Laguna Beach Art Patron Magazine Jan/Feb 2018 by Art Highlights Magazine

BE ART INSPIRED. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

SHAUNACOVINGTON

LUXURY ESTATES BY SHAUNA

949.412.8088 Shauna@ShaunaCovington.com Berkshire Hathaway HomeServicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; #3 BHHS Agent North America 2016 #4 Individual Agent North America 2013-2015

24 Vista Montemar | Laguna Niguel | $3,250,000 5BR/5.5BA | Gated Palmilla | 24VistaMontemar.com

PRICE REDUCED

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

WWW.SHAUNACOVINGTON.COM SHAUNACOVINGTON

949.412.8088 www.ShaunaCovington.com

JUST LISTED

JUST LISTED

1415 Bounty Way | Laguna Beach | $4,895,000 4BR/4.5BA | New Ocean View Contemporary | 1415Bounty.net

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

SOLD

Representing premier Coastal Sales, the finest Luxury Rentals and Vacation Investment Homes Along Laguna Coast. Global presence, local Realtors. Providing concierge services you deserve! 4 A R T P A Tthe RONM AGAZINE.C OM

SOLD

Laguna Coast Real Estate Laguna Coast Rentals

Coastal Sales - Luxury Rentals View full details on these properties and more:

LagunaCoastRealEstate.com 949.494.0490 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

THIS PAGE: From the Buck Collection Profile on page 2 Untitled,1968, by Robert Irwin

TABLE OF CONTENTS HIGHLIGHTS

18 THE ART BOX PROJECT 20 CREATIVE PLACEMAKING 22 ANNE DOUGLAS CENTER’S 25th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

ART ESCAPE: WINTER ART FAIRS

24 MIAMI ART WEEK: FAENA ARTS DISTRICT AND PHILLIP K. SMITH III 26 ART PALM SPRINGS: ED AND ANDY MOSES 2018 ARTISTS OF THE YEAR 28 LA QUINTA ARTS FESTIVAL: THE ULTIMATE FOUR-DAY FINE ART EXPERIENCE 30 MODERNISM WEEK: DRAMATICALLY INCREASES FILM OFFERINGS

DESIGN PROFILES:

32 PERSIMMON BISTRO DESIGNERS: CANDICE HELD & TRISTAN GITTENS 70 A SUN-SPLASHED GARDEN: DESERT LANDSCAPE DESIGN & PEYO MICHAELS

ARTIST PROFILES:

36 BLAKE BAXTER 40 NICHOLAS KONTAXIS 44 TONY DELAP

EXHIBITION:

52 DARK MATTER: STEPHEN BAUMBACH • REGINALD POLLACK • NIKKI VISMARA • MASSIMO VITALI

COLLECTOR PROFILE: 60 GERALD BUCK

HISTORY:

78 FRIEDA BELINFANTE: CELLIST, CONDUCTOR, NAZI OUTWITTER 84 BIG FISH, BIG FISHERMAN: ZANE GREY ON CATALINA 86 VIC SCHOEN: THE BIG BAND MAN WHO SAVED THE ANDREWS SISTERS

ART MARKETS:

90 PALM SPRINGS 94 ORANGE COUNTY 8

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ALIGNMENT

acrylic on acrylic

four 36” x 36” panels

ROSENBERG

2682 S. Cherokee Way, Palm Springs tomrossgallery.com

505-470-7932

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A Unique Gallery A Great Shopping Experience!

68929 10 A R T P A TPerez R O N M A GRoad, A Z I N E . C OSuite M

Colin Fisher Studios

M, Cathedral City, CA 92234, 760-324-7300, Email:colin@colinfisher.com

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

PU B LI SHER

Bruce Dodd

EDI TOR - I N - CHI EF Christine Dodd ASSISTANT EDITOR

Grove Koger

WEB DESIGN

Stephen Baumbach PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Stephen Baumbach

PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF

Terry Hastings Tom Lamb Deja Kreutzberg

MEDIA DIRECTOR

Janneen Jackson (949) 535-3095; janneen@ArtPatronMagazine.com MEDIA CONSULTANTS

Rob Piepho (760) 932-4307; rob@ArtPatronMagazine.com Tim Sack (949) 535-3098; tim@ArtPatronMagazine.com GRAPHIC DESIGN

Christine Dodd Jared Linge Cynthia Woodrum

CONTRIBUTORS

Stephen Baumbach Tiffany Bowne Stacy Davies Christine Dodd Lance Gerber Liz Goldner Terry Hastings Grove Koger Deja Kreutzberg Tom Lamb Rob Piepho Angela Romeo

www.ArtPatronMagazine.com

For Advertising and Editorial Information: 641 N Palm Canyon Dr #7, Palm Springs, CA 92262 or email info@ArtPatronMagazine.com

The opinions expressed by writers and contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. Laguna Beach ART Patron Magazine and Palm Springs ART Patron Magazine are published by Laguna Beach ART Magazine, LLC

Pick up a copy of ART Patron Magazine at your favorite art gallery or at the following fine art events: Art Palm Springs • Festival of Arts Indian Wells Arts Festival • Laguna Art-A-Fair Modernism Week • Pageant of the Masters Sawdust Art & Craft Festival

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

J u a n - M a n u e l

A l o n s o

a l o n s o - a r t . c o m

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HIGHLIGHTS

THE ART BOX PROJECT LAUNCHES IN PALM SPRINGS BEFORE COMING TO LAGUNA BEACH THIS SPRING Who Needs Wall Space When Art Can Fit in the Palm of One’s Hand? written by Angela Romeo Little things come in small packages. And currently there is a movement towards small—small homes, small cars … But smaller art? Christine Dodd, publisher of Palm Springs ARTPatron and Laguna Beach ARTPatron, knows that art can come in small art boxes. She is poised to join the small revolution with a mixture of upcycling and contemporary art delivered through vintage vending machines. The earliest vending machine appeared during the first century and was designed to dispense holy water. Then in the seventeenth century, tobacco vending machines appeared, and by the nineteenth century machines for newspapers began to populate the streets of London. Soon such machines were dispensing everything from postcards and cigarettes to matches and soap. The first machine in the United States was built in 1888 by the Thomas Adams Gum Company to sell gum, and in 1897 Pulver Manufacturing Company added games to vending machines. Now Dodd has added to that history by introducing art to the vending machine. “There is an inherent fascination with vintage mechanicals,” Dodd explains. “When art patrons pull that knob to release a piece of art, they are taking a leap back in time. We want people to find local art in unexpected places—restaurants, coffee shops and hotels. They don’t have to seek out local arts. Instead, we are bringing the art to them in an unpretentious but engaging format. “Art is always my first priority,” the publisher continues, “and vintage vending machines are a cool delivery system for engaging a broader audience and marketplace. Whether we are opening people’s eyes to the vibrant local art scene or just giving them easy access to help support local art organizations and artists, we hope that they are inspired by the Art Box Project.”

Diane Morgan

Bruce Kimerer Louisa Castrodale

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Juan Manuel Alonso

Dodd reports that the response to the project has been amazing. “Artists, vintage vending machine sellers, the City of Palm Desert, Laguna College of Art & Design, the Artists Council, Palm Springs Unified School District—it seems everyone we talk to has something to add that will make this program even more effective! Some offer access to artists, or an event or venue where we can install the machines, or more exposure for the program. People seem to ‘get it’ immediately. It’s very encouraging to work in a community that is so devoted to the arts. There is no prerequisite to participation—it’s based on merit and appropriateness for this specific program.” The Art Box Project is a win for everyone—the patron, the artist and the community. Artists receive 40 percent of the gross proceeds, while 20 percent will be donated to local art nonprofits. Palm Springs painter Bruce Kimerer is one of the first artists joining the Art Box Project. “I decided to participate because I thought it was a very original and cool idea,” he remarks. “It’s certain to garner a lot attention.” For his twenty Art Box pieces, Kimerer chose the theme Night & Day. “With Night & Day I’m painting the outside of the boxes a midnight blue and attaching a print of one of my night charcoal drawings to the top. Inside each box is a painted sky, and each one contains a different mini-detail archival print from my paintings.” Continues Kimerer, “I hope the Art Box Project keeps going. It would be great to have other vending machines that can handle bigger sizes, like a snack or soda machine. The possibilities are endless.” For Jeni Bates, the challenge was “finding a way to create an artwork that would fit in the box without being so small that I needed a microscope to make it—or that the buyer would need one to see it,” she laughs. Bates chose Dawn off My Back Porch as her theme. “Dawn from my back porch has become my favorite subject since moving to Salton City 13 years ago. The Salton Sea is at a critical point of collapse as an ecosystem, and if I can draw attention to this through my artwork, I will. Some of the vending machines will be located in areas where people know little about the Sea.” Bates explains that she chose strips of canvas for her pieces for two reasons—“to accommodate a bigger canvas (since they’re rolled up in the boxes), and to allow the artwork to be hung on a wall with a clip or used as a bookmark.“ Diane Morgan is also one of the inaugural artists. “When I first heard about this project I thought … how fun is this! So I jumped right on it and submitted my proposal the first day,” she smiles. “Besides being fun, it’s a fantastic venue for local artists to get their work shown around the Valley.”

eight4nine ART BOX ARTISTS Angela Romeo, Bruce Kimerer, Charlie Ciali, Diane Morgan Heather Sprague, Jeni Bate, Karen Riley, Juan Manuel Louisa Castrodale, Ryan Campbell, Sofia Enriquez Stacey Campbell, Terry Hastings, Tom Ross, Uschi Wilson

The Art Box Project is designed to help more than the artistic community. “The participating businesses displaying the art will profit from the promotion,” Morgan notes. “And it’s wonderful that a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to a local charity. Residents and visitors can purchase a charming little piece of work for a very minimal investment, and help a good cause.” Morgan chose to paint martini glasses. “My little paintings are all martini-related. They’re varnished watercolors on watercolor board, and each one comes with its own little easel for display. The concept of presenting these pieces in old, refurbished cigarette machines is a great way to draw attention to the project and promote our local talent. Hopefully, those purchasing the works of art will like them enough to buy other pieces from the participating artists.” Palm Springs-based Stacy Campbell found the project enticing because “I knew that there were inherent problems creating artworks that small to fit in a confined space. The boxes were smaller than I thought, so I revamped my idea. My theme is based on my previous work—etched, painted, patinated abstracts and landscapes on copper—so I thought it would be a great challenge to make little jewel-like artworks using those techniques. “I see the long-term effect of the project as making artworks more accessible in terms of price,” Campbell continues. “I also love the idea of how the Art Boxes are dispensed. Using a cigarette machine is a marriage of old and new.” One of the first locations to receiver an Art Box vending machine is Palm Springs restaurant EIGHT4NINE. Coowner Willie Rhine noted the decision to participate in the project was easily made. “I’m very excited to be involved with this project. I love art. I love creative projects. And I love being one of the first! EIGHT4NINE is fun, bright, and very artistically designed, and it’s the perfect location for a vending machine with art. Additionally we love and appreciate the opportunity to be involved with the community that embraced us.” For more information about the Art Box Project, visit artpatronmagazine.com. As Christine Dodd knows, there are other benefits to the project—education and exercise. “With this information, people may read about the artists in the machine near their location and plan their own art walk to other boxes with their favorite artists!” Education. Exercise. Exploration. Can art get any better?

