extreme competence combined with integrity of duty - fills spectators and survivors with respect and awe.
It is impossible to not contrast this heroic and ultimately fortunate event with the sordid revelations of corruption, incompetence, thievery, venal avarice which abound in the demise of America's economic structures - banks, mortgage companies, Wall Street firms, government officials.
Americans are shell shocked by the enormity of bad people doing bad things resulting in the wrecking of the very foundations of the economic systems of the country. So absorbing the elegant and effective execution, by Captain Sullenberger and his crew, of the seemingly perfect landing - except that is was on water - and the survival of all shook us to our socks.
Not only did the passengers get a stay on their own mortality, giving us all the vague notion we might effect some permanent avoidance, but the water landing and rescue by New York City water personnel was instantaneous and completely effective. People wait longer for a commuter train than did the survivors who stood shivering on the floating aircraft's wings.
This miracle was made possible by people doing their jobs extremely well. It's pitiful to admit, but we must be honest, we have seen so little of such competence in our government officials and "titans of Wall Street." The survival rate indicated the crew included people of knowledge, skill, talent, integrity, and a sense of duty. Where do you see that these days?
In government and private business we've seen too much of people who lack all of these traits while they face television cameras and blame others for their failures. This aircraft landing somehow renews our faith that there are, indeed, Americans who still can and do respond with heroic efforts to bad situations.
Reportedly, Capt. Sullenberger, patrolled the interior of the aircraft twice to insure no one was left behind, before he exited his ship. Apparently, the constellation of his training - he flew fighter jets, and is a safety expert - and leadership of duty is what marshaled the crew to make the correct decisions with alacrity.
Luck and prayers may also have played a role. But that's something we can't quantify.
So we devour the news coverage of this spectacular cheater of death.
It renews our sense that "Yes, there are competent people left in the country upon whom we can rely!" We know them by their actions, not by their words.
Hats off to US Airways captain Chelsey B. Sullenberger III and his magnificent crew and all the New York City rescue workers who made it possible for 150 persons to continue on with their lives. They made it possible for all of us in the country to renew our faith in the ultimate goodness and competence of Americans.
Amazing how a near-castrastrastroke can ultimately buoy the entire country.
It has been reported Captain Sullenberger was educated at the US Airforce Academy before serving his country as a fighter pilot. This water landing may have done more to serve his country than any of his previous brave battle actions. Faith renewed in American competence and integrity is priceless.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Long Beach Museum of Art - Nothing Plain About Plein Aire
California, Seen – Landscapes of a Changing California, 1930-1970
Long Beach Museum of Art exhibit Nov. 7 – April 5, 2009
By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2008
Southern California is as much a state of mind, as it is a real place.
It is brilliant sunshine, Sorrento-like ocean views, combined with dynamic enterprise. That’s the story illustrated in the marvelous plein aire (painted outdoors) paintings at the new exhibit, California, Seen, at the Long Beach Museum of Art, opening Nov. 7th and running until April 5, 2009.
Families are welcomed Sunday, Nov. 16th, 1 – 3 p.m., to the Museum’s free Art making Workshops to learn how to make their own plein aire paintings. Museum educators will work with the children to experiment to make their own watercolor creations. All materials and instruction are provided free.
The artists on display in California, Seen, were influenced by European art styles of the late 19th century, especially Impressionism. While the majority of the works are watercolors, there are, also, vibrant oils. Paintings such as Ben Messick’s oil circus paintings have the vitality of an Edgar Degas painting, drawing the viewer into the churning scene. Messick, along with other stellar artists on display, such as Phil Dike, Millard Sheets and Charles Payzant were also artist/animators for Disney Studios, working on films such as Fantasia, Pinocchio and Snow White.
Of course, all plein-aire artists owe a debt to John Rand, the inventor, in 1841, of the patented tin tube of oil paint, called the “collapsible tube.”
“Without paints in tubes,” Pierre-Auguste Renoir, was quoted to have said, “there would have been no Cezanne, no Monet, no Sisley, or Pissarro, nothing of what the journalists were later to call Impressionism.”
Prior to the tin tubes painters put oil paint into animal bladders and then jabbed dabs out. With the tin tubes oil paint could be squeezed out in increments and the tubes resealed. This amazing technological advancement changed the work of painting. It made it easy for painters to be outdoors with their tubes of paints and created a new style of painting.
Art is always about us – and this exhibit in Long Beach is about “us” in California, as the area changed from open vistas into urban settings. There are lovely water scenes, such as Emil KosaJr’s Fish Harbor, and several of other harbors and coastline scenes. But there are also muscular scenes, such as Charles Keck’s Bean Hopper and Leonard Cutrow’s The Gravel Pit. Charles Payzant’s Circus Tent Interior portrays the same natural work depiction as Gustave Caillebotte’s Floor Strippers. Caillebotte was a generous patron of the Impressionist painters, organizing their first exhibition 1874. His own reputation as an artist has been enhanced in recent years with several large exhibits of his fine works.
Long Beach Museum of Art takes great care in writing excellent descriptive biographical information for most of the paintings, so that one learns about the artist, as well as the picture itself. The experience of this singular exhibit is both visual and intellectual. The variety of works presents an engrossing storyline of both the artists and their subjects.
All these beautiful paintings are on display in the very environment which inspired the artists. Long Beach Museum of Art sits on a bluff overlooking Long Beach Harbor at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, so that visitors may indulge in both painted and real ocean vistas. It’s a unique museum-going experience; One worth enjoying.
Long Beach Museum of Art
2300 E. OceanBlvd.
Long Beach, CA 90803
562-439-2119
www.lbma.org
ADMISSION:
Fridays – free
Tues. – Sun. . 11 a.m. -3 p.m.
