ARTSY MARCH

"ART SPEAKS WHERE WORDS ARE UNABLE TO EXPLAIN."

If I had to assign a theme to the month of March, it would definitely be ART, perhaps followed by SUMMER-LIKE as we definitely had mild and quite unseasonably warm weather for the month. 

Getting back to the first theme of ART, it was a month of making art and seeing art both in person and online (via either website or a Zoom tour). The in-person experience was an online class I had via Zoom in early March. It was offered through a Columbus art gallery called the Riffe Gallery. My husband and I visited there once in person before the pandemic and were quite impressed by the quality of the art. I read about the class in City Scene magazine and strolled over to Eventbrite to register for it. 

The class was called ‘A Friends and Family Workshop with Dana Lynn Harper.’ The description said, “DLH uses colorful, light-catching, and reinvented media in her work and will source found materials to create “wishing talismans” with you. 

Looking at the examples I was a bit unsure about trying to create something similar, or whether or not I even wanted to. However, since it was free and I already had most of the materials, and certainly plenty of spare time on my hands, I decided to go ahead and sign up. 

I admit to feeling just a tiny bit of stress once I received the list of materials and saw “STRUCTURE: Requires Wire or Frame, Ex: wire hangers, chicken wire, embroidery hoops, hula hoops, wire baskets.” I was pretty much ready to head out the door to Home Depot or elsewhere when the thought struck me that I could probably get away with using the red tomato cage we had in our shed. Then I hauled a couple boxes of supplies and my sewing kit into the library so I would have everything I needed nearby. 

I’m not quite sure how many attended the class, but it seemed pretty intimate since it was only Esther and myself who shared our screens (best as I could tell) so we could interact on a visual level. 

Regarding her current collection and subject of the class, the talismans, she said the inspiration came after losing her father and a close friend within a couple weeks of each other last year. She said she pondered life after death. “What does the spirit look like outside the body?” 

Our class ended about an hour and a quarter after we started, but it pretty much took me the rest of the day and part of the evening to finish mine, and I ended up adding to it a couple days later after discussing it with my sister-in-law. 

My talisman is “Corrie” (abbrev for Corona) and was built in honor of my sister-in-law’s grandparents and her very cherished dog who all passed away in February this year. I also inserted a reference to the 35^th anniversary of the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January 1986 and the upcoming memorial to the 20^th anniversary of September 11, 2001. 

This weekend we drove out to Springfield to see the current exhibitions of which my two favorites are the Gary Birch paintings and sculpture. Milford, Ohio artist Gary Birch identifies as a Southwest Ohio painter and sculptor. His work seeks balance between disparate themes, especially those concerning domestic life, industry, and nature. This exhibit will feature both his expressive collage paintings and unconventional mixed media sculptures. (exhibit summary from website) 

I also liked the unique perspective and unconventional idea of taking photographs of dioramas from natural history museums around the world that Diane Fox did in her UnNatural History exhibit. Tennessee artist Diane Fox captures the perceived reality posed by dioramas in this series of photographs taken in natural history museums around the country and abroad. Traditionally, dioramas allow museum visitors to experience wildlife firsthand using staged animals and painted backgrounds to create realistic fabrications. Fox’s photographs, however, work to break the illusion of these constructed scenes and ask the viewer to reexamine their relationship with nature. (exhibit summary from website) 

Part of the fun of looking at the photos and the background displayed next to each was to see if I had been to any of the museums represented. In spite of the more than a dozen different museums represented worldwide, we had only been to one of the museums – the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park.

The photo was of a diorama of wild dogs and really wasn’t one of my favorites due to the large reflection in the photo, so you couldn’t really make out the dogs as well as some of the animals in other photos. I definitely need to visit more Natural History Museums (like the Field Museum in Chicago which is one of Chicago’s more prestigious institutions). 

I can, however, recommend a couple of the finer NH museums I have visited that weren’t represented there – like the Smithsonian Museum of NH in Washington D.C., or the Royal Ontario Museum (both which are temporarily closed due to the pandemic). 