MARK BROSMER “Blue Shag”

36” x 60” / Oil on Canvas

Gallery Hours: Thursday 5pm to 10pm, Friday 12pm to 8pm Saturday 12pm to 8pm, Sunday 12pm to 3pm 255 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, PS 92262 W W W . S T E V E N J A N S S E N . C O M

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HIGHLIGHTS

CREATIVE PLACEMAKING

Lifts Artists and Communities written by Steven Biller

We want strong, healthy communities in California, and Ben Stone of Smart Growth America insists that we’ll build them on art and culture. “I can’t think of any cities or neighborhoods around the country that are models of smart, inclusive development that don’t prominently feature the arts,” he told participants at a workshop presented by California Desert Arts Council. Stone touts placemaking—creative projects and programming—as the way to bring people together, create pride in place, and stimulate economic activity. Prior to becoming Director of Arts & Culture for D.C.— based Smart Growth America, Stone practiced what he now preaches as director of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District, which encompasses three revitalized neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. A state-designated district offering tax incentives for adaptive reuse of vacant buildings, Station North became known for its public art projects and programs that, Stone says, encourage “strong supportive relationships with local artists, designers, residents, businesses, and institutions” and help steer development to reflect the values and authenticity of the community. “Projects that highlight the distinctiveness of a place seem most likely to excite and connect local stakeholders and visitors.” Station North’s projects include Open Walls Baltimore, an international street art festival; the YNOT Lot, an outdoor event 20

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

venue encouraging daily interactions with art, performance, and design; and BMORE Seoul to Soul, a performance series combining traditional and contemporary Korean American and African American music and dance. We have a lot more work to do in California, and there’s a role for every artist, community organization, public agency, business owner, and resident. Your engagement will help: Unite and engage neighbors through accessible programs.

activities and

Create a deeper understanding of your area’s culture, heritage, and issues. Provide opportunities for artists and high-quality programs for residents and visitors. Transform places into destinations with authentic programs emphasizing authenticity of place. Creative placemaking molds communities that are more resilient to gentrification by bridging diverse neighbors, stimulating volunteerism, and even increasing voter turnout. “The arts get people in the community to interact and get to know one another,” Stone points out. It begins with networking among public and community leaders, artists, business owners, educators—and residents like you. Let’s get to work!

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HIGHLIGHTS

Anne Douglas Center’s 25th Anniversary Celebration 2017 MIssion Gala Honors Catherine Zeta-Jones Benefits the Homeless

November 9, 2017 the Los Angeles Mission held its 7th annual Legacy of Vision Gala. This year’s honoree was award-winning actress Catherine ZetaJones. Ms. Zeta-Jones received the Anne Douglas Award for her charitable work. The award was presented to Ms. Zeta-Jones by her husband, Academy Award winning actor Michael Douglas. The Anne Douglas Award is given each year to the person who has made significant contributions to the community. The Mission unveiled a new award statue during the night’s festivities. The “Anne” which was is an original sculpture by Antje Campbell. The individual figurine was presented to all previous Anne Douglas award honorees, and future winners will receive this award as well. A larger Campbell sculpture of three similar figures called “Caring is Sharing” was presented to Mrs. Douglas by the Mission. “Over the years, I have had the honor of watching Kirk and Anne Douglas live a life of selfless generosity. They have been an inspiration to all of us,” said Ms. Zeta-Jones. “Giving to worthy causes seems to be in the Douglas DNA. I will always treasure this award as it is named after someone I admire so much, Anne Douglas, she encompasses the true meaning of being charitable.” “In the late 1980s, Anne Douglas’s heightened sensitivity turned a run of the mill tour of the Los Angeles Mission into a fresh vision of what needed to be done for women who had no voice, no hope and no place to go,” said Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission. “Anne Douglas has always been a keen observer. But it takes a special kind of vision to see what could be done to meet the unique needs of homeless women. Over the course of 25 years, the Anne Douglas Center has changed many lives. It has become a shining example of the way one woman’s faith and determination can make a huge difference in the lives of others. We owe Anne a debt of gratitude that we can only pay back by pouring our efforts into Anne’s labor of love, the Anne Douglas Center.” At the gala, Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio received the Legacy of Vision Award. “Chef Voltaggio has been dedicating his considerable talents to planning our Thanksgiving Holiday Event’s gourmet meals since 2011,” said Smith. “Michael’s passion for helping people living on the streets is very real. His enthusiasm is infectious and he is greatly loved and appreciated at the Mission.” Voltaggio is the owner of the popular new restaurant ink.well. The gala event was hosted by Michaela Pereira, anchor and host of the daily program Michaela on HLN. Music was provided by country music star Adam Craig. The event took place at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Sponsors for the event included the Goldwin Foundation, Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, Mr. George Shapiro, the Argyros Family Foundation, Go Country 105, Resource One, LA Trial Lawyers Charities, American Airlines, The Johnny Carson Foundation, City National Bank and Warner Brothers. For more information visit www.losangelesmission.org 22

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T E S C A P E : WINTER ART FAIRS

From California to the Faena Arts District

PHILLIP K. SMITH III Wows Miami Beach written by Grove Koger photographed by Lance Gerber

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Situated in Miami Beach, the Faena Arts District commissioned several site-specific installations this past December for the celebration of Faena’s Art Week, the largest public art installation during the 2017 edition of Miami Art Week. These immersive site-sensitive commissions were awarded to international artists including Phillip K. Smith III, Studio Drift, and Peter Tunney. Artistic interventions on the Faena Forum’s façade were created by Miami-based artist Kelly Breez, science/art collective Coral Morphologic, and Argentine artist Martin Borini. Phillip K. Smith’s work, 120 Degree Arc EastSoutheast, occupied a large swath of Faena Beach. The sculptor originally explored the visible marker

Art Hair

The

between the man-made and natural worlds in ¼ Mile Arc created in 2016 for Laguna Art Museum’s Art & Nature event in Laguna Beach, CA. He continued his exploration of these elements with the work The Circle of Land and Sky created in the desert of California for Desert X. In 120 Degree Arc East-Southeast at Faena Beach, Smith melded the pure elements of land, water and sky with mirrored steel structural elements that created a reflective space within the beach environment, one that could never be seen the same way twice. Another highlight of the celebration, Franchise Freedom, was a flying sculpture by Dutch duo Studio Drift in partnership with BMW and Pace Gallery. A performative work at the interface of science, technology and art, Franchise Freedom consisted of a swarm of 300 drones whose movements dramatized the tension between individual freedom and safety in numbers. The work was inspired by the massive synchronized flights of starlings known as murmurations. The creation of Argentine hotelier Alan Faena, the visually stunning Faena Arts District stretches north from 32nd to 36th streets between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Creek, and includes a public space as well as several buildings. The district specializes in the creation of one-of-a-kind holistic environments anchored in cultural experiences and socially responsible projects—a practice that integrates residences and hotels with art and cultural spaces. “We have redefined the way we live in cities by building a strong community anchored in art and culture,” says Faena. “The district is envisioned as a space for a multiplicity of voices and artistic practices.” Situated across the street from the Arts District, the Faena Hotel is a full renovation of the old Saxony Hotel as designed by film director and producer Baz Luhrmann and Academy Award-winning costume designer Catherine Martin. Staying in one of the property’s 169 rooms and suites is a treat for any art lover, as the high design concept involves artworks by the like of Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Juan Gatti. The Faena’s two restaurants, Francis Mallmann’s Los Fuegos and Paul Qui’s Pao, offer distinctive dining experiences as well. Alan Faena’s South American vision for developing and showcasing the arts has made its mark on Miami Beach, and along with the globally recognized Miami Art Week, it belongs on your annual cultural circuit.

Annie Hoffman, Stylist

A full service salon featuring the best professional hair, nails and skin care.

Plan ahead and schedule your appointment today for the holidays.

