Julian Stanczak’s op art at the L.A. Art Show
Jan
20
2012
Capturing my eye at the L.A. Art Show opening last night, the optical art of Polish-born artist Julian Stanczak, on display by Santa Fe’s David Richard Contemporary art gallery. The show, at the Convention Center — L.A.’s own contribution to urban blight — is on through the weekend. Shifting Square, 1973 acrylic on canvas 30 ...
Amiri Baraka visits Los Angeles, raps about art
Jan
17
2012
It was inspiring to eavesdrop on Amiri Baraka, the poet, playwright, essayist, intellectual, and political activist, as he swapped kitchen table banter about life and art with his daughter, the academic and curator, Dr. Kellie Jones. The tête-à-tête took place before an SRO audience at the Hammer’s Billy Wilder Theater. It was the closing day ...
Marie Bryant put a bun in Betty Grable’s oven 5
The silken jazz dancer, Marie Bryant (1919-1978), seen here jiving with the great Harold Nicholas, was, for a time, rehearsal assistant to Jack Cole. That’s interesting. Cole’s performance group was all white. It wouldn’t be otherwise. But he clearly relied on Bryant for special tasks. Asked what she did for Jack Cole, Bryant replied, “I ...
Dueling bio-pics: right-wing ladies on parade
Jan
14
2012
While delighting in Meryl Streep’s microscopic replication of Margaret Thatcher’s facial tics and bug-eyed pronouncements in “The Iron Lady,” do not neglect a prior film, “The Reagans,” which stars the great Aussie actress, Judy Davis. “The Reagans,” a hugely fun, educational and entertaining docu-drama, dates from 2003. The massively ambitious undertaking, a made-for-television movie, traces ...
Spend a sexy evening at an Eagle Rock motel …
Jan
12
2012
… if your idea of a sexy evening is hopping, like a cockroach, between motel rooms, while listening to cool experimental music. Sounds good to me. The Welcome Inn Time Machine — series of free micro concerts in motel rooms that explore the history of local experimental music is part of the Pacific Standard Time ...
Go postal: use choreographer commemorative stamps
Finally. A great reason to use snail mail. You can smack a beloved choreographer right onto the envelope. Jim McMullan, the well known poster designer for Lincoln Center, created the images following a first lot of choreographer stamps in 2004. That group featured mini portraits of dance giants: George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, Martha Graham, ...
John Singer Sargent dresses Rita Hayworth for “Put the Blame on Mame” 2
“The designer Jean Louis, supposedly inspired by John Singer Sargent‘s famous portrait of the décolleté Madame X, created for Miss Hayworth a fetishistic black satin strapless gown, with elbow-length gloves, and the dance director Jack Cole devised the strip-tease routine in which she flung those gloves to her audience. The director, Vidor, expected the filming ...
Remembering last December’s TCM Cruise
Jan
11
2012
This story first appeared in The Huffington Post. When Turner Classic Movies announced its first-ever “classic film cruise,” which took place early last December to the joy of 1,800 participants, combining a full program of movie mania with the pleasures of cruising — fresh air, glistening ocean, tropical cocktails — Graham Phillips, and his wife ...
Between “Pina” and a hard place 4
Heavy-hitting filmmakers are turning their cameras on dance and it’s an honor. It’s also a puzzlement, to the dance world. It surprises us. We thought that the only folk attending dance performances were fellow dancers, parents, and dance critics. But clearly we were wrong. Other artists – filmmakers – love dance too. With “Pina,” German ...
In Hines vs Davis, Sammy wins by decision in first round 3
Jan
8
2012
The wonderful and charming Gregory Hines (1946-2003), try though he does in this touching dance-off, cannot out perform his idol, Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990). The event took place soon before Davis died. Davis’s feathery touch on the floor is a revelation. Watch Hines watch Davis, 1:48 to 2:04. Watch him try to get in. Pure ...