by Christina Waters | Nov 9, 2009 | Art, Home |
Two of my favorite artists’ visits in October happened 600 miles apart.
The new, enigmatic Blurred Landscapes large-scale photo montages by Sara Friedlander — created, cunningly manipulated, and ultimately altered by painted overlays, lingered long in my imagination.
These pieces have the impact of a childhood dream. To see them, is to have an immediate sense of recognition. And yet, Friedlander weaves images from geographically far-flung regions — images from Japan might be edited into a forest in the Czech Republic — in order to create these eerily soothing dreamscapes. After being printed, re-organized, and printed again on heavy archival paper, the images are then enhanced with oil and acrylic paint detailing. So the Landscapes are at once multiple-generational assemblages, and yet one-of-a-kind originals.
The best news is that Friedlander’s Landscapes are now lining the walls of old Lulu’s on Pacific Ave. so if you missed seeing these impressive pieces during Open Studios, you can feast on them over a morning macchiato.
by Christina Waters | Nov 9, 2009 | Home |
And the potent desert miniatures by Los Angeles/Mojave oil painter Mary Austin Klein, provided indelible visuals of a landscape that is my second home. As small as the portable altars that accompanied wealthy Renaissance nobles on their travels, Klein‘s intricate braiding of glittering light and deep purple shadows offers choice bits of the geological grandeur of the Mojave, for take-away and at stunningly low prices.
The painting shown, of the Bullion Mountains overlooking Joshua Tree, is a mere 4 x 6 inches, the very smallness of which gives the work an almost magic realist quality. As much a tiny object as a painted representation, it has undeniable allure. Yet, like all work done almost exclusively from photographs, Klein’s paintings fail to convince us that they are pieces of a living domain. There is an absence of expressiveness in these works that contradicts their graphic virtuosity. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 2, 2009 | Art, Home |
It must have been tough living in the shadow of Richard Wagner, but that’s just what powered the career of Richard Strauss, who like his contemporary Gustav Mahler, spent many a sleepless night wondering just how to channel Wagner’s mojo.
Just after the turn of the century Strauss unveiled his voluptuous version of Oscar Wilde’s naughty Salomé, and promptly had his opera banned in most world capitals the minute it hit the stage. As Wilde/Strauss have it, there was much more to Salomé’s desire than simply a baptismal tantrum. She was fatally obsessed with having the Baptist, in God’s way. And as enacted by pliant German soprano Nadja Michael, Salomé was a sensuous handful.
The San Francisco Opera’s current production of Salomé uses set design as well as dramatic motivation to heighten the sexual tension among John the Baptist (sung by a bare-chested Greer Grimsley), the lusting Herod (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 1, 2009 | Home |
The best pork chop in living memory was had by me last week at Ristorante Avanti. The pastured pork from Marin Sun Farms was tender and wildly delicious. The plump chop was embraced by a pool of creamy polenta, green beans with toasted almonds and several roasted crab apples — the sweet, tangy taste of autumnn. . . . Meanwhile, you would be doing yourself a favor to join the Seabright neighbors, dining at La Posta on Tuesday evenings. Not only is there a deal-of-the-century option – pasta plus wine, or pizza plus wine, for $15!, but you can slip into the magic realism world of authentic mandolin music, listening to mandolin master Paul Rangell (shown above).
Rangell’s collection of Sicilian, New Mexican, eastern European, etc. folk music is almost supernaturally encyclopedic. And he’s a gifted artist as well. Accompanied on guitar by his wife, Emily Abbink, Rangell’s insistent mandolin (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 1, 2009 | Food, Home, Wine |
As if the stupendous selection of fine wines wasn’t enough, now Soif is continuing its prix fixe menu through the entire month of November. To raise awareness about breast cancer — and to help the work of WomenCARE, in Santa Cruz, Soif has created a smart menu of dishes made without added sugars, butter, flour, rice, potatoes or saturated fats of any kind.
Starting with an appetizer of mixed greens with roasted persimmons and (more…)
by Christina Waters | Oct 31, 2009 | Food, Home |
We’ve all done it. Run into Trader Joe’s, desperate for a few last-minute staple items.
There it was – eye-catching, under $5 (rare these days) and allegedly loaded with fiber.
I bought it.
We tasted it.
We rejected it. Why? No flavor. None. Zero. Zip. I’ve tasted cardboard with more flavor density and nuance than this. A cruel joke packaged with an eye-catching purple label and the word “Quinoa” boldly imprinted, this was bread made by people who had no tastebuds.
For people with no tastebuds.
If you, however, have tastebuds, you will want to avoid this product.