18 Stylists

J Charnay Salon 73640 El Paseo Suite 5 & 6 Palm Desert, CA 92260

(760) 568-9468 jcharnaysalon.com

Jeannette Charnay

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T E S C A P E : WINTER ART FAIRS

ED AND ANDY MOSES

Announced as Art Palm Springs 2018 Artists of the Year Over Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 16 through 19, Art Palm Springs brings galleries from North and South America and Europe, along with hundreds of artists from around the globe to the Palm Springs Convention Center. The increasingly popular fair has more than doubled the number of attending galleries since launching from just over 30 in 2013 to over 60 in 2017, drawing thousands of art buyers and fans to the fair each year. The 2018 honorees are pioneering California artist Ed Moses, represented by William Turner Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, Calif., and Andy Moses presented by Melissa Morgan Fine Art in Palm Desert, Calif. Moses has noted that his life and art are “about exploring the phenomenal world.” Unlike many of his contemporaries from the ‘60s and ‘70s who worked in conceptual, Pop Art (Ruscha), Light and Space (Bell) and assemblage, Moses never embraced any single art movement. Rather, Moses continued to experiment. Without the imposition of any particular preconceived concept for his work, he opened himself up to the “happy accidents” that occur when facing a blank canvas. The act of the creation of a piece, along with the interaction of applying paint or other media to a base material is the artistic process in its purest form. Now in his 90s, after bouts with cancer and heart surgery, Moses shows no sign of slowing down. He still creates one to 20 works each day. Since the mid-1980s, Andy Moses has made paintings that

Cena Caterine Painter of Heavenly Places

http://cenacaterine.pixels.com

760-218-6637

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

walk a fine line between gestural abstraction and new forms of representation. From his earliest works he has employed radical and experimental painting techniques that push the boundaries of paint application as well as parallel natural forces in order to activate fresh conceptual and perceptual experiences. Surface patterns embrace the notion of fractal patterning that repeat across all scales of nature, simultaneously suggesting earth, water, or sky as seen on both micro and macro scales as well as multiple vantage points. Oscillating between being suggestive of technological simulations of nature well as purely as gestural abstract paintings, they encompasses and invites associations and dialogues between many disparate phenomenon and notions as well as references to historical painting both abstract and representational. Andy Moses was born in Los Angeles and studied at California Institute of the Arts in the 1980s with many seminal figures in conceptual art including Michael Asher, John Baldessari, Douglas Huebler and Barbara Kruger. Shortly after his graduation from CalArts he moved to New York City to work as a studio assistant for Pat Steir. The Mosesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Artist of the Year and the Arts Patron of the Year Awards will be presented during the Opening Night Celebration February 15, 2018. Art Palm Springs takes place at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Tickets and a complete schedule for Art Palm Springs are available on the website at www.art-palmsprings.com.

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T E S C A P E : WINTER ART FAIRS Art lovers throughout Southern California are blessed with easy access to a myriad of outdoor art festivals. But there is ONE show that stands apart from all others, promising the Ultimate Four-Day Fine Art Experience—the La Quinta Arts Festival®, rated #1 Fine Art Festival in the Nation by Art Fair Sourcebook, the definitive guide to the best juried arts and crafts fairs in the United States. The high quality of its artists defines the excellence of the festival. This year the event will host 220 of the continent’s premier contemporary artists from 35 states and Canada, exhibiting original works in ceramics, digital art, drawing and pastel, fiber/textile, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and wood. The exhibitors are invited through a rigorous jury process that reviews the works of over one thousand applicants vying for a coveted spot. The La Quinta Arts Festival chose Erin Hanson as the 2018 Poster Artist for her selected work, a landscape oil painting of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Hanson transforms landscapes into dramatic, vibrant mosaics of color and texture, her impasto application of paint lending a sculptural effect to her art.

LA QUINTA ARTS FESTIVAL A Truly Picture Perfect Fine Art Experience March 1-4, 2018

Debra Steidel, Shadow Dancers Glass

The premier art event in the leading destination and community of fine art galleries. SAVE THESE DATES T H U R S D AY

JANUARY

4TH

2018

T H U R S D AY

FEBRUARY

1ST

2018

T H U R S D AY

MARCH

1ST

Join our member galleries throughout Laguna Beach on the first Thursday of every month from 6 - 9 pm for an art-filled evening. F I R S T T H U R S D A Y S A R T W A L K . O R G 28

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Erin Hanson, La Quinta Light, Oil Painting

A new media category, Digital Art, has been added this year. Among the jury members were Greg Gorsiski, a veteran animator for Walt Disney Studios and George Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic, and Matt Cauthron, award-winning teacher and digital imaging instructor at Cathedral City High School’s Digital Arts Technology Academy. From abstract worlds built using 3-D software to digital animations illustrating new dimensions, the digital art at La Quinta Arts Festival will showcase innovative and cutting-edge works. The La Quinta Arts Festival is a total sensory experience, and just as you’ll see every medium imaginable, you’ll delight in the variety of live entertainment too! This year’s lineup includes performances on meditative Bolivian panpipes by master Oscar Reynolds and acoustic guitar and vocal selections by the dynamic Scott Carter. On Friday and Saturday, Dragon Knights will wow the crowds with their amazing and magical stilt theater. Headlining the Amphitheater on Friday are Catte Adams and the Beautiful People, featuring the famous female vocalist who’s toured internationally with music legends such as Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Patti Labelle. Saturday afternoon will have you singing in harmony with barbershop singers from The Arrangement of The Palm Springs Gay Men’s Chorus, while talented trio Shaken Not Stirred will get in the groove on Sunday to round out the fun mix of live music.

Everything you need to know: •The 36th Annual La Quinta Arts Festival, March 1-4, at the La Quinta Civic Center Campus, 78495 Calle Tampico, La Quinta, CA. Event hours are 10 am to 5 pm. • Ticket prices: adults $17, multi-day pass $22, children under 12 free. • Free parking in the Village, or use paid valet and self-parking. • Event proceeds have funded LQAF college scholarship awards totaling $1.278 million to students pursuing an education in the visual arts. More info: www.LQAF.com or 760-564-1244.

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T E S C A P E : WINTER ART FAIRS

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN FILM SERIES Dramatically Increases Film Offerings at Modernism Week

Modernism Week has partnered with the American Documentary Film Festival (AmDocs) to create a new Architecture and Design Film Series to be offered for the first time during Modernism Week from February 23-25, 2018. The inaugural Architecture and Design Film Series will be held over three days on the big screen at the Camelot Theater, located at 2300 E. Baristo Road in Palm Springs and will feature 26 films, documentaries and short films. Modernism Week is an 11day event in the Palm Springs area of Southern California that

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

will take place February 15-25, 2018, highlighting midcentury modern architecture, art, interior and landscape design, and vintage culture. All Modernism Week events are open to the public and tickets are now on sale at modernismweek. com. A portion of ticket proceeds benefits local preservation, neighborhood and community groups. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Modernism Week has offered selected films each year to augment our educational programing, but we have never created a comprehensive film series before,â&#x20AC;? said Mark Davis,

educational programming chair of Modernism Week. “We are thrilled to collaborate with AmDocs to offer this outstanding Architecture and Design Film Series. These films, ranging from insightful short films to full-length feature documentaries about fascinating architects, designers and locations, will provide Modernism Week attendees with a unique opportunity to see a high-caliber selection of exciting films over a three day period. We are extremely grateful that this partnership with AmDocs has provided access to first-rate films that we would not have been able to offer.” The Architecture and Design Film Series will feature 26 feature films, documentaries and short films grouped into 14 programs. Most programs are priced at $12, with the exception of two feature films. A special VIP screening pass, which provides entry to all films in the series, is available for $159. “We were honored to develop this powerful film series for Modernism Week,” said Teddy Grouya, Founder and Director of the American Documentary Film Festival. “Films about architecture and design highly resonate with Modernism Week attendees, so we arranged a compelling series of fascinating short films, documentaries and feature films to meet this growing interest. We look forward to continuing this relationship and expanding this film series each year.” Full descriptions of all Architecture and Design films in this series are available at modernismweek.com. Modernism Week’s signature 11-day event will take place February 15-25, 2018. To receive updates, visit modernismweek.com and sign up for Modernism Weekly, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The Hilton Palm Springs Resort, Modernism Week’s official host hotel, is offering a special room rate for a limited time only. Contact them directly at 760-320-6868.

Reginald M. Pollack 1 924-2001

Orpheus consults the Oracle 36x48 1980 Oil on Panel

Loss of Euridice 60x48 1989 Oil on Panel

Included in prominent museums and private collections; including:

Metropolitan Museum of Art • Vincent Price Gallery & Art Museum • Museum of Modem Art • Palm Springs Art Museum

www.ReginaldPollackPainting.com • 760-320-1424 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

DESIGN PROFILE

PERSIMMON BISTRO

Candice Held and Tristan Gittens Talk to ARTPatron

written by Christine Dodd photographed by Deja Kreutzberg

1. How did you get involved with the Palm Springs Art Museum for the Persimmon Bistro project?

HELD: Tristan was catering a museum event with his Frankinbun sausage cart when the museum’s managing director approached him about bringing the cart to the Palm Springs Art Museum while they decided what direction to take with their onsite café. Coincidentally, Tristan and I had been eating lunch in the museum garden of the café three years earlier when he mentioned that if he had the opportunity, he would develop the café into something unique. So it had been swirling around his head since then, and when they asked, he immediately answered that “what would be better than a sausage cart would be a French-American Bistro with a unique twist and design direction.” 32

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

He explained what he and I had done with Frankinbun and how much press and excitement we’d generated with the use of creative wallpaper design mixed with gourmet comfort food. The museum loved the idea, Tristan had a design by the weekend, and after several months of committee meetings they agreed to the design and concept. 2. How did you choose the theme for Persimmon?

HELD: The theme “Jungle to Table” is a play on “Farm to Table.” For us, it means fresh, local, and exotic ingredients. The theme is reflected in the menu and in the wallpaper design. We wanted to have a concept similar to Frankinbun in that the wallpaper and menu would play integral parts, so we decided that the ingredients should be represented in the wallpaper.

2017 Best In Show / Aimee Erickson “Before Sunrise”

CELEBRATE THE LEGACY, BE PART OF THE TRADITION!

LPAPA IN RESIDENCE

at Forest & Ocean Gallery / 480 Ocean Avenue / Laguna Beach

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS “Town & Country” Jan 15 - Jan 29, 2018 / Reception - Jan 20, 2018 “Romantic Nights” Feb 5 - Feb 19, 2018 / Reception - Feb 17, 2018 “Less Is More” Mar 12 - Mar 26, 2018 / Reception - Mar 17, 2018

THE PLEIN AIR PROJECT

LPAPA’s education program supports multi-generations with The Younger Generation for 4th Grade Students and up. The Next Generation for College level students, The Now Generation with Adult Mentor Programs, Plein Talks and PaintOuts for professional, emerging and beginning plein air painters, and The Kids Paint Out for youth, grades 4 through 12. Support LPAPA - Help us Continue & Grow The Plein Air Project!

