I had the unusual pleasure of "taking in" the Ambroise Vollard exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City the past two Sundays. Yes, I went back to see it again after seeing it once. Took the visiting in-laws and The Crew the first week. The second week it was just Wifey and The Savages. Getting them to schlep into Manhattan again came at a small price. Wifey gets entitled to something pretty and The Savages get treated to "Pasta Pizza" from delicious hole-in-the-wall "La Traviata" on West 68th Street. In and out of Manhattan and back home by 2:30 p.m. All in time to catch both the Jets and the Giants squander their seasons away in one afternoon that evolved into its evening. I felt it somewhat unusual that this show was not publicized more or that it did not generate more publicity by virtue of itself. I can remember lesser exhibits with a better publicity machine behind them. Awareness about this one was somewhat scant and could have been higher. Much higher. CBS News Sunday Morning did do a piece on the exhibition. The New York Times did also. I, however, don't recall much buzz about it otherwise. Christopher Lloyd got the word. I actually saw him there the first week.
There are not many places in the world where one can go and marvel at what art critics, entrepreneurs, investors, historians and collectors deem to be a collection of magnificent paintings of a particular style that evolved at the dawn of the 20th Century.
The subjects: Bonnard, Cézanne, Degas, Derain, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Maillol, Matisse, Picasso, Redon, Renoir, Rouault, Rousseau, Vlaminck, Vuillard, and others. The protagonist: Vollard.
Some of the paintings are permanent exhibitions of The Met itself, but many others were on loan precisely for this show. Many of these artists' efforts all in one place for a short time. If you are an art lover, this was the place to come to in the Western World this Fall. It's now headed to Chicago and will eventually end after that show there in Paris.
Both Sundays that I was there, the museum was packed with what appear to be upper middle-class tourists, art students, artists, and cognizant area locals who can appreciate this sublime aesthetic.
While appreciating art amongst these types, I came away from that show with one strong impression in mind........Ambroise Vollard was the Don King of his day. There is no other comparison that I can derive. Vollard was the Don King of Modern Art. Go Figure.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/28/sunday/main2306467.shtml
Recently, as part of the small cache of Christmas gifts that I was fortunate to receive, I have been completely fixated with the newest Beatles offering. Since their break-up thirty-seven years ago, the long defunct Beatles have released scarcely anything new. It has all been a repackaging of their original 18-album catalogue. If you were to own all 18, you pretty much would own all The Beatles you would need. Eighteen albums is all one needs to deem themselves to own all their albums.
This newest offering is different because it is a blended remix. A mash-up. As one reviewer put it: ".....mining the mother lode of Beatles recordings and creating new and surprising alloys.". Another reviewer states: "......it became clear that the Beatles are no historical monument, but a living, breathing band whose freshly remixed music still sounds as urgent and original as anything being recorded today." Moreover: "It's the closest thing to a new Beatles album since "Abbey Road."
I agree with all the above. It's great to acquire something old but have it be new at the same time. I e-mailed a college buddy of mine out in Phoenix who remains an avid fan of all things 60's and all things Beatles. He's got the haircut and all. He wrote back and said that he hasn't heard the CD yet. Go Figure.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956257.html?categoryid=15&cs=1
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061214/LIFE01/612140371/1006/LIFE
Every year, the company who I work for really goes all out on its annual Christmas party. After working for some of the sweatshops I have in the past, this is a truly fabulous event and perk. The party is held at the same place every year. The food and drink are over the top. There was a time that an orchestra were hired to provide the music as part the evening's entertainment. That opulence has since been whittled down to a live six-piece band. Prizes are given away. We are all entitled to bring a spouse or partner or guest to the event. It's a black tie gala thing at "Tavern On The Green".
I cannot believe that some people who work where I do, don't ever go to this event. Wifey didn't even go this year. This time around, I could not believe that Wifey could not find a sitter this year. My opinion? She was not very proactive about truly finding one. Wifey used to get so excited about the party every year in more ways than one. Pull off to the side of the road on the way home excited. Therefore, I was taken aback when Wifey mentioned a day or two before the party's day whether it was OK to miss the event this year. Her only concern was whether me attending the event spouseless could be perceived to be un-PC. There are people who I work with who look forward to seeing Wifey every year. To speak and get to know her better again. This year, Wifey was not there to compliment me. Why? Go Figure.
President Gerald R. Ford was on my mind last week, and was on the minds of many Americans also. Whatever your politics are regarding his politics, history has been kind to the only un-elected President in American history. Kindly, in contrast to the remaining haters and conspiracists who still cannot accept that Ford would not allow a figurative bloody lynching of President Richard Nixon. Some of those remaining blood hungry beasts were heard murmuring petulantly the last couple of weeks. I will remember President Ford well for personal reasons that affected me as a 14-year-old high school freshman in Arizona.
Just two months after taking office as president, Gerald Ford visited a small town on the Arizona border: Nogales. It was a circus. Henry Kissinger was with him. President Ford and part of his cabinet symbolically met the president of Mexico in this border city in October of 1974. I remember that he walked down Grand Avenue towards the border check-point shaking hands with the crowd as he strolled across into Mexico. He crossed about 50 yards into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico to meet the then president of Mexico, Luis Echeverría-Álvarez. Both walked up unto a raised stage and each up to a podium. Then the speeches began.
Everything in the small town of my birth and rearing came to a standstill on that day. Schools were not in session for the day. Banks and businesses closed for some hours. American and Mexican dignitaries were there. Media outlets from both countries were everywhere. It was President Ford's first trip abroad....or in this case, his first walk abroad. All this happened one day, a long time ago in a place that the average person has never heard of: Nogales, Arizona. Go Figure.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4495
*!*
posted by JerryNJ @ 6:56 PM
0 comments