Admission: $7 adults; $6 students & seniors; free for children under 12
Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Nov. 7, 2008
Copyright
Saturday, September 27, 2008
CHICAGO IN THE “SPRING”
By Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2008
Everyone should be in Chicago in the springtime…and that’s right now.
Baseball fans know the city will be on high excitement as the Chicago Cubs clinched their National League Division and are in the running for the World Series. The Cubs last won a World Series in 1908, so they are overdue. Meanwhile, on the city’s South Side, the Chicago White Sox, American League, are doing well and, as of this writing, may be in the playoffs.
Notorious for its perfidious climate, Chicago is perverse enough to offer up its best springtime weather in the fall. October is, without a doubt, the most felicitous time to visit this world-class city to enjoy its many delights. In the fall the crowds are gone and the weather is usually delightful.
A compact convenient city, visitors can catch the Impressionist paintings (the largest collection outside Paris, but in a much better venue) at the Art Institute of Chicago, on Michigan Avenue. Here’s where you’ll find some of the most iconic paintings in the art world: such as Claude Monet’s “Haystacks;” GeorgeSeurat’s “A Sunday on La Grand Jatte;” Grant Wood’s 1930s painting of a farmer and his daughter (not his wife) in “American Gothic.” Many people have seen pop art imitations o fEdward Hopper’s evocative painting “Nighthawks.” The imitation’s images include actors Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. The original does not.
Not to be missed are the 68 exquisite miniature Thorne Rooms, of European and American room interiors from the 13th century through the 1930s. The rooms were created between 1932 and 1940, by talented artists to the specifications of Chicago’s Mrs. James Ward Thorne. Also, in the lower level with the Thorne Rooms, are many children’sattractions.
The new Millennium Park, next to the Art Institute, offers unique fountains, delightful open green spaces, a band shell, sculpture, gardens and cafes. It’s a must-see park, amid one of the world’s most lovely lakefronts. Several miles north of this park is Navy Pier, a perfect playground for families with children who relish giant ferris wheels and lavish merry-go-rounds. Plenty of restaurants here, too.
Outside the Art Institute, on Michigan Avenue, you can jump on a trolley or city bus for a short run south to the Field Museum of National History. Kids love meeting Sue, the 67-million-year old T-Rex. Sue is not a plastic or plaster cast or collection of bones from various sources. Sue is intact and real. You can walk around the 13 feet tall, 42 feet long creature. Named in honor of Sue Henrickson, the person who first saw the fossils, in the summer of 1990, in the hills of South Dakota. Sue, the t-rex, has resided at the Field Museum since May 17, 2000, and is the largest, best preserved and most complete tyrannosaurus rex fossil yet discovered. Of course, the Field’s extensive exhibits also offer a scientific record of the Earth’s climatic history, demonstrating the various natural ice and warm eras in Earth’s long life.
The magnificently ingenious Museum of Science and Industry is a short ride south of the Field Museum. This is the place where you can go down into a real coal mine or explore the interior of a WWII German submarine. This is a museum on a grand scale to inspire and delight the curious of mind.
First-time visitors are often shocked to realize that Chicago is among the most beautiful cities in the world. The city, perched on the shore of Lake Michigan, with a front yard spanning hundreds of acres of public parks, is best viewed from the water, looking back at the parks and the iconic towering sawtooth skyline – the skyscraper was born in Chicago. A boat tour will highlight the history of the city shown through various styles of architecture.
The Wendella Boat tours, longtime guides of the city’s waterways, provide tours through December. These include Wine Tasting Architectural tours, Lake tours and Chicago River Architecture tours. The Lake tours begin in the Chicago River and pass through the river locks, (sort of a mini Panama Canal experience) which were installed when the river’s flow was reversed to preserve the purity of Lake Michigan water, which is the city’s source of drinking water.
To secure the full flavor of this surprisingly sparkling city there are four things visitors should do:
1) Visit one of the world-classmuseums;
2) Take in a river or lake cruise or Cubs game (if you can score a ticket);
3) Eat Chicago style pizza – Lou Malnati’s on Wells St. is yummo;
4) View the city from the observatory atop either the Hancock Building or the Sears Tower.
Luxury hotels such as The Drake on Michigan, the Ambassadors, the Palmer House, the Four Seasons and many more offer special packages throughout the year. Try having English tea in some of these hotels...a civilized meal. Those who prefer more casual accommodations will find a wide range of hotels to suit their needs and budget.
Chicago is known as an “eating and entertainment city” featuring many distinct ethnic neighborhoods with theaters and upscale restaurants, as well as down home establishments. It’s a walking city, so bring comfortable shoes, as you’ll want to walk at least one of the many Chicago River bascule bridges, (the city holds the record on the number of these opening bridges) especially the Michigan Avenue double-deck bridge. The Bridgehouse Museum, which highlights the city's history through the development of the river, s located on the Michigan Avenue bridge and is open until October 31. There, you can see the giant gears which lift and divide the 200-ton bridge to allow boats to pass beneath.
Of course, if you are traveling with a little girl, you’ll have to add a fifth must-do; a visit to the American Girl Place, off North Michigan Avenue. It is a world unto itself…all things girly, including a beauty salon for dolls, and tea room for dolls and their human firiends. Having a birthday party in the tea room is a much sought-after experience for young ladies. And pampering grandmamas. As an extra treat grandmama may surprise her special little girl with a look-alike American Girl. So cute.
Centrally located, Chicago offers excitement, culture (Lyric Opera of Chicago, etc) and a wide range of exciting opportunities for fun. This is a city second to none…it’s my kind of town, and will be yours, too.
For information on trip planning:
www.cityofchicago.org/tourism
1-877-244-2246
Visitors Information Centers:
Chicago Water Works, 163 East Pearson St.,@ Michigan Ave.
Chicago Cultural Center, (holds the largest Tiffany dome) 77 E. Randolph St.