Laguna Plein Air Painters Association P.O. Box 4109 / Laguna Beach, CA 92652 / 949-376-3635 www.lpapa.org

“Our 20 Year Invitational Anniversary”

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

DESIGN PROFILE

From there we realized that to combine the depth and complexity we were looking for with the playfulness of our brand, we would need to work with a jungle theme. We could use a textile that appeared to have jungle imagery, but on closer examination the trees would be large broccoli stalks, the grass would be asparagus, and of course there would be monkeys and persimmons everywhere. Like everything else in the textile, the monkeys represent something meaningful to us or the restaurant. Tristan had studied monkey social behavior in Kenya while he was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, and he was the first researcher to develop a system for identifying individual members of each mantled guereza troop. But that’s another story. 3. What is the vision for the menu?

HELD: Tristan will focus on a menu of fresh vegetables, fish, and poultry using classic French techniques to start but then moving on to other influences such as Indian and Italian. Overall it will be a mix of the exotic and the unique. He wants the menu to be fun, educational and great value for the discerning customer who is looking for an adventure in design and cuisine. 4. What is your vision for how people will use the Persimmon space?

HELD: We want people to see Persimmon as an extension of the museum. GITTENS: We want them to view it as a visual and edible exhibition. We are hoping the environment encourages them to sit, relax, and enjoy the exotic teas, fresh pressed juices and culinary surprises.

8. How do you build yourselves back up in moments of self-doubt or adversity? We strongly support and believe in each other. When one of us is feeling down or overwhelmed, the other one provides affirmation and encouragement. 9. What is your favorite design book?

GITTENS: Architecture books and traditional cookbooks, including French and classical Indian. HELD: Impossible to choose just one. I love Terence Conran’s House Book for vintage interior design inspiration, and fashion books about Halston, Yves Saint Laurent, Biba, Ossie Clark. The list goes on … 10. What is your no-fail go-to when you need inspiration or to get out of a creative rut?

GITTENS: Cooking shows. Favorites include Chef’s Table and The Mind of a Chef. HELD: Browsing though fashion books, vintage Vogue magazines, and runway shows online.

5. How did you form your design partnership?

11. Tell us about your first design project.

6. What is your favorite thing about designing together?

Our first design project together was our Gourmet Sausage restaurant Frankinbun in Palm Springs. It was born out of a need for a restaurant in Palm Springs that was fast, casual, and easy on the pocketbook. It was a relatively small project, so it was a good entry point. Tristan designed the physical restaurant and the menu and I designed the wallpaper. We’ve been open two years and it’s already garnered international recognition, along with appearances on a very successful episode of Diners, DriveIns and Dives and a few other television shows.

HELD: It has been part of the natural evolution of our relationship. We share similar interests in design and food. We always worked together supporting each other’s individual design endeavors, but when Tristan started the concept of Frankinbun, he asked me to design the wallpaper. And after we saw the result of the collaboration, we realized we were much better as a team then as individuals. GITTENS: Some of our best ideas are sparked through relaxed conversation. It doesn’t feel forced. We’re able to push each other to go for things we might otherwise feel are beyond our ability. It also just feels more powerful when it comes from our collaboration of ideas. 34

7. Name the biggest overall lesson you have learned in creating as a team. The biggest lesson we’ve learned is to compromise. There is no team unless you are willing to hear your partner and give a little. Sometimes your first reaction is your ego pushing back against an otherwise good idea, but when you can quiet this voice and just take a moment, you usually realize that the suggestion makes the overall design better.

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

12. What does the world need more of? Great food and design!

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ARTIST PROFILE

STARING INTO THE VOID Blake Baxter Talks to ARTPatron written by Grove Koger

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Baxter in His Studio

Blake Baxter’s January solo shows at Joshua Tree Art Gallery and D’Amour Concept present a series of monochromatic, sand-based paintings in which black is the only paint color. All the other hues you see as you stand before his mesmerizing works are inherent in the primary media—various forms of prepared sand. Look more closely and you’ll realize that the paintings’ surfaces register gentle changes, most of them created by the available light. Baxter tells Art Patron that he spends about 90 percent of his time in preparation. “When creating works, I follow a series of sequenced steps, layering polymer, sand and acrylic washes, during short intervals of only a few minutes or less. I stop well before the materials begin to set up or dry, and allow each layer to completely cure before applying the next. So I spend considerable time preparing the workspace, tools, surface and materials. Once a step is completed, the workspace may be changed again. This requires a patient mindset, calm and free of distractions.” The means Baxter deploys in creating his paintings—“color, geometry, texture, reflectivity, size”—are as minimal as his materials. “I have a good idea of what I am trying to create with any Black Painting No. 36

Black Painting, No. 54 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

individual piece, making studies and drawings beforehand. However, each work yields some type of lesson or unanticipated effect that will inform subsequent action, such that the body of work as a whole moves in directions I do not anticipate and only partially control. The finished pieces are a record of these processes.” Baxter hopes to engage his viewers in a kind of transcendent experience. “Afforded sufficient time,” he explains, his paintings “become machines that generate focal awareness, allowing one the opportunity to explore the complex relationship between transient modes of existence (form) and the inevitable manifestation of nothingness (void). “These are exercises in the interpretative power of consciousness,” the artist continues, “providing viewers a pathway towards separation from the mundane through a mediated process of observation.” Baxter was born in Los Angeles and earned a BA in Fine Art from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He was an exhibiting member of the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition and has shown widely, from Oakland to New York City and from Chicago to Los Angeles. Over the past decade, he has established a reputation for his large-scale paintings incorporating aggregates such as sand, coal slag, and diatomaceous earth. Baxter now makes his home in Joshua Tree, and participated in last year’s Hwy 62 Art Tour. To learn more about him, visit www.blakebaxter.com. Upcoming exhibitions include: Blake Baxter: Form and Void Jan. 13-Feb. 3, 2018 Opening Jan. 13, 6-8pm Joshua Tree Art Gallery

61607 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree 92252 760-366-3636 www.JoshuaTreeArtGallery.com

Grand Opening with Blake Baxter Jan. 20, 6-9pm D’Amour Concept 683 Sunny Dunes Rd., Palm Springs 92262 323-404-2093 www.RobertDamour.com

Black Painting, No. 38 38

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ARTIST PROFILE

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

NICHOLAS K O N TA X I S

photo by Taili Song Roth

Energizing Art One Palette Knife at a Time Meeting 21-year-old Nicholas Kontaxis, an artist endowed with talent, energy and a passionate love of bold colors and shapes, is an inspiration. Kontaxis resides in Rancho Mirage, where he has been quietly painting acrylics that have turned heads from the De Re Gallery in Los Angeles to Gilman Contemporary in Sun Valley, Idaho. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He does more with a palate knife than any other artist could create with a handful of paint brushes,â&#x20AC;? points out one of his admirers. Friend Farm, 48 x 60, In a Private Collection

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

written by Pamela Price

Having overcome more obstacles than most of us could count, the artist works in a studio in what was once a two-car garage at his parents’ residence—a space that now vibrates with color and drama. Kontaxis, who has features of autism, was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was only 15 months old, and has endured some forty thousand seizures to date. Kontaxis’s latest work, a four-panel piece for the new AC3 Restaurant & Bar at the Hotel Paseo in Palm Desert, blends the energy of Jackson Pollock with a dash of Damien Hirst’s tongue-in-cheek humor. The installation welcomes restaurant patrons with a burst of mesmerizing forms and colors measuring more than 31 feet long and provides a “stunning addition to the art of dining,” according to Palm Desert resident Phyllis Eisenberg. And the work plays out well in the heart of El Paseo, where art galleries proliferate.

Kontaxis’s mother, Krisann, recalls that an art dealer at Miami Art Basel, advised her to “keep Nicholas painting every day!” Those who have met him and watched him work sense the electric (and sometimes eccentric) communication taking place between the artist and his canvases as he uses his palette knife to define, shape, and color, transforming large white spaces into vibrating compositions. As Heath Gallery owner James Mancini Heath explains, “each layer of texture and paint [in Kontaxis’s works] is almost spiritual, luring art aficionados and novices alike.” To find out more about Kontaxis, visit www.nicholaskontaxis.com. Heather James Art Gallery in Palm Desert will also feature the artist at a one-night event on March 17, 2018, from 4:30 to 9:30 pm, with a reception scheduled for 5:30 pm.

Opposite: Blue Giraffe, 12x18 Acrylic on Canvas Above: The Kontaxis Family, from left to right Christian Kontaxis,Krisann Kontaxis, Nicholas Kontaxis, Jenni Nassos Pulos, Alice Pulos, Euthym Kontaxis MD

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ARTIST PROFILE

The Illusions and Anti-Illusions of

TONY DELAP written by Liz Goldner portraits photographed by Tom Lamb

Widely considered one of Orange County’s foremost living artists, Tony DeLap has produced a body of work that stands apart from the styles commonly embraced in the Southland. The 90-year-old DeLap builds “hyperbolic paraboloids”—shaped canvasses that are hybrids of painting and sculpture that appear to change shape as the viewer moves around them. Their titles, including The Honest Ace and Queen Zozer, pay homage to the artist’s lifelong hobby and love of magic.