This weekend we also had a couple online street art tours via Zoom (and Eventbrite). The first one was in Los Angeles and the second was Brooklyn. Of the two, the Brooklyn tour was far superior due to the quality of the presentation in that it was presented in studio just using a laptop and slides of the graffiti. 

The Los Angeles tour was a true street tour of graffiti in that our presenter, Galo was actually out walking the streets of LA. The only downside, besides the quantity of murals (a tiny fraction of what NY has) was the street sounds and cars that often interfered with the audio or visual part of the tour. Since it was late afternoon there, it wasn’t as busy as they said it would be on a week day, and we were lucky there weren’t many cars parked in front of the murals. 

(me and Elton)

My husband and I are big fans of street art and got a huge dose of that when we traveled to Melbourne, Australia last year and took a tour there (and were invited back to the studio afterwards for a buffet and meet and greet with some of the artists). Where we live in Columbus there isn’t much graffiti, but there are a few murals and new ones commissioned all the time. 

(no social distancing yet)

I definitely learned something from both tours, and it was interesting to get the inside perspective from a street artist from each city. I learned that the graffiti and murals are sometimes created with different materials besides just paint, and that there’s many different kinds of paint and techniques (including can control where they paint straight lines without the aid of painter’s tape and do a pretty impressive job of it). It’s bad form to steal someone else’s idea (‘biting’) and recreate it as your own. 

Of course no one is happy when their piece is tagged or painted over. Some works are commissioned, while others may be done under cover of night. Contrary to popular belief, the police don’t constantly crack down on it everywhere, and there are some parts of the city (at least in NY) which are more respected where no one will ruin your piece (at least not until it’s been up for years and starts to fade).  I also learned stickers are popular and collectible too (a couple of which I acquired last year in Melbourne). 

Some of my favs from the street art tours:

Links of where to visit: 

Riffe Gallery: https://oac.ohio.gov/Riffe-Gallery/On-View

Springfield Museum of Art: https://www.springfieldart.net/?time=current-exhibitions

Photos of my Spirit Creature/Talisman:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/authorwannabe/albums/72157718645539976

 

 

 

FILM FEBRUARY

 

“We live in a box of space and time. Movies are windows in its walls. They allow us to enter other minds, not simply in the sense of identifying with the characters, although that is an important part of it, but by seeing the world as another person sees it.”  -- Roger Ebert

February’s theme was Film February. This was an inspiration after wishing my niece a Happy Birthday at the end of January. We briefly discussed weekend plans (she’s away at college now). I told her how I used to sometimes see movies on campus on Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays. Thursday and Friday nights were when international films were shown and Friday and Saturday nights were mainstream movies. Hence, I decided February needed a theme and something to look forward to every week. 

I originally intended to just stick to international films, but decided to add movies with a Black History theme since February is Black History month. We also watched a few mainstream movies on Saturdays.

Our first selection was “The Farewell” which stars Awkwafina (famous for her role as the friend in “Crazy, Rich, Asians”) and is about a Chinese family who come together to be with the family matriarch who is dying of cancer. They decide it’s best not to tell granny about her impending death, and instead use the ruse of a family wedding as the purpose for the family gathering. 

Apparently this isn’t unusual to lie about something so serious to spare the one whose fate it is to die of a long drawn out illness. No judgment call there, but it was obviously difficult for some members of the family (like Awkwafina who played the granddaughter) who struggled to try and act as if nothing was wrong.

The excuse of jet lag only lasts so long. Even with such a tragic plotline, it’s really not an overly sad film and even has a somewhat light-hearted ending. I can definitely recommend it and I think it’s free to stream on Amazon Prime. It’s bilingual in English and Mandarin. 

The other international film was an easy choice as it swept the Oscars last year and we had been meaning to see it ever since. That film was “Parasite,” a South Korean dark comedy (subtitled). It’s a bit long at two and a quarter hours, but it takes that long to fully flush out the story. If the movie had ended about a half hour earlier it would have been a completely different (and more comedic) movie, but it’s the plot twist at the end that makes it the memorable movie it is. 

The plot revolves around a clever family who little by little ingratiate themselves into the lives of a family becoming virtually indispensable like parasites, hence the appropriate movie title.  Of course hijinks ensue as you know something will eventually go wrong in what seems like the perfect plan. Such is life. 

