James Brown’s third set in Shrevesport: “I Feel Good” before “Man’s World” 1
Pictured above [click on it for detail], a boggling play list of a James Brown set, dating from the 1970s. Scrawled in Brown’s handwriting on Holiday Inn Shrevesport Louisiana letterhead, it’s part of the James Brown tribute exhibition now at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The show includes costumes, memorabilia, video of the ...
Nacho Duato rehearses his new Sleeping Beauty in Petersburg
Nov
2
2011
It’s hard to not be smitten by the deeply artistic looks of the Spanish choreographer, Nacho Duato, who headed up Spain’s Compania Nacional de Danza for 20 years before making the radical move of joining a Russian company, the Mikhailovsky Ballet. Duato is the second foreign choreographer to run a major Russian company—the Frenchman Marius ...
Goldsborough to mine gold for Miami City Ballet
Pictured, on the right, above, is Nick Goldsborough, a treasured member of the Los Angeles dance community. The photo was taken on the opening night of “Windows,” a wonderful one-act play about the world of Bill Gates, which Nick produced. Nick is a gentleman whose mother instilled in him the love of ballet, and whose ...
Stitching Marilyn Monroe together . . .
From “Let’s Make Love” (1960), a somewhat entertaining movie, if a bit of a mess. Bing Crosby and Gene Kelly put in good cameos, and Yves Montand, who is wonderful, escapes the Monroe challenge unscathed. In the photo below, tucked behind La Marilyn, the ubiquitous Jack Cole, on alert. Director George Cukor used the choreographer ...
Jack Cole danced in Pittsburgh 1
Rummaging around the Internet, I found this priceless image of a program dating from the Nixon Theatre in my home town of Pittsburgh. [click image for detail] The Nixon Theatre was the top game in town — the place where circa 1971 I saw naked hippies writhe on stage in “Hair.” Not surprisingly, the hard-working ...
Jeffrey Deitch, gallerist, performance artist
Oct
29
2011
Assuming the “presidential” posture, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Director Jeffrey Deitch, 57, displays a little known skill; his uncanny ability to anthropomorphize paintings, recreating them in real time and space. Aiming high and giving new meaning to the expression “gallerist,” Director Deitch’s subtle stab at performance art took place at the last Basel ...
Russ Tamblyn, Jet
Photo: Authenticated News/Getty Images Like this? Read more: TCM hosts nationwide screenings of the film classic November 9.
PST: Guy Dill’s seventies art at Leslie Sacks Contemporary
Oct
27
2011
I’m intrigued by the images of beautiful work by Los Angeles artist, Guy Dill, part of the “Pacific Standard Time” celebration of mid-century Los Angeles art. According to the gallery materials, Dill worked raw, natural materials, highlighting their inherent structural and aesthetic qualities. Preserving these elements in their original state, the artist combined material purity ...
A potpourri of PST
Oct
26
2011
arts·meme visual arts correspondent, Liz Goldner, contributes this overview of Pacific Standard Time events around the southern California region: Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981 at MOCA‘s Geffen Contemporary, Little Tokyo, features works that are dark in theme and execution with a strong undercurrent of self-absorption. Underneath this veneer, the show’s honesty, integrity ...