“Taking Shape: Degas as Sculptor” at the Norton Simon- a MUST SEE exhibit

Taking Shape: Degas as Sculptor A MUST SEE exhibit at the Norton Simon By Leticia Marie Sanchez Stepping into the Norton Simon Museum for a new exhibition, the foresight of collector Norton Simon never ceases to impress me. Last year, perusing the sea of Picassos for the States of Mind exhibition, I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to delve into myriad iterations of Picassos work and thereby his creative process due to the deep collection acquired by Norton Simon. This month’s exhibition Taking Shape: Degas as Sculptor once again felt like a seemingly boundless collection of a single artist, this time Edgar Degas.  With the exception of one loan by the Getty Museum, Norton Simon’s massive collection of Degas’ sculpture, drawing, and painting comprised the entire exhibition. A deep collection affords a viewer a rich window into the of the art of

Wise Man: George Bernard Shaw

You use a glass mirror to see your face;  You use works of art to see your soul.”   – George Bernard Shaw                           Caravaggio, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome

Dazzling Lights on Travertine at the Getty Center

Celebration     at the Getty Center in honor of Pacific Standard Time L.A/ L.A Photography © 2017 by Leticia Marie Sanchez  dazzling lights on Travertine…    

Two MUST SEE EXHIBITS: “Giovanni Bellini” and “Sacred Landscapes” at the Getty Center

 By Leticia Marie Sanchez Imagine being able to teleport yourself through time and space to imagine life as a spiritual Venetian noble in the 15th Century. Or as a believer in 15th Century Bruges. Two intriguing exhibits at the Getty Center allow museum goers to take those journeys. Firstly, Giovanni Bellini: Landscapes of Faith in Renaissance Venice offers insight into the work of a Venetian master. What is astounding about this exhibit is that it is the first monographic exhibition in America devoted to Giovanni Bellini. This gifted and prolific artist, who when he was already in his seventies, was praised by Albrecht Durer as “still the best in the art of painting” despite the fact that Titian and Giorgione were already on the scene. In one room, viewers are fortunate to be able to view Bellini masterpieces loaned from

A truly Cultural Cocktail: The Bellini!

by Leticia Marie Sanchez Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered Trademark And now, for a delicious libation that epitomizes the Cultural Cocktail! You can share this trivia the next time you are at a cocktail party and become the toast of the fete! Did you know that the Bellini cocktail was named after the Venetian Renaissance painter, Giovanni Bellini? The history of this popular drink harkens back to Harry’s Bar in Venice.  A Who’s Who of artistic luminaries frequented this bar including Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Arturo Toscanini, Peggy Guggenheim, and Alfred Hitchcock. In 1948, Harry’s Bar owner Giuseppe Cipriani created a concoction blending peach puree and Prosecco. He named the refreshing cocktail a “Bellini,” after the sumptuous peach hue on the toga of a saint painted by Giovanni Bellini. This exquisite painting (Virgin and Child with Saint John the

10+ Facts About Marc Chagall

The #1 Search Term on Cultural Cocktail Hour has consistently been—- Marc Chagall!! To reward my faithful readers for their curiosity, here are 10+ FACTS ABOUT MARC CHAGALL 1. Real Name: Moyshe Segal 2. Birthplace: Vitebsk, Russian empire 3. Artistic Style: Chagall invented his own style, blending Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism, and Expressionism with images from Jewish folklore and legend. 4. Family Background Chagall was born into a Hassidic Jewish family living in Russia. His father, Zakhar, assisted a herring merchant; His mother, Feiga Ita, ran a small shop. 5.  Wife Bella Rosenfeld: a cultured woman with a passion for theatre, painting, and poetry 6. Paris “My art needed Paris, like a tree needs water.”- Chagall When Moyshe Segal arrived in Paris he changed his name to Marc Chagall. The resourceful painter did not let his lack of money stop him.

Autumn Cultural Highlight- Pacific Standard Time

PACIFIC STANDARD TIME LA/LA is THE Blockbuster cultural experience in LA this Fall and Winter. Led the GETTY, the massive undertaking explores Latin America and Latino Art in dialogue with Los Angeles. The scope and scale of this artistic endeavor is staggering. PST LA/LA encompasses: 1100 artists from 45 countries  More than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, and from San Diego to Santa Barbara  The themes of Pacific Standard Time include: Pre-Hispanic to Colonial Borders, Diaspora, and Displacement Definitions of Identity From Abstract to Conceptual Art Critiquing Globalism and Modernism Art and Activism Design and Architecture Film, Music, Dance Cultural Cocktail Hour will be covering individual exhibits this Fall and Winter. Pacific Standard Time LA/LA  runs from September 2017 through January 2018. For a full and up-to-date list of all the exhibitions and 100s

Christie’s Photographs from the Museum of Modern Art

Moments in Time By Leticia Marie Sanchez Photography has become an inescapable part of our daily experience. One cannot sit in a restaurant without seeing someone snapping a photo of their spring rolls, their Tinder date, or even themselves. A few weeks ago on the Pacific Coast Highway, on a particularly crowded weekend, the man in the lane next to me took a selfie while stuck in traffic. Hopefully, police will soon be ticketing drivers for the 2017 version of DUIs: Driving under the Influence of Instagram. For better or worse, photography is now ubiquitous. But at one point in America history, photography was not pervasive. In fact, as a medium it was breaking new ground in order to be recognized as an elevated genre worthy of hanging on museum walls. An intriguing exhibit at Christie’s depicts a time when

All photography ©2017 Leticia Marie Sanchez Fallen Leaf Lake August 2017 “If one really loves nature, one can find beauty everywhere”- Vincent Van Gogh          

An Edward Hopper moment at Fallen Leaf Lake

  All nature photography ©2017 Leticia Marie Sanchez Fallen Leaf Lake, August 2017 Edward Hopper, The Long Leg, 1935