Brand News, Winter Spring 2017 by Brand Associates

news Brandnews is a publication of Brand Associates

WINTER/SPRING 2017

Brand 45 Works on Paper Is in the Planning Stages

By Deb Thompson Chair, Brand 45

The Brand 44 show catalog, a beautiful keepsake, can be purchased at Brand Library for $20

The gallery space has been divided into various rooms

ur 45th Annual Works on Paper Exhibition is scheduled to open on September 16, 2017 and we are really thrilled to have as our juror Leslie Jones, Curator of Prints and Drawings at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The involvement of Ms Jones continues a longstanding tradition of selecting jurors considered to be leading figures in the art world.” The exhibition is itself a tradition. However, we made three exciting changes in 2016. First, we hosted “Paper PreView”, an elegant cocktail party for members. Attendees—including 51 newly joined along with many veteran members—indulged in champagne and tasty hors d’oeuvres in our candlelit atrium. They also had a sneakpeek at the show the night before its formal opening and all had a great time mingling with fellow art lovers.

Simon Wright and Jean Simone spearheaded our Paper Preview Event

Second, a transformed gallery space showcased the work of 101 artists from across the county. The gallery, now with multiple rooms, painted black or white and of varying sizes instead of the previous large rectangular space, received an overwhelmingly positive reception. We look forward to the same gallery configuration for Brand 45. Placement of artwork and lighting was the exceptional work of gallery supervisor Shannon Currie-Holmes. Third, we redesigned our show catalog as a boxed set of full-color reproductions and the artists’ personal statements. Reproductions are of suitable quality for small frames and some remaining boxed sets are available for $20 at the Library desk. Stay tuned on social media and our website for more details about Brand 45 and our members preview event.

MESSAGE from ARLENE VIDOR

President, Brand Associates

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

Arlene Vidor VICE PRESIDENT

Jean Simone SECRETARY

Debra Thompson n all it’s varied forms—visual or performance—the world of artistic creativity is a celebration of diversity. Diversity of thought, viewpoint, physical sensation, personal experience, heritage.

We believe Brand’s collections, resources, and events offer you a broad range of memorable experiences. Experience can be defined in an infinite number of ways, e.g., comforting, uplifting, provocative, unsettling, or take you outside your comfort zone. When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, I took ballet classes in the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue. Walking through the lobby I was always affected by the inscription over the door—poet Henry Austin Dobson’s words: “All passes, art alone endures”. Artistic expression is forever an essential component of humanity that exists to bring us together to share our personal experiences with one another. Please come join in the celebration.

TREASURER AND ACTING MEMBERSHIP CHAIR

Mary Jamora DIRECTORS

Stephen Jerrome Tamara O’Connor Simon Wright EX OFFICIO

Arlette De Hovanessian Arts & Culture Commission

Cathy Billings

Brand Library Supervisor ADVISORY

Nina Crowe Glendale Arts

Joy Feuer

Art From the Ashes

John LoCascio, AIA Truer words were never spoken.

Historic Resources Group

Jamie Nichols Celebrate Dance

Hilary Thomas

Lineage Dance Company NEWSLETTER LAYOUT

Judy Walker

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Scott Lasken

EL MIRADERO SPONSOR Anonymous MARY LOUISE BRAND SPONSORS Arlene Vidor Estate of Mary Owens February is Black History Month

Summer on the Brand Plaza: Art can take us to different places. Photo left, Sanggar Tujunga; Right, Yankuititl Aztec

NATHANIEL DRYDEN PATRONS Sally Currie Mary Jamora Debra Thompson and Lawrence Riff Glendale Adventist Medical Center ADDITIONAL SPONSORS Barbara Thorn-Otto Russell Cinque, Jr. Marie Fish Laurel Patric Irena Raulinaitis Elaine Wilkerson Peter Rusch and Scott Halloran Tammy and John O’Connor Kirk Cartozian - Cartozian Associates The Auto Club of Southern California Morgan Stanley Simon Wright and Greg Grammer

DANCE SERIES 2017 brings a collaborative new approach to site-specific performance

