Lunch After The Broad Museum

After feeding our artistic souls we fed our tummies.  We had lunch at Otium, next door  to the Broad. 

 Hamachi

 Yummy potatoes

 Salad Nicoise

After lunch a ride on the historic "Angels flight" before heading home

 

Thanks Mary and David for a wonderful day in downtown Los Angeles.

Some Downtown Fun Part 2 Jasper Johns at the Broad Museum

"The be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist." - Jasper Johns
  

Three flags by Jasper Johns


 "In the late 1950's Jasper Johns emerged as a force in the American Art scene. His richly worked paintings of map, flags and targets led the artistic community away from the Abstract Impressionism toward a new emphasis on the concrete.  John's laid the groundwork for both Pop art and Minimalism...

Born in Augusta, Georgia and raised in Allendale, South Carolina, Jasper Johns grew up wanting to be an artist....He studied briefly at the University of South Carolina before moving to New York.

In New York Johns met a number of artists including John Cage, the choreographer Merce Cunningham,
and the painter Robert Rauschenberg. While working together creating window displays for Tiffany's Johns and Rauschenberg explored the New York art scene. After a visit to Philadelphia to see Marcel Duchamp's painting "The Large Glass" (1915-23), Johns became very interested in his work. Duchamp had revolutionized the art worlk with his "ready mades" - a series of found objects presented as finished works of art. This irreverance for the fixed attitudes toward what could be considered works of art was a substantial influence on Johns.

The modern art community was searching for new ideas to succeed the pure emotionality of Abstract Impressionists. Johns' painting of targets, maps, invited both the wrath and praise of art critics. Johns' early works combined a serious concern for the craft of painting with an everyday, almost absurd, subject matter. The meaning of the painting could be found in the painting process itself. Johns explained, " There may or may not be an idea, and the meaning may just be that the painting exists."

In 1958, gallery owner Leo Castelli, visited Rauschenberg's studio, and saw Johns work for the first time. Castelli was so impressed,with the 28 year olds ability and inventiveness that he offered him a show on the spot. At that first exhibition, the Museum of Modern Art purchased three pieces, making it clear that  Johns was to become a major force in the art world. Thirty years later his paintings sold for more than any living artist in history." ....

The full article taken may be found here:
 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/jasper-johns-about-the-painter/54/

Some Downtown Fun Part 1 Jasper Johns at the Broad Museum

In mid March I had a wonderful adventure in downtown Los Angeles.  I took the metro blue line to meet my friends Mary and David at the Broad Museum for a special Jasper Johns exhibit. It was a beautiful spring morning.  

 The Broad Museum, seen below is the white waffle facade bldg. in the foreground.

It is located across the street from the Disney Music Hall which is a  wildly amazing sculptured metal building. Here it is below:

My friends had invited me to this special ticketed event and I was thrilled because Jasper Johns was one of the modern artists of the 1950-60's that I had studied about in art history classes in college. *

 Things the Mind Already Knows
"When they were first exhibited in the late 1950's, Jasper John's renditions of flags, targets, numbers and alphabets established a new artistic vocabulary. Each was an instantly identifiable design that could be reproduced on a flat surface while simultaneously retaining its symbolic or practical function. His paintings of flags can be saluted; targets aimed at, states locatedon  his maps, and numbers and alphabets counted or used for language, respectively. By appropriating widely recognizable signs and symbols, Johns sought to make the familiar unfamiliar, inviting viewers to look more closely at what he calls "things the mind already knows." 

Johns has returned to his early motifs throughout his career, engaging with and developing them across a breadth of media. The selection of works in the first three galleries of this exhibition demonstrates the depth of John's technical skill, showcasing himas a highly accomplished painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. In whichever form they are presented John's renderings of familiar signs and symbols stimulate the eye and mind in new ways and provoke the viewer to study and break fixed habits of perception..." 

 Jasper Johns "In Memory of My Feelings" 1961

Part II of this blogpost tomorrow discusses Jasper Johns


From Wikipedia:

Jasper Johns is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related topics. Wikipedia

Born: May 15, 1930 (age 87), Augusta, GA

Periods: Abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, Modern art, Pop art

Influenced by: Marcel Duchamp, Hart Crane, Tatyana Grosman

Education: University of South Carolina, Parsons School of Design

Back To The Future on March 17th

 Some Music, Some Friends and Corned Beef

 We spent a wonderful St. Paddy's day with our friends Mary and David.   We had fun walking down memory lane at a concert featuring music from the 60's. 

  Then we came home and dined on a traditional St. Patrick's day meal of corned beef and cabbage.

  A fun night with dearest friends.

Infinity and Beyond

 The Infinity Room, Yayoi Kusama at the Broad Museum Los Angeles
 
"Live your life with an appreciation of 
coincidences and you connect with
the field of infinite possibilities."

A Discovery Under The Sun

I've been trying to change my eating habits by incorporating a more plant based diet into my routine. Basically I'm trying to lower my cholesterol numbers by eating better. My friend Sherri introduced me to a fairly new neighborhood vegan restaurant. I took some girlfriends the other day.  The place is called "Under The Sun"*. 

 The interior of the restaurant has beautiful high ceilings, lots of light and a lovely ambience.

 My friend Jo and me

 This is called the Long Beach special with avocado, lots of veges  served with kale chips.  

 Shannon and Jeanette

 This was a delicious and creative take on sushi called a spicy papaya roll with miso/ginger dipping sauce. Really good

 Surf and earth salad, cabbage, spinach tossed in 🍋mustard dressing, topped with tu-nah pate, 🍅, dulse, sprouts, and chlorella, garlic, pepper, 🥑heirloom pumpkin seeds+a side of green goddess dressing.

 We had to try the desserts. These were divine!
Lavender cheesecake with cardamom
Bottom: chocolate mousse layered cheesecake


We enjoyed the ambience and the food and of course the pleasure of each others company.  A nice adventure in the hood. 

*Under the Sun RawVegan Restaurant
244 E. 3rd. St.
Long Beach, Ca. 90802

A Poem For Coffee Lovers