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Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

In the news: Selfies and artistic collateral damage

Selfies: Artistic Collateral Damage? by  Leticia Marie Sanchez This article first appeared in Cultural Cocktail Hour in 2016  One cannot enter a gallery, museum, or even concert venue without encountering a selfie taker, some more subtle and thoughtful than others. Taking a selfie as a souvenir of an artistic experience is one thing. But what happens when I-phones become Weapons of Mass Destruction? Unfortunately, at the 14th Factory, a pop-up gallery in Los Angeles,  a clumsy student taking a selfie apparently caused more than $200,000 worth of damage to a series of crowned pedestals by Hong Kong based multimedia artist Simon Birch. Birch decided not to press charges against the individual because 1) she was a student and 2) it was an accident. In a statement released by Birch, the artist reveals: “Each sculpture was painstakingly designed and built from all kinds of

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This week in LA: Christie’s Preview of Old Masters Sale

Christie’s Preview of Old Masters sale including Masterworks from The Estate of Lila and Herman Shickman and an Important Private Collection Christie’s Los Angeles 336 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 VIEWING January 10–16 Weekdays: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 12pm – 4pm Sunday: Closed Angelenos have a chance to preview works from the estate of Lila and Herman Shickman, in advance of an Old Master sale in New York in May. A prominent art dealer of the 20th century, Herman Shickman fled Nazi Germany and moved to New York where he dealt Old Master works on paper and still life paintings. Until he retired in 2003, Shickman ran his eponymous gallery on New York’s Upper East Side. Juan van der Hamen y León’s Still Life with Flowers and Fruit is expected become the most expensive Spanish still life ever auctioned. For more information, please

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Review: Family Day at the Norton Simon “Artful Weaving”

Review: Family Day at the Norton Simon “Artful Weaving” by Leticia Marie Sanchez Family Days at the Norton Simon are always a treat for parents and children, due to a wonderfully engaging formula that packs a two-fold punch: 1) A kid-friendly tour of the latest exhibition 2) A children’s craft project  inspired by the latest exhibition Educator Gorman Bentley is a natural with children, with an ebullient personality and insights about art history. He patiently explained the concept of a loom and taught my four year-old to complete his own tapestry. With his friendly spirit, Mr. Bentley welcomed all the children sitting at the tables, making each of them feel included and welcome.   Following the craft project, Educator Fabrizio Flores took us on a child-friendly the visually arresting new exhibit, “Once Upon a Tapestry: Woven Tales of Helen and

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Review: In the Raw: A fresh take on the Renaissance at the Getty Center- A Must See Exhibit

In the Raw: A Fresh take on the Renaissance at the Getty Center by Leticia Marie Sanchez The Renaissance Nude Oct 30, 2018- Jan 27, 2019 The exhibit on the Renaissance nude at the Getty does not pull any punches- it is authentic, raw, and illuminating. What makes it stand out is that idealization is not the name of the game. Instead, the exhibit gets to the heart of the matter. There are books on anatomy, studies from morgues, saints being tortured, bodies that are emaciated and infirm contrasting with ripe, seductive, athletic, forms. The lushness of a painting like Titian’s Venus Rising From the Sea is viewed within the context of the nude form in all its facets. Unlike other Renaissance exhibits which focus on iconography alone, the Getty exhibit explores what proves more fascinating, the intriguing world behind

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Making a Splash at Christie’s Beverly Hills- October 23-27 (Post War Contemporary Sale-Los Angeles Tour)

  by Leticia Marie Sanchez Art-loving Angelenos will have a chance to check out iconic Post-War paintings at Christie’s Beverly Hills this week! The works on view include David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) and Edward Hopper’s Chop Suey- which is no chopped liver,- it’s estimated to be worth about$ 70 million! According to Christie’s the Hockney’s painting is “poised to become the most valuable work of art by a living artist ever sold at auction.” Post War Contemporary Sale – Los Angeles Tour:  David Hockney (b. 1937), Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972. Acrylic on canvas. 84 x 120 in (213.5 x 305 cm). Estimate on request. Offered in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 15 November 2018 at Christie’s in New York © David Hockney       Edward Hopper, Chop Suey (1929). Oil on

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Beautiful Day at the Norton Simon Fall Family Festival

All Photography  © 2018 Leticia Marie Sanchez

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Art world crime: In the news: Joshua Bell impersonator robs hotel room of celebrity violinist

Throwback Tuesday to an Art Crime from 2012 Art World Crime: Joshua Bell Impersonator robs hotel room of world-famous Violinist by Leticia Marie Sanchez HELLO. MY NAME IS JOSHUA BELL. CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME A VIOLIN? OR A ROLEX? THANKS. So while Joshua Bell is performing the Brahms Concerto with the London Philharmonic in Zaragoza, Spain, a man goes to the front desk of his hotel claiming to be the world-famous violinist. The Hotel clerk does not bother checking the guy’s ID. (Ever try Google Image, buddy?) The hotel hands over the key to Joshua Bell’s room to a man off the street while poor Bell fiddles his heart out on stage. The thief no doubt could not wait to get his sticky fingers on Bell’s 1713 Stradivarius, worth about 4 million dollars. But, unlike the thief, Bell was actually working that

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The Banksy Self-Destructing Art Mystery

The Banksy Self-Destructing Art Mystery by Leticia Marie Sanchez Last week in London, after being sold for 1.4 million dollars at auction, a Banksy painting self-destructed. Banksy’s “Girl with a Balloon” had just sold at Sotheby’s when a hidden shredder inside the painting began to slice and dice the work, to gasps from the auction crowd. Photo Credit: Sotheby’s After the stunt, Banksy posted a quote from Picasso on his Instagram account. “The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.” Sotheby’s Senior Director of Contemporary Art stated in a news released, “”It appears we just got Banksy-ed,” But many questions remain. Was Sotheby’s in on the stunt? Was the shredder operated remotely? How was Banksy able to get the perfect video of the stunt which he later posted on his Instagram? Some speculate that a curly-haired man at the auction videotaping

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Making the Fig and Other Artistic Insults

An Eye for an Eye, a Fig for a Fig by Leticia Marie Sanchez Even noble literary figures need to blow off steam. Shakespeare’s Capulets and Montagues deliver the shocking, duel-provoking insult of thumb-biting.  Only a duel could avenge such a slur on one’s honor. Sampson: I will bite my thumb at them, which is disgrace to them if they bear it. Abram: Do you bite your thumb at us, Sir?’ Romeo and Juliet. Act I. Scene I. Melee ensues.  Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy contains another impish affront,“Making the Fig.”  This slur involves thrusting out the thumb between the first and second fingers to express anger or disdain.  In Dante’s Inferno, Vanni Fucci, a thief convicted of stealing from the Church of San Zeno, “raises his hands, points in mockery, and cries, ‘Take them, God.’” (Canto XXV) The next time

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Henri Matisse- Don’t touch the fruit!

by Leticia Marie Sanchez According to Kathleen Krull, in her book “Lives of the Artists,” Henri Matisse subsisted on a strict diet of rice-only when he first started out as a painter. Not Rice-A-Roni. Just plain boiled rice. Matisse refused to even allow himself to indulge in the luscious fruit that he bought for his still life paintings. Instead, he saved that fruit for his art. And for us.  Enjoy. Henri Matisse, Still Life with Oranges. 1899  Editor’s Note: Matisse eventually became one of the highest-paid artists of his time, imbing champagne and moving to the French Riviera– a real Rice to Riches story!

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