September 7, 2011 – Pieces of Picasso

Today I finally got to the de Young to see the Picasso mega-show. Even as a museum member, seeing these hyped up shows is a challenge due to the crowds. I’ve learned that mornings, mid week are the key, if you have the time. Anyone who has been to enough art museums over the years has probably seen their share of Picassos. He had a long and prolific career. With such a huge body of work, even some of the smaller and flung art museums around the world often have a Picasso.

We always benefit when museums are under renovation and the collection takes a road trip around the planet. The show at the de Young is a treasure trove of work from the Musée National Picasso in Paris. Having seen Picasso’s work in many museums, including the SFMoMA and the Legion of Honor did not prepare me for this show. The ability to see a large amount work spanning a lifetime is a very different museum experience. It’s not the same as looking in an art book or seeing a handful of pieces in one museum.

The five things I took away from seeing it all at once were:

1. A real insight into Picasso’s artistic development and earlier work. So many pieces did not “look” like a Picasso. Who knew he even painted a lighthouse.
2. A much better understanding of artists who influenced his work and the subsequent artists he continues to influence.
3. It never fails to surprise how much vivid paintings can be in person. Even familiar works like his 1937 Portrait of Dora Maar are surprising. Colors that border on day-glo at times.
4. In case you hadn’t figured it out yet — Picasso was a boob man. He loved ‘em, really, really, loved them.
5. And, a few postcards for today’s piece for the 2011 Project were purchased as we exited through the gift shop.

July 16, 2011 – Le Lustre

One might assume that chandelier has the same meaning in French. Yet chandelier is actually the word fro candlestick. Lustre is what the French call a chandelier and appropriately from where we also get the English word luster.

There is a chandelier at the Legion of Honor that is probably the most beautiful one in San Francisco — words like luster, brilliant and radiant can all be applied. The chandelier compels many visitors to get the camera out. The artist Timothy Horn even did a magnificent recreation of the chandelier — in sugar! The chandelier hangs in one of the period rooms, a salon from the Hôtel de la Trémoille in Paris circa 1781. I always make a point to linger in that room on every visit to the Legion.

I have been told that ghosts live in glass doorknobs. If that is true, I can just imagine what sort of spirits watch over the room from the crystals in the chandelier. The room itself always feels a bit haunted, but the spirits seem to tolerate those of us who appreciate the allure of pre-revolutionary France. The Legion of Honor may be one of the most haunted places in San Francisco. The building sits on top of a cemetery where the gravestones were removed but many of the graves were left behind. I can just imagine what the building is like after hours. Do the ghosts of old Paris and Gold Rush Era San Francisco get along together? It could make for a good story.

June 19, 2011 – Diva

Sadly, the word “diva” has become so overused that it is beginning to lose it’s meaning. But the film of the same name lives up to its title. The other night I was surprised to learn that a friend, who knows his French movies, had never heard of, let alone seen Diva. It’s one of the greatest films of all time and I am rather astonished to realize it has already been 30 years since it was first released.

Diva was the directorial debut for French director Jean-Jacques Beineix. It starred Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez and Frédéric Andréi. The film is visually beautiful and has one of the best soundtracks of all time. I have listened to the soundtrack hundreds of times. It includes an Aria from Alfredo Catalnai’s opera La Wally. Catalani is a relatively unknown Italian composer and his operas remain fairly obscure. His most well known contribution to music may be the aria used in the film.

Diva had a steady showing on the second-run theatre circuit in the 1980’s. As many of those old theatres have closed up, it’s sad that films like this don’t get shown very often. They become overwhelmed and lost in the in the thousands of titles available from services like Netflix. There was something to say for the curatorial approach that certain art house theatres took back then. It’s sad too, because like many films, Diva has less of an impact on the small screen.

If I still haven’t convinced you yet to seek out Diva, just watch the trailer…