From outside the United States please call 1-312-201-8847
End-
http://www.travelingdiva.com/day-tripping/chicago-in-the-%E2%80%9Cspring%E2%80%9D/
Credit: Angela Rocco DeCarlo, former Chicago journalist.
copyright, 2008
Everyone should be in Chicago in the springtime…and that’s right now.
Baseball fans know the city will be on high excitement as the Chicago Cubs clinched their National League Division and are in the running for the World Series. The Cubs last won a World Series in 1908, so they are overdue. Meanwhile, on the city’s South Side, the Chicago White Sox, American League, are doing well and, as of this writing, may be in the playoffs.
Notorious for its perfidious climate, Chicago is perverse enough to offer up its best springtime weather in the fall. October is, without a doubt, the most felicitous time to visit this world-class city to enjoy its many delights. In the fall the crowds are gone and the weather is usually delightful.
A compact convenient city, visitors can catch the Impressionist paintings (the largest collection outside Paris, but in a much better venue) at the Art Institute of Chicago, on Michigan Avenue. Here’s where you’ll find some of the most iconic paintings in the art world: such as Claude Monet’s “Haystacks;” GeorgeSeurat’s “A Sunday on La Grand Jatte;” Grant Wood’s 1930s painting of a farmer and his daughter (not his wife) in “American Gothic.” Many people have seen pop art imitations o fEdward Hopper’s evocative painting “Nighthawks.” The imitation’s images include actors Marilyn Monroe and James Dean. The original does not.
Not to be missed are the 68 exquisite miniature Thorne Rooms, of European and American room interiors from the 13th century through the 1930s. The rooms were created between 1932 and 1940, by talented artists to the specifications of Chicago’s Mrs. James Ward Thorne. Also, in the lower level with the Thorne Rooms, are many children’sattractions.
The new Millennium Park, next to the Art Institute, offers unique fountains, delightful open green spaces, a band shell, sculpture, gardens and cafes. It’s a must-see park, amid one of the world’s most lovely lakefronts. Several miles north of this park is Navy Pier, a perfect playground for families with children who relish giant ferris wheels and lavish merry-go-rounds. Plenty of restaurants here, too.
Outside the Art Institute, on Michigan Avenue, you can jump on a trolley or city bus for a short run south to the Field Museum of National History. Kids love meeting Sue, the 67-million-year old T-Rex. Sue is not a plastic or plaster cast or collection of bones from various sources. Sue is intact and real. You can walk around the 13 feet tall, 42 feet long creature. Named in honor of Sue Henrickson, the person who first saw the fossils, in the summer of 1990, in the hills of South Dakota. Sue, the t-rex, has resided at the Field Museum since May 17, 2000, and is the largest, best preserved and most complete tyrannosaurus rex fossil yet discovered. Of course, the Field’s extensive exhibits also offer a scientific record of the Earth’s climatic history, demonstrating the various natural ice and warm eras in Earth’s long life.
The magnificently ingenious Museum of Science and Industry is a short ride south of the Field Museum. This is the place where you can go down into a real coal mine or explore the interior of a WWII German submarine. This is a museum on a grand scale to inspire and delight the curious of mind.
First-time visitors are often shocked to realize that Chicago is among the most beautiful cities in the world. The city, perched on the shore of Lake Michigan, with a front yard spanning hundreds of acres of public parks, is best viewed from the water, looking back at the parks and the iconic towering sawtooth skyline – the skyscraper was born in Chicago. A boat tour will highlight the history of the city shown through various styles of architecture.
The Wendella Boat tours, longtime guides of the city’s waterways, provide tours through December. These include Wine Tasting Architectural tours, Lake tours and Chicago River Architecture tours. The Lake tours begin in the Chicago River and pass through the river locks, (sort of a mini Panama Canal experience) which were installed when the river’s flow was reversed to preserve the purity of Lake Michigan water, which is the city’s source of drinking water.
To secure the full flavor of this surprisingly sparkling city there are four things visitors should do:
1) Visit one of the world-classmuseums;
2) Take in a river or lake cruise or Cubs game (if you can score a ticket);
3) Eat Chicago style pizza – Lou Malnati’s on Wells St. is yummo;
4) View the city from the observatory atop either the Hancock Building or the Sears Tower.
Luxury hotels such as The Drake on Michigan, the Ambassadors, the Palmer House, the Four Seasons and many more offer special packages throughout the year. Try having English tea in some of these hotels...a civilized meal. Those who prefer more casual accommodations will find a wide range of hotels to suit their needs and budget.
Chicago is known as an “eating and entertainment city” featuring many distinct ethnic neighborhoods with theaters and upscale restaurants, as well as down home establishments. It’s a walking city, so bring comfortable shoes, as you’ll want to walk at least one of the many Chicago River bascule bridges, (the city holds the record on the number of these opening bridges) especially the Michigan Avenue double-deck bridge. The Bridgehouse Museum, which highlights the city's history through the development of the river, s located on the Michigan Avenue bridge and is open until October 31. There, you can see the giant gears which lift and divide the 200-ton bridge to allow boats to pass beneath.
Of course, if you are traveling with a little girl, you’ll have to add a fifth must-do; a visit to the American Girl Place, off North Michigan Avenue. It is a world unto itself…all things girly, including a beauty salon for dolls, and tea room for dolls and their human firiends. Having a birthday party in the tea room is a much sought-after experience for young ladies. And pampering grandmamas. As an extra treat grandmama may surprise her special little girl with a look-alike American Girl. So cute.
Centrally located, Chicago offers excitement, culture (Lyric Opera of Chicago, etc) and a wide range of exciting opportunities for fun. This is a city second to none…it’s my kind of town, and will be yours, too.
For information on trip planning:
www.cityofchicago.org/tourism
1-877-244-2246
Visitors Information Centers:
Chicago Water Works, 163 East Pearson St.,@ Michigan Ave.