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Lompoc, 1963 Lacquer, wood, chipboard, Plexiglas, and stainless steel 23 ¼ x 20 ¼ x 4 5/8 inches San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Gift of Robert and Naomi Lauter

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Left: Thauma II, 1986 Wood, acrylic and canvas 69 x 50 x 4 inches Laguna Art Museum, Gift of Mason and Elizabeth Phelps Right: Erdnase, 1985 Acrylic on canvas with wood 79 x 82 x 3 3/4 inches Anderson Collection at Stanford University, Gift of Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson, and Mary Patricia Anderson Pence

Triple Trouble II, 1966 Heat formed acrylic plastic and lacquer 13 x 22 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches Courtesy of the artist and Rena Bransten Gallery

This spring, through May 28, visitors to the Laguna Art Museum will have an opportunity to view 80 of DeLap’s works from collections around the country in Tony DeLap: A Retrospective. Covering the artist’s career from the early 1960s to the present, the exhibition is curated by L.A.-based critic and poet Peter Frank, who has been writing about DeLap’s work since the 1970s. As Frank explains in the accompanying catalog, DeLap “wants to make art that awakens its beholders to the eloquence of form and to the circumstantial nature of perception … that is well crafted, whether by hand or by machine, whether out of artmaking materials that go back millennia or out

of the latest synthetic substances and processes— ideally, all in combination … that stays universal by staying personal, that honors aesthetic ideologies by merging them, and that shrugs off the art market’s tendentious demands by simply sticking to its guns.” Today DeLap, a serene and focused nonagenarian, looks back at his several-decade career of making art and teaching as a founding member of the UC Irvine faculty. The arc of his life is one of continual inspiration, experimentation and of flow within his individual works and from one work to the next. For much of the past 60 years, he has adhered to the principles of Southern A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Esoterist, 1990 Acrylic on canvas with wood 94 1/2 x 44 x 10 3/4 inches Collection of Phyllis and John Kleinberg

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Mona Lisa, 1962 Lacquer, transfer letters, wood, chipboard, glass, and stainless steel 9 ½ x 9 ½ x 2 inches University of New Mexico Art Museum, Albuquerque, Gift of Dr. Samuel A. West

Tango Tangles III, 1966 Wood, fiberglass, lacquer 24 x 39 x 54 inches Collection of the Long Beach Museum of Art, Purchase Grant Award, Seventh Annual Southern California Exhibition

California Minimalism—art that is deceptively simple in form and color while eschewing decorative and figurative elements. DeLap is also associated with other 20th century movements, including Hard-edge painting, which emphasized specific, defined areas of color, and California Light and Space, which was characterized by its use of industrial materials designed to capture and reflect light. Yet working primarily within the minimalist style, DeLap has stretched its boundaries, creating seemingly simple artworks that nevertheless enchant and mystify viewers through their organic and often meandering three-dimensional shapes. His pieces

flawlessly interweave minimalism, the art of antiillusion, with magic, the art of illusion. While some minimalists have rejected the actual process of building their own artworks, DeLap almost always constructs his canvasses and sculptures. He saws his own wood, stretches and paints his canvasses, and experiments with structures and materials, including metal, fiberglass, molded plastics and fabrics. The results are wall-mounted, low-relief, mixed-media constructions that are so distinctive that they almost defy description. The artist also builds freestanding aluminum, fiberglass and wooden sculptures. A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Summer 2018 June 29 – September 2

Jury Day is February 11, 2018

You are invited to submit your application for the 52nd annual Laguna Art-A-Fair Our premier art show held each summer in beautiful Laguna Beach

All mediums invited

www.art-a-fair.com/call-for-artists-2018

Supporting and inspiring DeLap’s endeavors is his beloved wife Kathy, who has assiduously tracked and catalogued his growing body of work over the years and has lived with him in the same Corona del Mar home near the ocean since 1965. In addition, she has helped raise their two creative children, who now have children of their own. DeLap has spent his entire life near the water. He was born in Oakland in 1927 and witnessed the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (completed in 1937) from the windows of his home. This activity inspired his interest in building model cars and planes as a child and, later, constructing his art. In the 1950s and early ‘60s, he worked at various jobs, taking on trade show exhibitions and graphic design gigs while creating his early collages, paintings and sculpture at night. He became an art professor in San Francisco and then landed a job at UC Davis. In the mid1960s, he moved to Orange County, where he became part of the original, experimental UC Irvine faculty. Before opening his current studio adjacent to his home, DeLap rented a large workspace in Costa Mesa, then a thriving shipbuilding hub filled with highly skilled shipwrights. Learning from his neighbors, he honed his construction abilities while evolving as a craftsman as well as an artist. Over the years, DeLap has exhibited in hundreds of museums and galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The current Laguna Art Museum retrospective, the first major show of his work since OCMA’s 2000 Tony DeLap exhibition, is a unique opportunity to enjoy the past six decades of the artist’s exciting work. For more information visit www.LagunaArtMuseum.org

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

GALLERYGRAND GRAND OPENING OPENING GALLERY Saturday, January 20th 6-9pm

Introducing Artist Blake Baxter

D Amour concept

fine art + unique objects

683 Sunny Dunes Rd. Palm Springs CA 92262 323-404-2093 robert@robertdamour.com A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

EXHIBITION by Christine Dodd

DARK MATTER We love the oversimplified oft-celebrated aesthetic optimism of the mid-century. The United States had just emerged as the victorious nation from WWII and the average man could now roll up his shirt sleeves to mow his lawn on Sunday afternoon while his wife happily cleaned and cooked in stillettos. However, at this same time the civil rights movement was gaining traction, gender roles were shifting, and the definition of “family” was being redefined. And then there was the fear of a nuclear war with Russia. So while we celebrate great architecture, art, and all that Modernism week in Palm Springs has to offer, here are four artists providing some emotional balance to the unyielding optimism of the mid-century. Stephen Baumbach (shown opposite) asks, “What if we could all see your thoughts on the outside?” and Vismara (pages 54-55) explains, “We attempt to disguise our darkest emotions with lightness so that others are unable to see the depth of our desolation. We paint on smiles and status (in life and on Facebook) so there is no hint of our true emotions. Our darkest feelings present themselves in degrees, like the painter’s shades of black. And, like the painter, we layer lightheartedness - gray on black, ivory on gray, white on ivory - to convince ourselves (and others) that the blackness isn’t quite so deep. We disremember that, like the murmuration of a flock of birds, there is beauty in the darkness...”

STEPHEN BAUMBACH The Queen from the series A Purgatory of Thought Archival Ink on Paper, size varies Price Upon Request Available at Stephen Baumbach Photography Studio and Gallery 4116 Mathew Drive Palm Springs, CA 92264 617.510.7459 • 760.501.6806 StephenBaumbach.com 52

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.â&#x20AC;? Carl Jung

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

NIKKI VISMARA Murmuration Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 36 in. $4,000 Available at Barba Contemporary Art 191 S. Indian Canyon Palm Springs, CA 92262 (760) 656-8688 michael@barbagallery.com BarbaContemporaryArt.com A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.â&#x20AC;? Carl Sagan

REGINALD POLLACK Oprheus Gods of the Underworld, 1980 Oil on Panel, 60 x 48 in. Price Upon Request Available at 760-320-1424 KBPollack@aol.com ReginaldPollackPainting.com 56

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” Martin Luther King Jr.

MASSIMO VITALI Pontremoli Zumian Faló, 2016 chromogenic print, 71 x 92 in. 13128 $60,000.00 Available at HEATHER JAMES FINE ART 760-346-8926, 45188 Portola Ave, Palm Desert CA 92260 307-200-6090, 172 Center St , Jackson WY 83001 646-858-1085, 42 East 75th St, New York NY 10021 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

COLLECTOR PROFILE

The Main Room This Page: L.A., 1965, by Hassel Smith Opposite Page: People and Eye Trees in the Park in Madrid,1961 by Joan Brown 60

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Fabled GERALD BUCK Art Collection

Forms the Basis of a Major UC Irvine Museum written by Liz Goldner photographed by Tom Lamb A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Orange County’s art cognoscenti have long known about local developer Gerald Buck’s world-class art collection, currently hidden away in a nondescript downtown Laguna Beach building. Yet only a select few have been privileged to enter the private 3,000-squarefoot gallery, where 80 exquisite California artworks are displayed and 150 more are stored on-site. However, that state of affairs is about to change. Buck’s entire collection of 3,200 original works, described by curators as the most comprehensive private collection of modern California art, was recently donated to the University of California, Irvine (UCI). In anticipation of a major museum to be built to exhibit the collection, the Laguna gallery has been opened to members of the press. A tour of Buck’s gallery reveals post-World War II works in a broad range of media and movements, from Social Realism to Abstract Expressionism, Hard-edge painting, Light and Space and Chicano art. The gallery’s central room features Ron Davis’s Whole, a 12-sided wall sculpture made of multicolored polyester resin. Here also are Richard Diebenkorn’s Albuquerque, an abstract painting in southwestern colors, and Roger Kuntz’s Santa Ana Arrows, with its freeway signs and dramatic shadows. Roland Petersen’s Under One Flag and Two Parasols, a colorful Bay Area figurative piece, is an urban overview. Of special interest is Sam Francis’s Augustus after Sonny, Sonny before Augustus, an elaborate drip painting signed with a handprint and paying homage to Jackson Pollock. Viola Frey’s tall ceramic Woman in Blue and Yellow II stands in attention at the back of the room, warding off unappreciative intruders. Two side galleries display an array of 1960s and ‘70s Light and Space works by former UCI faculty members. Here are three illuminated colored glass and argon gas Light Sentence pieces by Laddie John Dill; Peter Alexander’s cast polyester resin cube, imparting an ethereal resonance; an untitled Larry Bell light box of glass and stainless steel; and an untitled Craig Kaufman vacuum-formed Plexiglas sculpture, among others. Also in these galleries are DeWain Valentine’s flawlessly polished polyester resin Blue Circle and Helen Pashgian’s luminous epoxy resin sculpture Blue Secret. A hallway features three magnificent Helen Lundeberg paintings, including her early Self-Portrait, in profile, evoking work by surrealist Giorgio de Chirico. In the gallery office, Barse Miller’s Apparition over Los Angeles depicts early 20th century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson floating over 62

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Opposite Page: Blue Circle, 1970, by DeWain Valentine, No. 12-1963, 1968, by John McLaughlin This Page Left: Bob, 1991, by Charles Arnoldi, shown in the film Back Track Middle: Newport Fish Market, 1955, by Phil Dike Bottom: Thrasher, 1992, L.A. overview by Peter Alexander

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

This Page: Left: Woman in Blue and Yellow II, aka May Lady, 1983, a glazed ceramic by Viola Frey Right: Santa Ana Arrows, 1962, by Roger Kuntz Bottom: Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Playground by Ben Messick Opposite Page: Albuquerque, 1952, by Richard Diebenkorn

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

The Buck Collection, made up of works by more than 500 artists, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the largest private collection that has never been seenâ&#x20AC;?

