Get your gaze on.
Installation view of Donna Huanca: OBSIDIAN LADDER. Courtesy the artist, Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles and Peres Projects, Berlin. Photo by Joshua White/JWPictures.com In the past we would look. And sometimes we would see. But now, in the art world, the operative word is “gaze.” That’s nothing new, the expression “gaze” has been in use ...
Jonah Bokaer brings dance beauty & meaning to Musee d’Orsay
This piece of choreography by Jonah Bokaer, who grew up speaking French in Tunisia, merits your time; it is simply beautiful. It was curated by Donatien Grau, Head of Contemporary Programs at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris for the Musee’s “Un Ouevre, Un Regard” series. Bokaer’s vivification of Louis Ernest Barrias’ sculpture, “Nubians,” is emblematic of ...
‘Little Sparrow’ to Long Beach: ‘Piaf! The Show’
Jan
7
2019
Karen Carpenter would approve. She would be thrilled to learn that the noble performing arts center named in her honor will be presenting a concert by The Little Sparrow. Well, almost! The Sparrow once removed. “Piaf! The Show,” a delicious way to pass a Sunday afternoon, popped out at me when I studied the season ...
‘Gigi,’ at 60. Bring on the champagne!
Nov
27
2018
At 60, she’s still charming the gents. You’ll soon see why. As played by the winsome Leslie Caron in one of the most beloved and acclaimed musicals of all time, Laemmle Anniversary Classics is throwing her a birthday party. Since they already invented champagne, that should be the drink of choice at the Dec 8 ...
A voyage through French cinema hosted by Bertrand Tavernier
Jun
7
2017
Described by director Bertrand Tavernier as “an expression of gratitude to all those filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and musicians who have erupted into my life,” the documentary, A VOYAGE THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA, is manna from heaven to fans of French film. Spanning nearly half a century of the country’s cinematic history, the clips and reminiscences here ...
‘Starring Europe’ top film picks: from France, from Italy
May
10
2017
Well, they all look so good, don’t they? The fourth annual European film festival in Los Angeles, Starring Europe: New Films from the EU, kicked off with a swinging red carpet/gala reception in the peerless courtyard of Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre last night. Remarks prior to the opening-night feature, MELLOW MUD, a Latvian film, indicate that ...
Humor, love of life power Claude Lelouch’s ‘Chacun Sa Vie’
Apr
30
2017
I just loved the opening-night feature film of COLCOA, the French film festival in Los Angeles. Everyone’s Life, blessed by a French title, Chacun sa vie had its north American premiere with its master-director, Claude Lelouch, in the house. It’s a great title — and so apt isn’t it? Because in the end (asserts Lelouch, the ...
Worldly actress Jacqueline Bisset honored at COLCOA
Apr
30
2017
A gorgeous crystal vase and heartfelt congratulations to the British-born actress Jacqueline Bisset, bilingual, bicultural, and in every way a screen stunner. Bisset was honored with the 2017 Prix Alliance Française presented by Christophe Lemoine Consul General of France in Los Angeles on April 27, 2017. The ceremony took place at the annual COLCOA French film ...
Primitive wonderment by Eleanor Swordy at Moskowitz Bayse
Apr
17
2017
I like these vivid oil paintings by French-born artist Eleanor Swordy soon to be showcased at Moskowitz Bayse in Los Angeles. And I admit being intrigued by the show’s title, “Who Died?” Both the title and the imagery on display in this female artist’s work — the geometric shapes, the primary colors, the bulky human ...
Sassy Chahine print enters life of arts·meme
Feb
15
2017
A Sunday visit to the Los Angeles Fine Print Fair — seeking respite from the onslaught of Donald Trump — to attend a public conversation between gallerist Jack Rutberg and artist Ruth Weisberg, spawned a new relationship! A fateful encounter with a wonderful teensy engraving, reproduced above. That in turn makes me the proud owner ...