Chicago Cultural Center, (holds the largest Tiffany dome) 77 E. Randolph St.
From outside the United States please call 1-312-201-8847
End-
http://www.travelingdiva.com/day-tripping/chicago-in-the-%E2%80%9Cspring%E2%80%9D/
Credit: Angela Rocco DeCarlo, former Chicago journalist.
copyright, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tea for Two Times Two:
Museum fun with grandchildren
By Angela Rocco DeCarlo
It’s a fantasy of mine. Having an English tea with my grandchildren.
For a last hurrah before school began we spirited our two eldest grandchildren away to “do tea” and to see the newly restored galleries at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA. The restoration is gloriously beautiful. The creamy expansive entrance halls give way to rich forest green walls in the picture gallery, all situated in what once was the Henry and Arabelle Huntington family residence. The children loved the paintings, and the delight of rushing up the splendid double staircase, while the grandparents took the elevator.
It seemed like a good idea – culturally speaking – to treat Michelle, 10, and Andrew, 8, to English tea and a tour of the grand Huntington Library and picture galleries. I was half right. They loved the place…the beauty of the art, gardens, the buildings, and the Library’s giant Gutenberg Bible ( c.1455). They’ve been memorizing Bible verses for years at school, so they had more than a passing interest.
Alas, I misjudged one point - tea sandwiches for hockey-playing little boys are not so thrilling as they are for grandmamma. The beautiful buffet of sandwiches, fruits, cheeses, pastries, crackers, spreads, held no charm for Andrew. He’s too much of a gentleman to complain; he tried various things without success and ended up nibbling on strawberries. (cost: adults, $24.95; children ages 4-8, $12.49). Oh, well, you win some and lose some.
However, he and Michelle loved the self-guided audio tour of the art collections in the residence. It is amazing how diligently they listened and moved from painting to painting. I was disappointed to note that my favorite sculpture – three putti (baby boys) tipsy on wine – had been placed too far away, behind barriers in the dining room, for us to view it up close.
Growing up on Chicago’s far West border, contiguous to Oak Park, my little school, Key Clark Branch, – less than 100 students – proudly displayed copies of the Huntington’s iconic paintings, Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy and Lawrence’s Pinkie. We had no clue why they were there, but they are exceedingly pretty and we liked how they looked, all delicate and dreamy. I never imagined I’d one day see the real thing. So it’squite a delight to be able give our grandchildren the fun of seeing, up close, the lovely, original paintings. They took home their own little copies, along with a book and snuff box from the gift shop. I’ve come to believe, it is not possible to have a true cultural experience without making a purchase in the museum gift shop. One finds unique books, jewelry and other interesting objects. Our collection of books from museum gift shops, about a little girl named Katie, who visits museums with her grandmother, is a treasure.
The Huntington has become one of our favorites. It’s a bit like the Villa Borghese in Rome, with art galleries, antiquities and gorgeous gardens. However, the Huntington does not sport a zoo. Most interestingly, each museum reflects the artistic and intellectual taste of a private individual, rather than “only” museum curators. In Rome, early 1600s, it was Scipione Cardinal Borghese who assembled the antiquities; in San Marino (near Pasadena), the art was collected by Henry and Arabelle Huntington, he, the 19th century magnate.
It’s the perfect place to introduce children to the idea of what great wealth, combined with fine artistic taste, can accomplish. There are lots of reasons to take children to museums. Granted, they may not fully appreciate the purpose and mportance of preserving fine objects of art and literature. However, by repeated exposure to fine art, they begin to see how big the world is and how long humans have been engaged in artistic expressions. History, combined with beauty, is ultimately an easy and useful lesson for children of any age.
In any case, we apparently had picked the hottest day of the summer to visit this stellar venue. Nonetheless, we managed to hit the highlights in the library, the art gallery and the new Chinese garden, Garden o fFlowing Fragrance. We wish the weather had been cooler, as our plan to see the Children’s Garden, which would have been a better choice for us, was sidetracked.
The Huntington is a place to return to over and over. Founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate magnate Henry Edwards Huntington, the estate was opened to the public in 1928. One Art Gallery occupies the original Beaux Arts mansion built for Henry and Arabelle Huntington in 1911. The residence houses a world-famous collection of British paintings by Gainsborough, Lawrence, Constable, Turner, Romney and Van Dyck; a short walk across the Shakespeare Garden is the Virginia Steele Scott Gallery which displays American paintings and decorative arts, including works by Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Frederick Remington, Gilbert Stuart and Edward Hopper.
The entire place is a feast for eye and soul.
When we returned to my home, the children took out the painting supplies I keep for them, including smocks, and sat down to capture a quickly arranged still life of roses and fruit. They became lost in their work, much as they had when new to painting as toddlers. Their paintings hang in my kitchen “gallery” alongside their cousins’ works.
It was avery happy day. Beauty and learning does that for you.
TO GO:
The Huntington
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108
(626) 405-2100 www.huntington.org
HOURS:Mon.,Wed., Thurs., Fri., noon to 4:30 p.m., Sat. & Sun.,10:30 to 4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: Adults $15, Seniors (age 65+), $12, Students( age 12-18, or full-time ID) $10,Youth, (age 5-11) $6. Parking lot is free.
Admission is FREE to all on the first Thursday of each month with advanced tickets.
The Rose Garden Tea Room – (626) 683-8131. Reservations encouraged. Closed Tues. $24.95 per person; $12.49 for children ages 4-8, plus tax & gratuity.
Tea and Tour packages are available. Call 626-2240 or email tours@huntington.org to schedule a morning “Tea & Tour” for your group.
####
Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2008
By Angela Rocco DeCarlo
It’s a fantasy of mine. Having an English tea with my grandchildren.