Photos clockwise: Viver Brasil, Stephanie Zalete and Invertigo:

he 2017 Dance Series, sponsored by Brand Associates, will take place during the months of May and June. This year Caley Canon, Art Librarian, facilitated a collaboration between Jamie Nichols and Hilary Thomas, two highly experienced and prominent professionals in the Southern California dance community. Together they have developed an exciting concept for the 2017 annual dance program. The result is three site-sensitive performances which will integrate dance with art installations and the unique architecture of the Brand Library. Interactive, educational talks and demonstrations will occur prior to each performance. Three companies have been selected for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s series: Szalt, directed by Stephanie Zaletel, will perform contemporary dance incorporating the work of textile artist Amabelle Aguiluz; Invertigo Dance Theatre, led by Laura Karlin, explores storytelling through dance and movement; and Viver Brasil honors Afro-Brazilian culture through bold contemporary dance theater and live music accompaniment. The dates are still being finalized so be sure to check the Brand Library website at brandlibrary.org for details about each performance. We are are very excited about the approach being taken by Ms. Nichols and Ms. Thomas, both producers of great dance experiences and both highly esteemed dance educators. For more information visit: Stephaniezaletel.com | Invertigodance.org | Viverbrasil.com

Our Dance series advisors and program co-curators

Jamie Nichols created the highly acclaimed Celebrate Dance production at Glendaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alex Theatre over a 10 year period, presenting 70 local dance companies to the public. She is the recipient of, among other awards, six Lester Horton Dance Awards. She was artistic director of her own dance company, Fast Feet, for 23 years. For over 35 years, Nichols has been a dance educator as well as well as training and mentoring many dance educators. Photo Credit: Stephen Jerrome

Hilary Thomas has been the artistic director of her own dance company, Lineage, for 18 years and through this endeavor, has raised money for charities across the country. She earned degrees in dance and psychology from Santa Clara University and trained with the Joffrey Ballet. In 2010 Hilary opened Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena. She has received many awards, including the Gold Crown Award from the Pasadena Arts Council in 2006. Photo Credit: Brian Biery

Message from Cathy Billings, Brand Library Supervisor Growing Brand Library’s Collections

id you know that your Brand Associates membership dues help Brand Library expand its already impressive collection of books, music and DVDs? I am excited to share some collection highlights with you. Kids materials expose our youngest patrons to a wider variety of experiences. Librarians Caley Cannon and Blair Whittington continue to add art and music themed books to our popular children’s collection. Studies have shown that early experiences with art and music benefit a child’s intellectual development in many areas, including enhanced learning ability, academic achievement, creativity, and self-esteem. Our picture books help kids imagine the lives of artists and musicians from all cultures, and expose them to basic knowledge about instruments, genres of art and much more. The collection inspires creativity and makes learning fun, and we are grateful to the Brand Associates for their financial support, which helps us put smiles on the faces of our small visitors.

“eBooks & Online Media” in the menu on the left side of the screen

of music to listen to from many record labels.

Music & Performing Arts Online – this streaming music database has 900,000 albums and 11,000,000 tracks. Classical, Jazz, Popular, Folk, World. With a really fun interface for searching (click on a world map!) you will make many exciting new discoveries in this database.

Freegal is another database that allows you to download 3 songs per week and keep them forever. Featuring the entire Sony Music catalog and thousands of other music labels, we recommend you put a reminder in your calendar and add to your collection every week.

Naxos Music Library and Naxos Jazz Library – Another massive streaming database from the classical and jazz label. Naxos is the largest independent classical label in the world and also a distributor so it is a massive database

If you have any questions about the resources that we have available for you here at the Library, don’t hesitate to call, email, or visit the reference desk and our friendly librarians will make sure you are taken care of.

Music in all forms can be accessed from your home computer or smartphone. Whether you’re a music teacher, composer, musician, musicologist, or a music lover, the Brand Library’s online collections of recordings, magazine articles, e-books and more is truly phenomenal. We have purchased a number of great digital resources that are free for library card holders to use at home or on a smart phone. You can download songs and stream recordings of all genres using the databases listed below. To access these resources go to the Library’s homepage (www. glendalepubliclibrary.org) and click on

Cathy Billings showing a newly acquired childrens book about architecture.

MUSIC SERIES takes a look at the past and what is happening right now

n 2017 we will be presenting some of the top chamber musicians in Southern California. Six concerts are planned from January through June. Performances will include both established masterpieces and exciting new music by people composing today – and with so many new works being created, it’s exciting for us to expose our audiences to what is happening right now. The series began January 28 with award winning young pianist Hui Wu. Born in China, Hui has her Bachelors and Masters degrees from Julliard and a DMA from USC. She is in demand as a soloist and is currently staff accompanist at the Colburn School and Glendale Community College. The other outstanding artists in the series are the Fiato String Quartet, Third Wheel (flute, clarinet & bassoon), Echo Mountain Chamber Project (violin, clarinet & piano), violinist Marina Manukian with pianist Bryan Pezzone, and the Encore Saxophone Quartet. Third Wheel will perform a “Fifteen minutes of fame” set as part of their show. The group solicited a call to composers to write 1 minute pieces and they received over 100 submissions from around the world! They’ll select fifteen compositions to be premiered in our recital hall.