It’s difficult to say much more without giving anything anyway. Just sit tight and you will be rewarded for your patience, and if you need to get up for a snack or bathroom break, definitely pause it because you really don’t want to miss anything. “Parasite” is available to stream on Amazon.com for a rental fee of $3.99. 

Our first choice in honor of Black History month was the 1995 HBO television movie, “The Tuskegee Airmen.” According to Wikipedia, The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based on the exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African-American combat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II. The film was directed by Robert Markowitz and stars Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., John Lithgow, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

My reason for selecting this film was because neither my husband nor I knew much about the subject, though we had heard that movies had been made about it, but just hadn’t gotten around to seeing any of them. “Red Tails” is the most recent movie about Tuskegee Airmen and was made in 2012. 

The HBO movie version is enjoyable viewing if for no other reason that so many of the cast are familiar faces. In addition to those named above, the movie also starred Mekhi Phifer (aka Dr Pratt on “ER”), and Daniel Hugh Kelly (from 1980s ABC TV series Hardcastle and McCormick as ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick, co-starring with Brian Keith) (source: Wikipedia) 

Of course the issue of continued discrimination is carried throughout the film as the new recruits struggle to fit in and then just struggle to survive once they are actually engaged in battle. As it’s a movie about war and involves lots of time up in the air, expect to see several casualties.  Overall it’s a victory though as the recruits eventually prove themselves and earn the respect of their white counterparts who come to trust their lives with them. 

At the end, the film details the unit's accomplishments: 66 out of the 450 Tuskegee Airmen died in battle, they engaged and defeated Messerschmitt Me 262s, the first operational jet fighters, and they were awarded a total of 850 medals over the course of the war. The credits also note (inaccurately, but a common belief of the time) that the 332nd never lost a single bomber to enemy fighter action. The claim at the end of the film that the 332nd never lost a single bomber to enemy fighter action is a source of historical controversy. This statement was repeated for many years, and not challenged because of the esteem of the Tuskegee Airmen. However, Air Force records and eyewitness accounts later showed that at least 25 bombers were lost to enemy fire.^[6][7] This was, however, still an excellent loss to enemy fire ratio; the average for other P-51 fighter groups of the Fifteenth Air Force was 46 bombers lost.^[8] (source: Wikipedia) 

I definitely learned a lot and enjoyed the film, as tragic as it was in parts. It’s certainly an important part of our history and should be compulsory viewing for all students and the general public who might be ignorant about it all as we were.

Our second choice was another HBO movie – a documentary actually, called “Black Art: In the Absence of Light.” As a huge fan of art it was a no-brainer to watch a movie that was an hour and a half of biographies of a myriad of black artists, some more well-known than others. The documentary also provided a history of the black art movement.

Inspired by the late David Driskell’s landmark 1976 exhibition, “Two Centuries of Black American Art,” the documentary Black Art: In the Absence of Light offers an illuminating introduction to the work of some of the foremost Black visual artists working today. 

Directed by Sam Pollard (Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children) the film shines a light on the extraordinary impact of Driskell’s exhibit on generations of Black artists who have staked a claim on their rightful place within the 21st-Century art world. Interweaving insights and context from scholars and historians, along with interviews from a new generation of working African American curators and artists including Theaster Gates, Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Amy Sherald and Carrie Mae Weems, the documentary is a look at the Contributions of Black American artists in today’s contemporary art world. (source: HBO)

I was already familiar with Kehinde Wiley whose paintings are part of the permanent collection at our local (Columbus) art museum. It was nice to see more of his works and learn something about the artist himself who is now probably best known for painting the iconic portrait of Barack Obama that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

I also discovered the artist, Amy Sherald who painted the portrait of former first lady, Michelle Obama. Like Mr Wiley, she might have been well-known before, but getting that gig definitely put her on the map and brought her well-earned fame and notoriety.

Not only did I find the artists fascinating, but their techniques and styles were interesting too and I even made note of a couple things I’d like to try that I’d seen one of the artists do (like paint the sticky side of packing tape and then stick it down in a collage or art journal).