For a last hurrah before school began we spirited our two eldest grandchildren away to “do tea” and to see the newly restored galleries at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA. The restoration is gloriously beautiful. The creamy expansive entrance halls give way to rich forest green walls in the picture gallery, all situated in what once was the Henry and Arabelle Huntington family residence. The children loved the paintings, and the delight of rushing up the splendid double staircase, while the grandparents took the elevator.
It seemed like a good idea – culturally speaking – to treat Michelle, 10, and Andrew, 8, to English tea and a tour of the grand Huntington Library and picture galleries. I was half right. They loved the place…the beauty of the art, gardens, the buildings, and the Library’s giant Gutenberg Bible ( c.1455). They’ve been memorizing Bible verses for years at school, so they had more than a passing interest.
Alas, I misjudged one point - tea sandwiches for hockey-playing little boys are not so thrilling as they are for grandmamma. The beautiful buffet of sandwiches, fruits, cheeses, pastries, crackers, spreads, held no charm for Andrew. He’s too much of a gentleman to complain; he tried various things without success and ended up nibbling on strawberries. (cost: adults, $24.95; children ages 4-8, $12.49). Oh, well, you win some and lose some.
However, he and Michelle loved the self-guided audio tour of the art collections in the residence. It is amazing how diligently they listened and moved from painting to painting. I was disappointed to note that my favorite sculpture – three putti (baby boys) tipsy on wine – had been placed too far away, behind barriers in the dining room, for us to view it up close.
Growing up on Chicago’s far West border, contiguous to Oak Park, my little school, Key Clark Branch, – less than 100 students – proudly displayed copies of the Huntington’s iconic paintings, Gainsborough’s The Blue Boy and Lawrence’s Pinkie. We had no clue why they were there, but they are exceedingly pretty and we liked how they looked, all delicate and dreamy. I never imagined I’d one day see the real thing. So it’squite a delight to be able give our grandchildren the fun of seeing, up close, the lovely, original paintings. They took home their own little copies, along with a book and snuff box from the gift shop. I’ve come to believe, it is not possible to have a true cultural experience without making a purchase in the museum gift shop. One finds unique books, jewelry and other interesting objects. Our collection of books from museum gift shops, about a little girl named Katie, who visits museums with her grandmother, is a treasure.
The Huntington has become one of our favorites. It’s a bit like the Villa Borghese in Rome, with art galleries, antiquities and gorgeous gardens. However, the Huntington does not sport a zoo. Most interestingly, each museum reflects the artistic and intellectual taste of a private individual, rather than “only” museum curators. In Rome, early 1600s, it was Scipione Cardinal Borghese who assembled the antiquities; in San Marino (near Pasadena), the art was collected by Henry and Arabelle Huntington, he, the 19th century magnate.
It’s the perfect place to introduce children to the idea of what great wealth, combined with fine artistic taste, can accomplish. There are lots of reasons to take children to museums. Granted, they may not fully appreciate the purpose and mportance of preserving fine objects of art and literature. However, by repeated exposure to fine art, they begin to see how big the world is and how long humans have been engaged in artistic expressions. History, combined with beauty, is ultimately an easy and useful lesson for children of any age.
In any case, we apparently had picked the hottest day of the summer to visit this stellar venue. Nonetheless, we managed to hit the highlights in the library, the art gallery and the new Chinese garden, Garden o fFlowing Fragrance. We wish the weather had been cooler, as our plan to see the Children’s Garden, which would have been a better choice for us, was sidetracked.
The Huntington is a place to return to over and over. Founded in 1919 by railroad and real estate magnate Henry Edwards Huntington, the estate was opened to the public in 1928. One Art Gallery occupies the original Beaux Arts mansion built for Henry and Arabelle Huntington in 1911. The residence houses a world-famous collection of British paintings by Gainsborough, Lawrence, Constable, Turner, Romney and Van Dyck; a short walk across the Shakespeare Garden is the Virginia Steele Scott Gallery which displays American paintings and decorative arts, including works by Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Frederick Remington, Gilbert Stuart and Edward Hopper.
The entire place is a feast for eye and soul.
When we returned to my home, the children took out the painting supplies I keep for them, including smocks, and sat down to capture a quickly arranged still life of roses and fruit. They became lost in their work, much as they had when new to painting as toddlers. Their paintings hang in my kitchen “gallery” alongside their cousins’ works.
It was avery happy day. Beauty and learning does that for you.
TO GO:
The Huntington
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108
(626) 405-2100 www.huntington.org
HOURS:Mon.,Wed., Thurs., Fri., noon to 4:30 p.m., Sat. & Sun.,10:30 to 4:30 p.m.
ADMISSION: Adults $15, Seniors (age 65+), $12, Students( age 12-18, or full-time ID) $10,Youth, (age 5-11) $6. Parking lot is free.
Admission is FREE to all on the first Thursday of each month with advanced tickets.
The Rose Garden Tea Room – (626) 683-8131. Reservations encouraged. Closed Tues. $24.95 per person; $12.49 for children ages 4-8, plus tax & gratuity.
Tea and Tour packages are available. Call 626-2240 or email tours@huntington.org to schedule a morning “Tea & Tour” for your group.
####
Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
TOSCA FOR TOTS
Well, it’s not Cinderella. That’s for sure.
Giacomo Puccini’s great operatic masterpiece, Tosca, is not a children’s fairy tale. So I was a bit apprehensive about taking my seven-year old granddaughter Michelle to see Opera Pacific's Tosca – her first real opera at the Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, CA. She’d been listening to a Puccini piano recording since baby days at my house. We’d play school or the Lewis and Clark game I made up to Puccini’s heart-wrenching melodies. I couldn’t wait for her to be old enough to come with me to a real opera. Finally, I thought this second-grader was ready. After all, I did promise her.
