Magritte

This weekend I went to check out the Magritte show at LACMA with a friend from out of town. We both got the audio tour and I was really glad I did. The show was designed by artist John Baldessari and it definitely had a unique look. He put cloud patterned carpet on the floor and tiled a picture of freeways on the ceiling. There were other little touches that he did that related to the art in the show. Magritte is most well known for his man with the bowler hat. The show juxtaposed his work with other artists who were directly inspired by him as well as artists who worked in similar themes (such as using text and playing with scale). The audio tour included commentary by several contemporary artists whose work was included in the show. Interestingly, some of them deny being influenced by Magritte's work. I noticed that several of the pieces shown in the exhibit were from the private collections of contemporary artists.

My Podcasts

Last year I got into a few podcasts that I try and listen to regularly. I don't have an iPod, I listen to them on my Palm T/X. My regular podcast menu comes from KCRW, the local public radio station. They have amazing music podcasts, but I listen to a variety of commentary and interview shows. This is what's on my list:
Art Talk by Edward Goldman, a weekly 5 minute commentary on what's happening on the Los Angeles art scene. He has a very strong Russian accent, but that just adds to the ambience.
DnA (Design & Architecture), a monthly half-hour show on Los Angeles' design and architecture community. That covers a lot of territory, given how vibrant that community is.
The Business, a half hour weekly show about the business of show business. Claude Brodesser-Ackner talks to and about people who work on movies as well as the people who work to make movies happen.
Studio 360, an hour long show by Kurt Anderson covering all kinds of cultural topics. My favourite episodes are from the American Icon series.

Rose Parade 2007

I've lived in LA almost 20 years and for the first time, I went to the Rose Parade this year. Elaine and Alex invited a few people over for New Year's Eve and we made it a slumber party. We all got up at 5a for hot chocolate and coffee and started the walk to the start of the parade. When we got about half way up Orange Grove, the floats were lined up getting ready for their moment in the sun. The detail on them is really remarkable. There was a large crowd when we finally found a spot near the start of the parade. It really is a very different experience seeing this live. The crowd's excitement is infectious and everyone cheers for all of the bands, all of the floats, all of the horses. The highlight for me was George Lucas as Grand Marshall, the Storm Trooper battalion, the Star Wars band and Chewbacca. This photo is a detail of one of the sea themed floats. There was a strong citrus aroma wafting from this fish.

Neve visits Hollywood

Shortly after Christmas, my sister came down to visit with her husband and daughter. We took Neve to the LA Zoo to see some of the animals, giraffes, zebras, elephant, orangutans. There was a baby orangutan who was swinging around near the viewing window, and Neve and the other kids just loved watching it. We then went to Griffith Observatory where Neve had a nap while we adults took in the new exhibits and the great views. They did a wonderful job on the new spaces. The day we were there, you could see a solar flare from the live sun telescope. The view of the Hollywood sign from here is amazing. It's the little white strip on the hill to the left of us.