I found this documentary so interesting I would definitely watch it again and may even do so as it’s available to stream (free) until March 17^th. https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/black-art-in-the-absence-of-light 

The most thought-provoking of the mainstream movies I streamed in February was called “Puzzle” and is about a bored housewife who discovers she has a talent for quickly assembling jigsaw puzzles. I think you can see why I thought this movie was appropriate due to the sudden resurgence in the popularity of puzzles as a way to pass the time during the early days of the pandemic when people were urged to stay home (and are still on lockdown in my husband’s home country of England). 

My husband and I completed (or mostly at least) a couple puzzles last year – one was a map of the United States made up of license plates. The other was a bespoke puzzle I had designed using a photo of our cat. That one my husband eventually gave up on once he completed the bit containing our cat. He found it particularly difficult because most of the pieces were almost identical as it was cheaply made with very little variety in how the pieces were cut out. 

“Puzzle” came out in 2018 and I wonder if more people have streamed it since the pandemic started. Like “Parasite,” this movie had been on my radar for some time, but I only just recently got around to finally streaming it, and it was definitely worth the wait. 

As I said earlier, the plot revolves around a bored housewife who receives a jigsaw puzzle as a birthday present and surprises herself when she gets it done in something like an hour or two one afternoon. She asks her friend where she purchased it and was told it was a special shop in the big city (that being Manhattan), so of course she did what any of us would do – hopped on the first train to NY and went in search of the puzzle shop. Once there it was choices, choices as the shelves were stocked with subjects to please everyone. Being a good Catholic girl she naturally chose a couple  religious-art themed ones.

She asked the sales person for his advice, but ended up buying them both. Before leaving she spotted a sign advertising someone ‘Desperately Seeking Puzzle Partner.’ She took one of the slips with the name and phone number and later texted him. As shy as she seemed to be, I’m surprised she did that, but her new talent apparently gave her new courage as well. 

Agnes meets up with Robert and learns he is looking for a puzzle partner to compete with him in the doubles round of a national puzzle assembling tournament (his original partner was his ex-wife, but she left him, so….) She hesitantly agrees to be his partner after demonstrating that she was indeed a worthy competitor. 

Of course her family dynamics start to shift with this sudden change in her lifestyle and relations break down between her and her husband. Though I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of the whole puzzle assembling tournament world, that wasn’t the point of the movie. The point was how a bored housewife decided to eventually expand her horizons outside the tiny NY suburb she rarely ever left. I also assume she gave up the glamorous world of puzzle competitions to try and make her marriage work while also still being able to enjoy her new found freedom and wanderlust. 

My favorite conversation in the movie was when Agnes questioned why she should even continue with such a childish pursuit. 

“Why are we wasting all this time doing puzzles? What else is there to do? It’s a childish hobby for bored people. That’s not true. Why do you do these stupid puzzles? It’s a way to control the chaos. That’s ridiculous. Come on Martha (Biblical reinterpretation of Agnes); you’re missing the point. Okay, what is the point Robert?” 

“Life is messy; it doesn’t make any GD sense…life’s just random. Everything is random…There’s nothing we can do to control anything. But when you complete a puzzle and you finish it, you know you have made all the right choices no matter how many wrong pieces you try to fit into the wrong place, but at the very end everything makes for a perfect picture. What other pursuits can give you that perfection?” 

As an aside, according to the puzzle competition, one should always dump out the puzzle, spread it out, then walk around the table to get the proper perspective and see patterns you might not have seen by continuing to sit in the same spot. I think everyone probably knows you should also sort the pieces by color (we use small lunchmeat tubs) and assemble the frame first, then work your way inside. 

March’s movie theme – retro 80s picks. My two choices: “Caddy Shack” and “Gremlins” Stay tuned…

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Hello and Happy Valentine's Day all! Whether you’re single or married or whatever your relationship status (four-legged fur babies count too!), I send you all lots of (virtual) affection and well wishes.

Since there can often be a shortage of good news these days, or at least the bias can be towards the negative, I’d like to share something I came across last month on our neighborhood interweb (for lack of a better word) where neighbors share comments, criticism, recommendations, and sometimes an Atta Boy! This is one of the happy posts. It seems a female Good Samaritan wrote a bunch of cheerful notes and put them in various neighbors’ mailboxes around the neighborhood. It wasn’t me, and we didn’t receive one, but it still warmed my heart all the same. 