Just five minutes after Michelle Christine was born – the girl I’d ordered for myself from BabyHeaven decades ago – I whispered a litany of all the wonderful things we would do together. Whether it was my soothing sounds or the prospect of lots of fun in the years ahead, this little newborn stopped bawling and turned her eyes toward her newly minted grandmama. I joyfully told her how she and I would play tea party, go to museums, plays, and even the opera. Obviously, this was more my fantasy than hers.
You see, after three sons I had a ton of pent-up ruffles & organdy. I spent my young mother years at endless Little League games and was dying to go to just one ballet. No dice –with three sons born in three and one half years it was a burlap life. Now that Michelle had arrived it was going to be satin all the way.
Michelle has seen famous paintings such as Blue Boy and Pinky and had tea at the Huntington Library & Museum. She’s visited over a dozen museums,some she even liked a lot. She loved the Thorne doll house rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago. “They’re so cute”, said the then-three-year old. The trip to San Diego to see Degas’ “Little Ballerina” sculpture was a bit too much. (We could have gone to the Norton Simon Museum) Too long a car ride tired her out completely. Though digging for dinosaur bones at Chicago’s Field Museum with her brother, Andrew, was l fun. You have to try lots of cultural experiences with children, as some turn out better than others.
Years ago, a friend and I had taken our seven sons, aged three to nine to the Art Institute of Chicago, to see a fabulous Auguste Renoir exhibit. It was madness. The crowds. The errant boys.What were we thinking? On the way home in the proverbial station wagon, sans seatbelts, I asked of no one in particular: “Did you like the exhibit?”. “Yes,” came a small voice from the way-way back; “ We counted 47 nudes.” Nudes? We naïve mothers had not given that a thought.
Now Tosca is a classic verismo (realistic) opera –featuring an on-stage attempted rape, a stabbing murder by the heroine, and a bloody execution followed by a spectacular suicide jump from the top of Rome’s Castle Saint Angelo. Puccini’s music is known for its flowing melodies, melting harmonies and rich orchestration suited to the passions of the main characters of the opera. I didn’t want to be a naïve grandmama so I gave this cultural venture some serious thought. Alas, there are few happy endings in opera so waiting for one wasn’t an option. I decided it would be Tosca. Still I worried.
So the question was – would it be too shocking for my seven-year granddaughter Michelle and her friend Breanna to see this verismo opera? I fretted about this quite a lot. I didn’t know exactly how to explain the opera.
The opera takes place on June 17, 1800, immediately after the Battle of Marengo between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Royalists who control Italy. This passionate drama has strong political overtones with a beautiful heroine, Floria Tosca, the lustful Chief of Police, (think KGB) Baron Scarpia and Tosca’s lover, political prisoner Cavaradossi. It is set in three historical places in Rome, Italy: A church, a palace, and fortress. Mario Cavaradossi is part of the political movement which seeks to overturn royal control of Rome. He ends up Scarpia’s captive.
Baron Scarpia is the most powerful enforcer for the royals. Tosca, celebrated for her beauty and talent, entertains the Queen in the opera, but her heart is with her lover Cavaradossi. Political events overtake the lovers quickly.
Baron Scarpia wants Tosca. He promises her Letters of Release (think Casablanca and Letters of Transit) for herself & her lover if she will give herself to Scarpia. While with Scarpia she is emotionally torn listening to the painful cries of Cavaradossi being tortured in the dungeon of the palace. Scarpia grabs at her – the more she resists the more inflamed his desires. They struggle. Ultimately she cannot allow herself to be taken by the vile Scarpia. Against opera convention of the time the heroine stabs and kills Scarpia. It is a shocking, sensational scene even today.
Now keep in mind this is all background to the most gorgeous Puccini music which tells the story so perfectly words are hardly necessary. It is Puccini’s melodic genius which has made his operas the most popular in the repertoire.
Nonetheless, for audiences at the opera’s debut in Rome in 1900, it was a cultural outrage to see on stage bloodied tortured Cavaradossi Worse to witness a beautiful, devoutly religious heroine commit the violent murder of the villain.
So as a rational loving grandmother I had to weigh the cultural benefits for seven-year old Michelle to be introduced to Puccini’s operas and the world of opera against any untoward effects of so much violent verismo.
As I struggled with this dilemma of how to explain all this political and passionate violence I’m rescued by the thought of popular culture’s iconic serial opera, Star Wars. A modern fairy tale set in the mythical future, instead of the mythical past.
I realize Michelle and millions of children have already experienced a politically violent drama of operatic proportions featuring a loathsome villain– Darth Vadar; a brave heroine – Princess Laia, and a political freedom fighter– Hans Solo. Michelle and her younger brother, Andrew, and all their little friends have repeatedly watched – and more importantly understand – all six episodes of the mythic political fairy tale, Star Wars.
I’m saved. I know just what to tell Michelle about Puccini's Tosca.
It’s Star Wars in live action, with beautiful singing, more glorious music and far prettier costumes, but with no special effects.
At the intermission following the scene where Floria Tosca stabs and kills the lustful Baron Scarpia, Michelle and her friend, Breanna, assure me Tosca did the right thing.
What?
I’m terrified these little girls will be shocked and horrified.
They are not. Now I'm shocked at that.
“She should have done that, “ they calmly explain.
After all, they’ve already experienced the convoluted and sensational Star Wars story. They know the bad guys are supposed to be destroyed in the end. And the beautiful heroine makes sure they are. Floria Tosca or Princess Laia - both are strong brave women. Even a seven-year old can see there are all kinds of fairy tales.
Giacomo Puccini’s great operatic masterpiece, Tosca, is not a children’s fairy tale. So I was a bit apprehensive about taking my seven-year old granddaughter Michelle to see Opera Pacific's Tosca – her first real opera at the Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, CA. She’d been listening to a Puccini piano recording since baby days at my house. We’d play school or the Lewis and Clark game I made up to Puccini’s heart-wrenching melodies. I couldn’t wait for her to be old enough to come with me to a real opera. Finally, I thought this second-grader was ready. After all, I did promise her.