All concerts are on Saturdays at 2 pm. Here is the line up March 11

Fiato String Quartet

March 25

Third Wheel – flute, clarinet, bassoon

April 22

Echo Mountain Chamber Project clarinet, piano, violin

June 3

Marina Manukian and Bryan Pezzone violin and piano

June 17

Encore Saxaphone Quartet

Pianist Hui Wu gets ready to make her entrance into the recital Hall on January 28. The audience was standing room only. Third Wheel performs in March.

Meeting with Nancy Dowey, Leslie Brand’s Great Grand Niece

Cathy Billings, Nancy Dowey and Arlene Vidor review Nancy’s Brand family archives.

athy Billings, Brand Library Supervisor and Arlene Vidor of Brand Associates met with Nancy Dowey, Leslie Brand’s great grand niece, on December 29, 2016 in her apartment in Pasadena. It also happened to be the day after Nancy’s 89th birthday. Nancy is also a direct descendant of Nathaniel Dryden, Leslie Brand’s brother-in-law and designer of the Brand mansion. We first met Nancy when, as a member of Brand Associates, she informed us about the relationship between the Robinson family (i.e., Robinsons Department store) and Dryden. The Dryden and Robinson families also intermarried, and the Robinson House and Gardens in Beverly Hills, designed by Nathaniel Dryden had an underappreciated historic connection to Brand Library. The Brand cemetery is the burial ground for Mr. and Mrs. Brand as well as the Drydens and members of several

branches of the family. The research Nancy is assisting us with will help to clarify the relationships of those buried in the cemetery and those surviving family members who are slated to be buried there when they pass away. Cathy and Arlene listened intently as Nancy recalled her young years in the 1930s and 1940s passing time at Miradero with Mary Louise Brand, who by then was a widow and living alone in the mansion. Nancy often had tea with Aunt Mary Louise and she recalls her aunt as a “very warm, charming and quiet woman—and a lover of dogs”. Nancy’s paternal grandfather had died young and Leslie Brand had taken Nancy’s dad under his wing, serving as a surrogate father to him. Leslie Brand had also taught Nancy’s father how to fly-fish. Nancy’s mother was so inspired by Mr. Brand’s love of aviation that she herself took the controls of a JN-4 “Jenny” similar to Mr. Brand’s beloved plane, called “Mono Eagle”.

Nancy herself was inspired to take flying lessons, too. Although Nancy was born three years after Mr. Brand’s death, his influence on the family is still alive in her vivid and warm recollections of Brand family life.

Mary Louise Brand hosted her young grand niece, Nancy Dowey, for tea at Miradero. Mary Louise died in 1945.

MEMBERSHIP in the Brand Associates is being enhanced to help us meet our goals. By Simon Wright

lthough we are now well into the New Year, one of the Board’s 2016 commitments was to review our membership levels and associated benefits and to roll out a new structure for 2017. This effort has resulted in seven membership levels, each of which comes with a host of great benefits designed to thank you for, and to recognize your continued support. Please take a look at the sidebar detailing the membership levels and benefits. We hope you will consider upgrading to higher membership level now, or when your current membership expires. Your membership and support is critical to our ability to continue to support and sponsor the wide array of events that regularly take place at the Brand Library & Art Center, including many of the offerings discussed in this newsletter. The programming we support recently helped the Brand Library win a TimeOut Love Los Angeles 2016 Award. COST

In 2017, our essential goal is to increase our membership base – the reasons are twofold: we want to support activities and also ensure our collective voice is heard on the community’s desire for cultural offerings at Brand Library, and in turn, in Glendale. Our goal is to add 100 new members in 2017, in addition to retaining all of our current valued members. We are aiming high! If you have family, friends or neighbors who are not members and may not be aware of what we do, please encourage them to join – your recommendation is the best advertising we can do for this organization. Also, please remember that memberships also make great gifts – perhaps the perfect gift for the person you think may already have everything they need.

LEVEL

AVAILABLE TO

BENEFITS

Student/Senior

Individuals in full time edu- $20 cation or 65 or older

Access to Brand Associates’ exclusive events; priority seating at events (when available); a copy of our regular newsletter; & recognition of membership in the newsletter following joining or renewal

Individual

One adult

$25

Sustaining