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Angelus Temple. Also on exhibit are works by Robert Arneson, Chuck Arnoldi, Ellmer Bischoff, Phil Dike, Lorser Feitelson, Wayne Thiebaud and many other renowned California artists. After Buck died in 2013 at the age of 73, his artworks, worth tens of millions of dollars, were donated to UCI and will become part of its Museum and Institute for California Art, or MICA, scheduled to open in about five years. (The nearby Irvine Museum’s California Impressionist collection has also been given to UCI, and will be housed in the future MICA building.) Stephen Barker, dean of UCI’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts and MICA executive director, explains that the Buck Collection, made up of works by more than 500 artists, is “the largest private collection that has never been seen” and “is the best collection of California art anywhere.” He adds that MICA will also be a major institute for the study of art and that, in conjunction, UCI will offer advanced degrees in museum studies and art conservation. Buck’s daughter Christina, who administered her father’s collection, looks back fondly at her youth. “During my high school years, my father realized how under-appreciated California art was,” she recalls. “He would say that the sunlight in California was unique and it drew great artists from all over the world to come here and create. He would find artists who had stood the test of time, who remained strong and impactful for 20 to 30 years or more. He took pages of notes on everything that was 66

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Top Left: Couple in Bathroom, aka Study in Red and Blue, 1964, by Roger Kuntz Top Right: Untitled Still Life with Cheese, Apple, and Knife, 1972, by Wayne Thiebaud Bottom: Foreclosure, 1944, by Claude Buck

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Opposite Page: Buck Collection Storage This Page: Village Street, San Juan Bautista, circa 1920, by Rowena Abdy

presented, and could tell you everything about the artists, their lives and their work. He loved the history and story behind each piece. “When I went away to college,” Christina continues, “I would come home and he would show me the latest addition to his collection. When my daughter Mia was five years old, we were at his home, and she wanted to touch everything! He explained that her fingers had oil on them that could hurt the art. He helped her put on a pair of white ‘magic’ art gloves, and

together they explored his collection. I still have those gloves.” Generally hidden from view for decades, the extraordinary Gerald Buck Collection is finally being prepared for people to see and enjoy. As the art-loving public waits for the museum opening, Barker and his staff plan to exhibit many of Buck’s most prized artworks on the UCI campus, and several of the seminal pieces currently in the Laguna gallery are expected to be part of the inaugural UCI exhibition. Stay tuned!

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

DESIGN PROFILE

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Stone Walls Surrounding a Sun-Splashed Garden

A Piece of Palm Springs History written by Pamela Price photography by Deja Kreutzberg A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A slice of stunning desert landscape greets guests visiting the Michaels residence on a quiet curve on Patencio Road near the historic Tennis Club in Palm Springs. A mĂŠlange of indigenous desert plants surrounds the 2100-square-foot residence, a piece of MidCentury Modern architecture built in 1952. It was a period when this graceful and glamorous neighborhood was still developing, when stone walls and genteel security gates were in style. 72

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

anna kula MADE BY HAND

After two earlier owners moved on, the house was purchased by Laguna Beach architect Peyo Michaels and wife, Jan—but not without some trepidation. The structure was in dilapidated condition and was “threatened with demolition” when the Michaels first set eyes on it. But despite the challenge, they foresaw the property’s potential and were determined to transform the “teardown” and its 13,000-square-foot pie-shaped lot into a lush oasis. Taking into consideration every variable from sun exposure to mountain views, they strategized a solution. The first step of the renovation process was contacting Desert Landscape Design in Palm Springs and tasking the firm’s designer, Jim Haggerty, with transforming the desert terrain surrounding the residence. The actual work began with positioning a new swimming pool as the property’s centerpiece—a step that set the stage for further adaptations. What was once an abandoned desert hideaway ultimately evolved into an enchanting desert garden that blossoms year– round with blazes of color. The landscaping features a range of desert plants from spiny-head mat-rush, or basket grass, to beaked yucca and verbena, all irrigated on a drip system and integrated into stunning views of the San Jacinto Mountains. Bird feeders lure lesser goldfinches with Niger thistle, and orioles flash brilliant orange and yellow feathers. Adding to this visual canvas is an enigmatic sculpture installed near the entrance. “We discovered it at the Sherman Gardens in Newport Beach,” the Michaels explain, “and installed it here. It has a mythological backstory, as it was inspired by the Bernini sculpture Apollo and Daphne found at the Borghese Palace in Rome. We brought it here because it represents a Greek legend that resonates with the garden.” Thanks to their inspired vision Jim Haggerty and Peyo and Jan Michaels have been able to transform what was once a teardown into a success story, one that preserves the desert’s native landscape while transforming it into a piece of vibrant, living art. For more information visit www.DesertLandscapeDesign.com 74

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

W OR L D - C L A S S C O N T E MPORARY REPRESENTATIONAL ARTISTS

Veronica Schmitt

Kathleen BarbaraLack Tyler Ahlfield

Cathy Locke

VISIT US AT

Art Expo Las Vegas BOOTH #104 JANUARY 27 - 31 LAS VEGAS MARKET PAVILION 2

Barbara Tyler Ahlfield Veronica Schmitt Cathy Locke

Kathleen Lack

www.musings-fine-art.com | info@musings-fine-art.com | 415.761.7001 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

DEFINING LUXURY

9 4 9 7 1 7 6 0 0 0 | V I L L A R E A L E S TAT E . C O M

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

2000 EAST OCEANFRONT Newport Beach | $14,100,000 Kim Bibb 714 396 0185

543 EMERALD BAY Laguna Beach | $10,950,000 Bill Dolby 949 584 1874

31951 COAST HIGHWAY Laguna Beach | $5,995,000 Chris Sirianni 949 395 8408 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HISTORY

Frieda Belinfante

CELLIST, CONDUCTOR, NAZI OUTWITTER written by Stacy Davies In 1994, Dutch cellist and conductor Frieda Belinfante gave an interview to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. She’d been invited to do so by the museum’s European representative, Klaus Mueller, who’d recently screened a film about gays and lesbians during the Holocaust, and was tasked with bringing their stories to light. Belinfante, now 90, was unknown to the public at large—in part, Mueller believes, because postwar Europe had long suffered from a genderdized memory in which women were seen as fragile and weak, and men as strong. There was also little interest in the stories of gays and lesbians during WWII, and few knew of their participation in the Resistance. It was the first time Belinfante had shared her story, and the conversation lasted 18 hours over two days of filming. “I can’t understand people who only live for themselves,” Belinfante remarked during the interview. “Where do you get your happiness? Where do you get your satisfaction? What do you do with your life?” Belinfante was born in Amsterdam in 1904. Her father was a prominent Jewish pianist and music teacher who had his own conservatory, while her mother, she recalled, was simply a beautiful Gentile woman. Belinfante began studying the cello at age 10, and by the time she was 17, had graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory and made her professional debut in the Kleine Zaal recital hall of the Concertgebouw. She also fell in love with noted composer Henriëtte Bosmans, and the two lived together in an open relationship for the next seven years. Belinfante’s career prospered during the 1930s, and after directing a string of professional chamber ensembles, she became the first woman in Europe to work as artistic director and conductor of an ongoing professional orchestra. She often appeared on radio and was a frequent guest conductor for numerous orchestras, eventually winning a coveted prize from renowned conductor Hermann Scherchen—a competition in which she bested the twelve male students in her class. 78

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

Frieda Belinfante as a man

Unlike many of her peers, however, Belinfante possessed a worldview that stretched beyond the borders of her native country. As she watched the rising threat in Germany, she felt certain that the Nazis would soon cross the border, and that the heretofore tame displays of National Socialist marches taking place in the streets of Amsterdam would violently unmask themselves the moment the movement gained more power. She was correct, and in 1940, the Nazis took the Netherlands in a mere six days. Belinfante quickly joined a local artists’ Resistance group and began forging fake ID cards and passports for Jewish citizens. She realized, however, that there were no corresponding copies in Amsterdam’s Population Registry, which meant the Gestapo could easily identify the fraudulent documents and apprehend those holding them. She then suggested the group destroy the incriminating records at city hall, and after months of complex planning, the bombing attack was executed, resulting in nearly 10,000 lives saved. The Gestapo ramped up its arrests, and after they searched and sealed her apartment while

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HISTORY

Clockwise from Top Left: Portrait of Frieda Belinfante, Frieda Belinfante conducts the orchestra and choir of the University of Amsterdam, Frieda Belinfante conducting, Portrait of Frieda Belinfante after her return to the Netherlands from the refugee camp in Switzerland.

she was in hiding, Belinfante knew that she must now alter her own identity. After borrowing a man’s suit from a friend, and “mashing down” her bosom, she walked into the local barber shop for a haircut without raising an eyebrow. In fact, her transformation was so successful that even her own mother didn’t recognize her when they passed on the street! She remained in disguise for three months. “I had to buy the smallest hat that I ever found,” she laughed, “and it still had to have a band in it to fit my little head. There’s an advantage to being disguised as a man when you’re a woman, however, because you look ten years younger!” Belinfante’s Resistance efforts continued apace, and once, when the group ran short of money, she took a chance and sought help from a wealthy acquaintance—brewer Henry Heineken. Unsure where Heineken’s sympathies lay, she nonetheless knocked on his door. After a brief explanation, Heineken said he wanted to give her the money, but feared being found out by the Nazis, who had stationed guards at his offices to monitor his cash flow. After thinking for a moment, she came upon a solution: Heineken could buy her cello. And a very expensive cello, it was. The brewer gave Belinfante the money, and, at the war’s conclusion, he returned the instrument to her – free of charge. As more Resistance fighters were arrested and executed, including most of her friends, Belinfante fled on a perilous month long journey through Belgium and France, eventually walking 12 hours in four-foot-high snow over the Swiss border. When 80