Just five minutes after Michelle Christine was born – the girl I’d ordered for myself from BabyHeaven decades ago – I whispered a litany of all the wonderful things we would do together. Whether it was my soothing sounds or the prospect of lots of fun in the years ahead, this little newborn stopped bawling and turned her eyes toward her newly minted grandmama. I joyfully told her how she and I would play tea party, go to museums, plays, and even the opera. Obviously, this was more my fantasy than hers.
You see, after three sons I had a ton of pent-up ruffles & organdy. I spent my young mother years at endless Little League games and was dying to go to just one ballet. No dice –with three sons born in three and one half years it was a burlap life. Now that Michelle had arrived it was going to be satin all the way.
Michelle has seen famous paintings such as Blue Boy and Pinky and had tea at the Huntington Library & Museum. She’s visited over a dozen museums,some she even liked a lot. She loved the Thorne doll house rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago. “They’re so cute”, said the then-three-year old. The trip to San Diego to see Degas’ “Little Ballerina” sculpture was a bit too much. (We could have gone to the Norton Simon Museum) Too long a car ride tired her out completely. Though digging for dinosaur bones at Chicago’s Field Museum with her brother, Andrew, was l fun. You have to try lots of cultural experiences with children, as some turn out better than others.
Years ago, a friend and I had taken our seven sons, aged three to nine to the Art Institute of Chicago, to see a fabulous Auguste Renoir exhibit. It was madness. The crowds. The errant boys.What were we thinking? On the way home in the proverbial station wagon, sans seatbelts, I asked of no one in particular: “Did you like the exhibit?”. “Yes,” came a small voice from the way-way back; “ We counted 47 nudes.” Nudes? We naïve mothers had not given that a thought.
Now Tosca is a classic verismo (realistic) opera –featuring an on-stage attempted rape, a stabbing murder by the heroine, and a bloody execution followed by a spectacular suicide jump from the top of Rome’s Castle Saint Angelo. Puccini’s music is known for its flowing melodies, melting harmonies and rich orchestration suited to the passions of the main characters of the opera. I didn’t want to be a naïve grandmama so I gave this cultural venture some serious thought. Alas, there are few happy endings in opera so waiting for one wasn’t an option. I decided it would be Tosca. Still I worried.
So the question was – would it be too shocking for my seven-year granddaughter Michelle and her friend Breanna to see this verismo opera? I fretted about this quite a lot. I didn’t know exactly how to explain the opera.
The opera takes place on June 17, 1800, immediately after the Battle of Marengo between Napoleon Bonaparte and the Royalists who control Italy. This passionate drama has strong political overtones with a beautiful heroine, Floria Tosca, the lustful Chief of Police, (think KGB) Baron Scarpia and Tosca’s lover, political prisoner Cavaradossi. It is set in three historical places in Rome, Italy: A church, a palace, and fortress. Mario Cavaradossi is part of the political movement which seeks to overturn royal control of Rome. He ends up Scarpia’s captive.
Baron Scarpia is the most powerful enforcer for the royals. Tosca, celebrated for her beauty and talent, entertains the Queen in the opera, but her heart is with her lover Cavaradossi. Political events overtake the lovers quickly.
Baron Scarpia wants Tosca. He promises her Letters of Release (think Casablanca and Letters of Transit) for herself & her lover if she will give herself to Scarpia. While with Scarpia she is emotionally torn listening to the painful cries of Cavaradossi being tortured in the dungeon of the palace. Scarpia grabs at her – the more she resists the more inflamed his desires. They struggle. Ultimately she cannot allow herself to be taken by the vile Scarpia. Against opera convention of the time the heroine stabs and kills Scarpia. It is a shocking, sensational scene even today.
Now keep in mind this is all background to the most gorgeous Puccini music which tells the story so perfectly words are hardly necessary. It is Puccini’s melodic genius which has made his operas the most popular in the repertoire.
Nonetheless, for audiences at the opera’s debut in Rome in 1900, it was a cultural outrage to see on stage bloodied tortured Cavaradossi Worse to witness a beautiful, devoutly religious heroine commit the violent murder of the villain.
So as a rational loving grandmother I had to weigh the cultural benefits for seven-year old Michelle to be introduced to Puccini’s operas and the world of opera against any untoward effects of so much violent verismo.
As I struggled with this dilemma of how to explain all this political and passionate violence I’m rescued by the thought of popular culture’s iconic serial opera, Star Wars. A modern fairy tale set in the mythical future, instead of the mythical past.
I realize Michelle and millions of children have already experienced a politically violent drama of operatic proportions featuring a loathsome villain– Darth Vadar; a brave heroine – Princess Laia, and a political freedom fighter– Hans Solo. Michelle and her younger brother, Andrew, and all their little friends have repeatedly watched – and more importantly understand – all six episodes of the mythic political fairy tale, Star Wars.
I’m saved. I know just what to tell Michelle about Puccini's Tosca.
It’s Star Wars in live action, with beautiful singing, more glorious music and far prettier costumes, but with no special effects.
At the intermission following the scene where Floria Tosca stabs and kills the lustful Baron Scarpia, Michelle and her friend, Breanna, assure me Tosca did the right thing.
What?
I’m terrified these little girls will be shocked and horrified.
They are not. Now I'm shocked at that.
“She should have done that, “ they calmly explain.
After all, they’ve already experienced the convoluted and sensational Star Wars story. They know the bad guys are supposed to be destroyed in the end. And the beautiful heroine makes sure they are. Floria Tosca or Princess Laia - both are strong brave women. Even a seven-year old can see there are all kinds of fairy tales.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
NORTON SIMON MUSEUM
by Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Forget Disneyland.