On that same note of Good Samaritans around the neighborhood, I want to give a shout-out to my neighbor across the street, Liz, and her two daughters, Kaylin and Kinley who went around a few neighbors (incl. us) delivering little packages containing a couple Cheryl’s cookies and my favorite Lindt chocolates. I made it clear to my husband that we each get a cookie and a chocolate (and he is not to eat my cookie to save me from myself : )  Thanks Liz and your cute little helpers for the very kind gesture. It’s a pleasure being your neighbor and I hope you have a nice Valentine’s Day. 

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, my husband and I have been married for 22+ years and have never really gone in for very big gestures or booking a romantic dinner out. This year is no exception, even with the pandemic. We’re having dinner at home and to make it extra special we’re baking a fancy dessert (at least fancy in terms of the skills required to make it) of Hot Fudge Pudding Cakes in ramekins.

We’ve never attempted anything like this before, but they shouldn’t be as difficult as a soufflé or Crème Brulee (which would be a great reason to get a kitchen torch!). Even if they don’t turn out perfectly, I’ll still eat them. It’s chocolate, so that’s always good no matter what. 

We typically don’t buy presents for each other either, though my husband has sometimes bought me flowers starting with the year we were married when I got a dozen long-stemmed red roses. That definitely surprised me! He also bought me a lovely art deco silver clock one year (which I still have).

This year he bought me a bottle of Bailey’s Red Velvet liquor (by request). If you can’t drink during a pandemic, when can you drink? I also bought him a canister of Dove dark chocolate truffles (okay, so I am hoping he’ll share with me). 

After dinner we’re planning on streaming the Manhattan Short Film Festival (https://www.manhattanshort.com/).

Normally we’d go to the cinema to see this, and it’s usually held in the autumn, but it’s being offered online for the first time and for the same price ($10) as they usually charge in theatres. So we’re happy to experience it from the comfort of our living room couch. In case you’re thinking of streaming it too, you’ll probably have to settle for watching it on your computer or tablet, but if you have a smart TV and a cable, you can plug your device into your TV and watch it on a larger screen that way. Also, the festival is streamable for about a week or so, so you can watch it later either. 

Well, hope everyone has a good week and can cope with the varying amount of snow we’re supposed to get here in the Midwest. Lest you complain, at least we all have indoor plumbing and don’t have to rely on trains to deliver coal and supplies. If you want to know more about that, check out book #6 in the Little House series, The Long Winter That should put it all into perspective for you. 

Have a great (snowy) week everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

                                                           

Trio of TV Show Recommendations

Call Me Kat is an American reboot of the British sitcom, “Miranda” which is produced by and stars Brit, Miranda Hart. Jim Parsons, formerly of “The Big Bang Theory” decided to adapt it for the American audience and produces it alongside his former BBT co-star, Mayim Bialik, who plays the lead role of Katharine “Kat” Silver. Kat is a former math professor who quits her job after her dad dies and decides to pursue her dream of opening a cat café. Swoosie Kurtz plays her mom who is forever trying to get her daughter married. 

I love the set design, which is suitably cozy, though for a cat café, you hardly see any cats, but then I guess the show isn’t really about them (though it is a cat café, so it kind of is). The actors are all likeable enough, especially Bialik, Kurtz, and Leslie Jordan (café employee). I’m just not sure I buy Bialik as this frumpy singleton who can’t get the guy. Yes, I realize the character is somewhat Amy Farah-Fowler-like, but still not sure I can make the transition so soon after “Big Bang Theory.” My bias probably comes from being so familiar with Miranda (who some may remember as Chummy in “Call the Midwife” circa 2012), who really does play the role so much better.  

From what I just read of the initial reviews of this series, it’s not exactly been a big hit with American viewers (or at least the reviewers). “Despite Mayim Bialik's innate appeal, her new sitcom Call Me Kat is a woefully unfunny throwback that has precious few good ideas - and not nearly enough cats.” – Rotten Tomatoes. 