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

she arrived, she was unwelcome and forced to live in a refugee camp where she was denied the right to work, except as an occasional farm laborer. After the war ended, Belinfante returned to Holland to find that the heroic efforts of the Dutch Resistance were being overlooked and obscured. “We didn’t like what we found back in Holland,” she recalled. “The people who had been riding the fence, as we call it, were on top and the people who had given their lives—nobody was talking about it. It didn’t mean anything. It was a real cold shower when we got back.” Feeling betrayed, Belinfante boarded a ship to New York in 1947, a voyage on which she met a British woman named Ivy who lived in Pasadena. A romance ensued and the two exchanged addresses and kept up correspondence. Once she arrived in Manhattan, Belinfante met up with a former classmate named Minnie, and— armed with a flurry of introductions to notables in the American music world—the two set off on a zigzagging cross-country excursion from Niagara Falls to the West Coast in a Crosley automobile that Minnie purchased at Macy’s. “I learned to become a mechanic on that trip because of all the things the Crosley couldn’t do,” Belinfante laughed. “It couldn’t even get up a hill—it stalled and one of the pistons always flew out!” When they arrived in California, Minnie left the car with Belinfante and returned to her Dutch Embassy job in New York. Belinfante then rang up Ivy, who invited her to stay at her home in Pasadena and suggested that Belinfante, who was in dire need of employment, contact a female music critic

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HISTORY

Frieda Belinfante and Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

she knew in Long Beach. Impressed by Belinfante’s credentials as cellist and conductor, the critic then sent her to another friend who was starting a music camp. He was equally dazzled, but had no work to offer. As a consolation, he invited her to be an unpaid “coach” at the camp and live in a cabin for free. She accepted the offer. That summer of 1949 proved especially fortuitous when two prestigious guest conductors failed to show up for their performances. Belinfante was on hand to take over and soon became the new, unofficial resident conductor of the camp. When the head of the UCLA music department came to conduct, he heard Belinfante and told her to come see him in September. As a result, the university hired her at the pittance of $100 month, but she also found freelance work in the area by conducting and playing with the big Hollywood movie studios—gigs that earned her $100 a day. It was also around this time that Belinfante moved to Laguna Beach. Commuting from Laguna to Los Angeles became the norm and Belinfante was so passionate about her musical work that when a colleague asked if she’d be willing to play cello in an orchestra in one of L.A.’s small suburbs,

even at the rate of only $17, she accepted. After the concert, one of the audience members told her that he’d heard of a well-known European conductor named Belinfante and wondered if she was a relative. She replied that she was the Belinfante in question, to which he gasped, “What are you doing playing for this jerk for $17?!” The man urged Belinfante to create an orchestra of her own and offered help by striking a deal with the city on her behalf: they would pay for the auditorium and janitor, but the performers would have to “do it for pleasure” without pay. Belinfante took the deal and formed The Vine Street Players, a hybrid group of colleagues from local universities and Hollywood studio musicians. The group began playing in small venues around Orange County and the Inland Empire, and after the owner of the Redlands Bowl heard them, they were asked to join the Bowl’s summer program. Each musician received only $30 for the grand summer performance, but the low wage was well worth it Belinfante recalled: “It was the most beautiful concert that I can remember. I had 12 curtain calls. They just didn’t stop.” Thanks to this performance, a small group of wealthy music lovers invited Belinfante to form a permanent orchestral ensemble in Orange County, and in 1954, she became the founding artistic director and conductor of the inaugural Orange

County Philharmonic Society—the first such ensemble in the county. Under Belinfante’s tenure, all Philharmonic concerts were free to the public, and she and the orchestra agreed to donate their rehearsal time and be paid only for performances. This economizing strategy allowed her to build up the Philharmonic’s profile over the next eight years, but in 1962, she was abruptly let go. The musicians’ union now insisted that players be paid for rehearsal time, which strained relations, but, more importantly, the Philharmonic board had decided that hiring a male conductor was the only way to ensure a continued rise in the stature of the orchestra and its revenue. Any resistance to Belinfante’s removal was quashed by rumors of her sexual orientation. Belinfante was still living in Laguna Beach and established a private studio where she trained numerous musicians. She also continued conducting, and joined the board of directors of the Laguna Beach Chamber Music Society, serving as their booking agent and artistic advisor for more than 20 years until she resigned over what she felt was excessive spending on administrative salaries. In 1987, the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the City of Laguna Beach declared February 19 “Frieda Belinfante Day” in honor of her contributions to the region’s musical culture.

Most of the officials knew nothing of Belinfante’s fearless and daring early life, which was due, in part, to her refusal to talk about it. When she found out that her name was absent from all Holocaust histories, however, Belinfante finally agreed to tell her story to the US Museum. Five years later, she became the subject of the book, A Wonderfully Forgotten Life, as well as the Dutch documentary But I Was a Girl. Frieda Belinfante moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1991, and it was there that she died in her sleep from cancer at age 90, just one year after giving her oral history. During that interview, she said she knew the end was near, but wanted to ensure that her story—even more astonishing in detail than what can be presented here—would be remembered. And as for death? Belinfante met it with the same enlightened, unshakable principals that had characterized her life. “I’m not afraid to die,” she said with a smile. “It’s not an end. Because it all belongs together. I think some people miss the purpose of life. They think there is no purpose. Or think to try to get rich is the purpose, or get famous. It’s not. I care about other things. I care mostly that people understood what I tried to give them.”

Frieda Belinfante conducting

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HISTORY

BIG FISH,Big Fisherman Zane Grey on Catalina written by Grove Koger

“I really don’t want to go.” Those were the words of 33-year-old Zane Grey, who was writing in his journal shortly before leaving on his honeymoon. He had married Lina “Dolly” Roth, and while he didn’t have the wherewithal to pay for an extended honeymoon, Dolly did. And she wanted to go places her new husband really didn’t—the Grand Canyon, Colorado, and California. In other words, the West. Grey had been born in Ohio in 1872 and had practiced dentistry in New York City. He dreamed of being a writer, but his plans were vague and his talent undeveloped. “I’d rather stay at home,” continued the man whose name would eventually become a byword for Westerns. The couple began their honeymoon in early 1906, and, not surprisingly, Grey was enchanted by the Grand Canyon. But it was Santa Catalina that awakened his greatest interest. It was in the island’s waters, in 1898, that Charles Holder had landed the first 100-pound tuna to be caught with a rod and reel. Whatever he might become, Grey was already an avid—make that obsessive— fisherman, and his obsession would color his long association with the island. Holder went on to found the Catalina Tuna Club shortly after his exploit, and to establish what would become a prestigious award—a blue button—for anyone landing a tuna as large or larger. Grey dreamed of earning one of those buttons, but after spending a week at the task, he failed. Grey returned to Catalina eight years later, dreams intact. He tried for 21 days to catch a marlin, tried and, once again, failed. Then, on 84

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

the 22nd day, he hooked one that jumped spectacularly—and broke free. He watched another fisherman land a 300-pound marlin that leaped sixty-three times before being pulled in. “It made me wild to catch one,” the envious Grey wrote. By then he had other accomplishments to be proud of, however. He had found his stride as a writer, having published a dozen or so novels, including what may be his most famous Western, Riders of the Purple Sage. It was on another visit, in 1918, that Grey won the vaunted blue button, landing a tuna that turned out to be 138 pounds. And the 1919 season, he would subsequently note, “was the best for many years.” Coloring Grey’s opinion may have been the fact that he picked up a red button for catching another tuna with light tackle. That year also saw the appearance of Great Game Fishing at Catalina, an attractive pamphlet drawn from his collection Tales of Fishes and published by the Santa Catalina Island Company. Grey bought a house on Catalina in 1920, but trouble was brewing in the writer’s island paradise, partly because his interest was shifting to swordfish, or “broadbills,” as he called them. Having put himself through considerable physical training, he landed a 418-pound specimen after an intensive ten-hour struggle. But the following year, the wife of the Tuna Club’s president landed a 426-pounder after little more than an hour’s efforts. Relying on second-hand reports, Grey remarked that the woman must have required her boatman’s help, but after the ensuing—and inevitable—brouhaha, the writer acceded to the club’s demands that he retract the charge. Grey would claim that he resigned from the Tuna Club the next day, but, the club’s own records indicate that the resignation took place in 1923. It appears that this final rift resulted from the club’s refusal to countenance the use of heavier fishing line, a change that Grey felt was necessary if sportsmen were going to bring in heavier trophies. Despite Grey’s break with the club, which he had once called the “birthplace of big-game angling,” he didn’t give up on Catalina, moving instead into a striking new summer residence in 1925. Situated on a hill overlooking Avalon, the large adobe house was built in pueblo style. And of course he didn’t give up on fishing either. Of August 24 he wrote that “I never experienced anything like this day, since 1914.” Then in 1926 Grey landed a 582-pound broadbill. It was a world record, but the Tuna Club refused to recognize the catch as he had used a heavy line. By the time he died in 1939 at his mainland residence in Altadena, Grey had published some five dozen books and set more than a dozen fishing records. Which accomplishment mattered more? “In order to fish, I write,” he liked to say. Today’s conservation-minded readers may be uncomfortable with Grey’s obsession. Yet Grey himself was a budding conservationist, warning of the dangers that unchecked commercial fishing posed to the sea’s populations. “I was sick with anger and disgust,” he wrote in 1919 of the illegal net-fishing he saw taking place near Catalina. But then the sportsman added, with obvious delight, that he had caught more tuna that season “than ever before.” A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

HISTORY

VIC SCHOEN The Big Band Man Who Saved the Andrews Sisters written by Stacy Davies

The rise of the Big Band during the early 1930s signaled a major shift in American popular music. Prior to World War I, turn-of-the-century rhythms had supported tame social dances such as the polka and the waltz, but after the war, the rise of more suggestive couplings such as the foxtrot, lindy hop, and jitterbug required more complicated arrangements and a bigger sound. Swing music arrived as the most recent offshoot of New Orleans Jazz, but the hard 4/4 time of traditional jazz was still too improvisational. Unlike jazz, swing required compositions and arrangements, giving a greater role to arrangers and conductors, and the tunes themselves were more lithesome and springy, focusing on sections of orchestras intermingling rather than just soloists. With the rise of arrangers and conductors, the most talented players quickly formed their own bands to capitalize on the trend. This development resulted in a considerable range of styles, with each band reflecting the personality of its bandleader--Count Basie produced a relaxed swing sound, Benny Goodman was more harddriving. Swing also saw the vocalist propelled into star position, and the Big Bands made legends out of Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. Brooklyn-born composer and arranger Victor “Vic” Schoen wasn’t as well-known as his 86