And all the colorful made-up characters.
Surprise your grandchildren - introduce them to real genius - Degas, Raphael, Monet, Pissarro and other great artists, whose works are displayed at the singularly splendid Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California.
Will they be bored? Perhaps…but more likely they’ll be intrigued. Imagine, someone they don’t even know collected beautiful things for them to see and placed them all together to be enjoyed over and over. This is a concept even a three-year old can grasp.
One day my then-tiny granddaughter, Michelle, looked around at all the old toys I’d saved from my childhood and my children’s and said :“Nani, you kept all these for me.” She understood! I treasured the items and wanted her to treasure them, too.
That’s exactly what successful industrialist, the late Norton Simon, did, as he set about collecting works of art he loved. He bought what pleased him and arranged for the display of approximately 1,000, of the 12,000 objects in thecollection, in the eponymous museum on Colorado Boulevard (seen by millions as Rose Parade floats pass by), Pasadena,California.
You are right, I told her. Then explained that strangers gathered lovely things for us to see and asked if she’d like to go to such a place, called a museum. And so we began our exploration of beautiful things. She’s ten now and has visited more than a dozen world-class museums, some she liked, some not so much. After all, even a child has personal taste.
We once took her to San Diego’s art museum specifically to see Edgar Degas’ famous sculpture (actually there are many of them) “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.” Not a successful effort – too far, too tired.
The Norton Simon has a Degas “Little Dancer” – complete with fabric skirt and two-inch wide cream-colored satin hair ribbon, as well as a room full of other Degas sculptures and paintings, with a sprinkling of Monet, Pissarro, van Gogh, Cezanne and other marquee artists. The art objects’ placards, explaining the works, are particularly well-written and informative. There is also an audio tour with a special track for children.
This is an excellent museum for a first visit with your grandchildren. The building is not too large, compared to most big-city museums. It is open, flooded with natural light and boasts a Monetesque garden, complete with floating water lilies - the perfect place to enjoy a spot of lunch from the museum’s unassuming little café.
The museum offers special children’s programs throughout the year. Coming up are several family programs in September, such as story time and sculpting with scissors, on September 3, 20 and 28.
While Norton Simon professed no particular religious affiliation, he nonetheless, acquired roomfuls of beautiful art narrating the Christian story. Raphael’s Madonna and Child with Book, and di Paolo’s Branchini Madonna, are particularly noteworthy. There are also paintings of St.Genevieve, patron saint of Paris; St. Benedict, founder of Western Monastic communities,and St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order.
After marrying film star Jennifer Jones in 1971, Norton Simon began to collect South Asian art. The museum’s Asian art includes Shivaas King of Dance, c. 1000, India; Buddha Shakyamuni, c 550, India and the gilt bronze Indra, 13th century , Napal.
Even before entering the building guests are greeted by several larger-than-life Auguste Rodin sculptures in the entrance garden. What a feast of wonder and excitement to find these behemoths leading the way to a delightful array of beauty inside.
The museum theater features films with Sister Wendy, the well-known art commentator. She offers some interesting insights into various works in the collection. She’s worth watch and listening to for the obvious intellect, contained within her small, black shrouded figure.
We should take our children to museums so that they may learn and experience what history and art can teach them. Everyone can appreciate beauty, even very young children.
Norton Simon’s expressed his philosophy thus: “Art at its finest gives us a deep sense of history, tradition, and the true potentialities of man’s creativity.”
Children will be quick to understand this when they visit this splendid house of beauty. You may inspire a life-long love of art in your children.
WHENYOU GO:
Norton Simon Museum
411 Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA91105
www.nortonsimon.org
626-449-6840
HOURS: Open daily, except Tuesday, from Noon to 6 p.m.; noon to 9 on Friday. Free parking on property.
No reservations needed.
Children, and students with ID, are free.
Adults - $8.00
Seniors - $4.00
-End
Credit: Angela Rocco Decarlo
Thursday, August 21, 2008
We'll Miss George Carlin
I'm devastated. George Carlin is now in for it. After blaming God publicly for deaths through thousands of years, he might have some answering to do. No doubt God will appreciate the pleasure and brilliance with which he practiced his comedic craft as much as we fans do. Our loss, God's gain ("The brash icon who changed comedy: Comics old and new see their roots in his routines," Cover story, News, Tuesday).
I've been a fan for so long that I remember when he portrayed the "hippy-dippy weatherman" on TV comedy shows, wearing three-button suits with slicked back regular haircuts. He sat at a desk and delivered his mythical weather report: "I see the radar tonight is picking up a line of thundershowers. … However, the radar is also picking up a squadron of Russian ICBMs (weapons), so I wouldn't sweat the thundershowers." That was pure Carlin — original, clever, hilarious.
Over the years, we have collected his records, watched him on TV and, for a birthday gift, I took my grammar-school-age son, now comedian Mark DeCarlo, (Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo, Travel Channel) to see Carlin in suburban Chicago. Mark says that the show was instrumental in forming his career goals, even though journalist Mommy dragged him out so he wouldn't hear the "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television." Actually, that bit was Carlin's weakest, but it was one that titillated.
Mark asked me whether I took him to see Carlin because I knew he liked him. No, I took my son to see Carlin for the same reason I took him and his brothers to see the Pierre Auguste Renoir exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago: Genius is genius, and I wanted my sons to see the best in every field of creativity that I could manage. Carlin was the best in his field.
Not long ago, Mark and Carlin were at the same event. Later on, Mark was delighted to present me with the comedian's business card. On the back, he had written: "Angela, today Mark heard all the words. Best wishes, George Carlin." Was I thrilled? You bet I was.
We'll miss George Carlin.
Angela Rocco DeCarlo
Orange, Calif.
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