“I want to like this because I loved Miranda the original show. The casting is awful, Leslie reminds me too much of his characters in Reba and Will and Grace..Swoosie same story. This combination of extremes : unknown actors and actors who have been on hit tv shows forever it doesn’t work ,  a cat cafe is very lame..you could’ve chosen a more modern concept..finally where’s the eye candy! Max is suppose to be hot! I understand talent is key but you gotta give the audience some eye candy...it was hard to watch this first episode and I paid for it! Not sure if I will keep watching...maybe the main difference is Miranda is a comedian..she is gifted..Mayim  is a great actress but something is missing..there’s no chemistry among the cast it looks forced.”  -- Rosa Gonzalez 

If you truly want some laughs, you would be better tuning in to Ted Danson’s newest sitcom, “Mr. Mayor.” The plot line is pretty simple – retired businessman, Neil Bremer, on a lark, decides to run for mayor, never expecting to actually win, but ‘he surprises everyone and wins the seat.’ (IMDB) Holly Hunter plays his deputy mayor and Kyla Kenedy (formerly Dylan DiMeo on “Speechless”) is his daughter. 

Not surprisingly all the laughs in the first episode are fairly predictable as they were all in the series trailer (which is why I am less of a fan of trailers these days). However, we (my husband and I) enjoyed the second episode even more than the first – largely because of the fool-proof plotline and Danson’s excellent acting skills (the mayor visits a CBD dispensary and enjoys one of the free samples : )

I also enjoyed the other storyline where Hunter’s character teaches young Mikaela (the mayor’s Chief of Staff) how things are accomplished in City Hall (a somewhat more simplistic lesson to the one demonstrated each week in “West Wing”) – you give me what I want and maybe I can help you with what you want, using the example of trying to obtain some scotch tape for Mikaela’s vision board. 

I don’t think there’s a single series starring Danson that I haven’t liked (“Cheers,” “Becker,” “The Good Life,” etc.). If you can’t get enough of him, and you have HBO, be sure to tune in to “Bored to Death” where he plays an agent with similar character traits. You can also stream “The Good Life” on Netflix I think. Of course Holly Hunter, a veteran Hollywood actor is also excellent, as is young Ms. Kenedy who is certainly an aspiring ingénue. 

If you’re a fan of trivia or game shows, or like grittier reality shows, you might like “The Chase.” This is one of the newest prime time trivia shows (also a British adaptation) starring Jeopardy’s trio of champions, Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer. Each week the knowledge of three members of the public are challenged by the speed and intelligence of one of the Jeopardy champs. Spoiler alert! If you haven’t yet watched the first two episodes, read no further!  The first episode featured the loveable temporary host of “Jeopardy,” Ken Jennings (looking very healthy and tan I must say) who gave the opposition a run for their money, but didn’t reign victorious. It was definitely a fun episode in that it was close, and the questions were of easy to medium difficulty, so we enjoyed trying to answer them as well. 

Since we were still curious about how things would play out with a different Jeopardy champ on the other end, we tuned in for the second episode. I would say the questions were a little more difficult, but then that might be because I didn’t know as many of them. Also, I can’t help but notice the similarity in the second trio of challengers in that there always seems to be a weakest link in the form of an adult nerd (guy) who does little to help his teammates. 

James Holzhauer stepped up to the top of the board in the second episode and made quick work of destroying the trio by answering every single question quickly and correctly in the lightning round. 

My husband and I agreed we would like to see how Brad Rutter does in the hot seat. If I were to place my bet now, I would say he might do slightly better than Ken Jennings did, but I doubt he will annihilate. 

After the third episode, we might continue to record them, but not sure I’m interested enough to continue watching. That’s partly because it’s gimmicky, which is everything “Jeopardy” wasn’t, and as far as trivia shows go, I much prefer “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and of course, “Jeopardy.”  

Having seen “Quiz Show” a couple times, I wonder how much things are orchestrated behind the scenes. For instance, I might suggest to James Holzhauer that he get a question wrong every now and then (in the final round). Otherwise, if he always crushes the competition, that becomes a little predictable, though maybe that’s a reason to continue watching to see if he really is this superhuman, unemotional trivia machine.