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

contemporaries such as Nelson Riddle, but he was one of the most sought-after arrangers within the industry and served as a driving force in a boogiewoogie landscape about to bust wide open. A high school dropout obsessed with writing music (and playing it on his trumpet), Schoen worked with a string of bands in New York City during the mid 30s, including Leon Belasco and Gene Kardos, and wrote music for bandleaders Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Louie Prima. It was in 1936, while playing trumpet in Belasco’s band, that Schoen was fortuitously

A N T H O N Y

S A L V O

FINE ART • GALLERY

teamed with a young vocalist trio calling themselves the Andrews Sisters. The Andrews had recorded a single with Belasco, but the song didn’t play well to audiences, and the following year the deflated sisters were packed up and headed back to Minnesota. Schoen urged them to reconsider and join him in his new gig with Billy Swanson’s orchestra, and they reluctantly agreed to give it one more go. Schoen then arranged for a radio broadcast of the Andrews backed by Swanson, and after Decca Records producer Dave Kapp heard the trio, he gave them an audition and signed them on the spot. The Andrews had found their champion in Schoen, and he soon approached them with a song from the Yiddish musical comedy I Would If I Could. Schoen added English lyrics to the melody and arranged the tune to better reflect the voices of sisters Patty, LaVerne and Maxine, and in 1938, Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (“To Me, You’re Beautiful”), with Schoen on trumpet, became the Andrews Sisters’ first number-one single and gold record. While some sources claim that lyricist Sammy Cahn actually discovered Bei Mir and brought it to the girls, other reports explain how that rumor began. After the song had become a hit, Schoen visited a New York record store where the Andrews were out front signing autographs—with Sammy Cahn. Puzzled at Cahn’s appearance, Schoen asked Decca Records producer Kapp why Cahn was there and Kapp replied, “We figured that if we put his name down as the lyricist then we’d sell a few more copies.” Nonetheless, those in the industry, and certainly the Andrews Sisters themselves, knew that Schoen was a rare talent, and over the next 29 years he would arrange and conduct some of the Andrews’ biggest hits. As one of the rare self-taught arrangers in the business, Schoen was able to think outside the box and determine how to take advantage of the Andrews’ voices. Using a unique method of scoring the band to play in unison while the Andrews sang harmony, and play harmony when the Andrews sang in unison, Schoen created an unusual alternative to the traditional pattern, and the switch gave the recordings a coherence and “punch” that became the Andrews’ signature sound—a sound that would subsequently be copied by countless other bands. The Andrews hits with Schoen were many, including Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar, Beer Barrel Polka, Don’t Fence

Crystal Cove Beach Cottages, Looking North, Anthony Salvo

anthony@studio2817.com • studio2817.com • 949.723.0790

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M Laguna Arts Patron JanFeb18 hero.indd 1

11/30/17 10:12 AM

Me In, Rum and Coca-Cola and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Interestingly enough, Schoen recalled that the first draft of Bugle Boy was “a total mess.” The harmonies, he explained, “were bad, the song had wrong notes in it. So I re-wrote part of it to make it work.” Schoen also arranged the song so that he could play the iconic opening trumpet solo. The Andrews recorded with the Vic Schoen Orchestra more than any other band, and used the arranger as their musical director for concerts and television appearances, as well as in films such as the Abbott and Costello wartime comedy Buck Privates. Schoen also wrote arrangements for many other notable singers. He was behind the music for the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby television specials, and for some of their films, including Road to Morocco. In 1945, Schoen arranged Ella Fitzgerald’s famous scat recording of Flying Home, which the New York Times called “one of the most influential vocal jazz records of the decade.” Schoen’s career reads like a who’s-who of music royalty, and his Midas touch is felt in some of the greatest music recordings ever made, including arrangements of On Top of Old Smokey (The Weavers), White Christmas (for the 1954 film), and Old Cape Cod (Patti Page). He also served as the musical director for television programs such as Shirley Temple’s Storybook, The Andy Williams Show, The Dinah Shore Show, The Lone Ranger, and The Big Record, a 1950’s variety program hosted by Patti Page in which Schoen debuted an early version of his famed six-minute Stereophonic Suite for Two Bands. By the 1960s, musical tastes had changed and Schoen decided to pursue teaching music, approaching USC for a position. The school refused him, however, because he possessed no degree of higher learning, and so he enrolled in community college in hopes of making the grade. It didn’t last long, however—Schoen was never much on schooling—and he dropped out again, deciding to relocate to Laguna Beach in 1965. The move was good for Schoen and third wife, singer Marion Hutton (sister to Betty), and he served as the musical director for Laguna Beach’s Pageant of the Masters, composing original music for the program from 1965 until 1978. He was said to have especially enjoyed writing songs for the Norman Rockwell tableaux of 1969—when admission to the event was a mere 50 cents! Until his death in 2000, Schoen continued to work as often as the music world wanted him, providing arrangements for the Sherman Brothers’ 1974 Broadway musical Over Here! (with cast members Patty and Maxine Andrews), the 1984 PBS special Glenn Miller Remembered, and numerous concerts for the Seattle Philharmonic. His final arrangements appeared in 1999, when he reunited with good friend Patti Page on the album I’ve Made Up My Mind to Make You Mine. “Vic could write anything,” fourth wife Sally-Jan Calbeck Schoen remarked after his death. “He could arrange anything. He could write Big Band falling out of bed. That’s his quote.” Big Band lovers will forever revere Vic Schoen’s visionary talents, but he is first and foremost hailed as the genius behind the Andrews Sisters sound – a sound that helped a nation mired in war and fear find uplift, optimism, and unity. And that’s an extraordinary feat for any artist. 88

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T M A R K E T PA L M S P R I N G S

Colliding Worlds Fine Art Gallery

Colin Fisher Studios is much more than an art gallery. It is a shopping haven for designers, collectors and connoisseurs of art, sculpture, home design accessories and furniture - showcased in a private home setting.

Colin Fisher Studios

68929 Perez Road, Suite M, Cathedral City, CA 92234 760-324-7300, www.colinfisherstudiosonline.com

68895 Perez Rd, Suite I 13 Cathedral City, CA 92234 collidingworldsfineart.com collidingworldstv.com 760-832-9580

Making art accessible for all ages and abilities Classes • Workshops • Exhibitions • Events • Lectures M-F 9am-5pm • Sa 10am-2pm • Su 1pm-4pm

760-834-8318 • 73446 Hwy 111, PD

CreateCenterForTheArts.com 90

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ROSENBERG

Zen #s 12,13,14, 15, 36” x 12” acrylic on acrylic panel

2682 S. Cherokee Way, Palm Springs 505-470-7932

www.tomrossgallery.com

MARCH 30, 31 & APRIL 1 2018 INDIAN WELLS ARTS FESTIVAL

The Palm Springs Dance Festival returns March 1-4, 2018 with two incredible performances of mixed genre dance and four days of amazing master classes taught by fascinating and accomplished choreographers. Tickets on sale January 1st! Visit website for more information: PalmSpringsDanceFest.com 760.406.1414 1775 East Palm Canyon #110-20 • Palm Springs, CA 92264

Join art enthusiasts and serious buyers. Enjoy extraordinary collections and elite connections. 200 juried artists from across the nation and around the world. An international palette of art in 15 mediums and categories. Live entertainment, refreshments & libations! www.IndianWellsArtsFestival.com

760-346-0042 P.O. Box 62 Palm Desert CA 92261 A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

A R T M A R K E T PA L M S P R I N G S

Palm Springs Art Museum creates transformative experiences through its collections, exhibitions, and programs, connecting people to the art and culture of our community and time. The museum strives to inspire reflection and renewal for local, national, and global audiences.

760-346-5600 72-567 Hwy 111 Palm Desert CA 92260 psmuseum.org

BARBARA GOTHARD Gothard Fine Art barbaragothard.com 92

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

gothardfineart@me.com

Original Unique Art. Paintings, Sculptures, Glass, Ceramics, Commissions, Art Repair, Painted Fabric & much more!

760.202.8769 68845 Perez Rd., Suite H-15 Cathedral City, CA 92234 TrenzGallery.com

Blue Phone. From a collection of over 20 paintings inspired by Hitchcock’s most scintillating moments.

Opening Saturday, Feb. 10 thru Mar. 4th Opening Reception February 10th, 6-8pm February 10th - March 4th, 2018

John Abrams Painting Hitchcock

James O’Keefe

MACKENZIE / O’KEEFE “Painting on Painting”

JOSHUA TREE ART GALLERY

BLAKE BAXTER “Form & Void”

MACKENZIE / O’KEEFE “Painting on Painting”

Opening Reciption January 13, 6-8pm January 13th thru February 3rd

JOSHUA TREE ART GALLERY Saturday 10-3 • Sunday 12-3 | By Appointment 760.366.3636 61607 29 Palms Hwy | Joshua Tree, CA 922523 joshuatreeartgallery.com

David Mackenzie

Saturday 10-3 • Sunday 12-3 | By Appointment 760.366.3636 61607 29 Palms Hwy | Joshua Tree, CA 922523 joshuatreeartgallery.com

Blake Baxter

Art Palm Springs | February 15-19 | Booth 211 thisartfulhome@gmail.com | 760-507-1472 www.thisartfulhome.com

Opening Reception February 10th, 6-8pm February 10th - March 4th, 2018

JOSHUA TREE ART GALLERY

Saturday 10-3 • Sunday 12-3 | By Appointment 760.366.3636 61607 29 Palms Hwy | Joshua Tree, CA 922523 joshuatreeartgallery.com A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ART MARKET ORANGE COUNTY

LGOCA

Laguna Gallery of Contemporary Art

Resin 24”x16”x 9” 48x48 “Turbulent” acrylic on canvas

ORIGINALS & COMMISSIONS For information or an appointment call 949.294.7077 tonybarronart@gmail.com tonybarronart

611 S. Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, 92651 949-677-8273 • lgoca.com @lgoca

“CARING IS SHARING” bronze 24”

w w w. t o n y b arro nart.c o m

“Szabo’s Dew Drop sculptures are reminiscent of Jeff Koons or Anish Kapoor, yet unique in how they capture something ephemeral from nature; beautiful, seductive, sensuous.” - - Saatchi Art

Commissioned by Los Angeles Mission for Kirk and Anne Douglas for their commitmnet to serving homeless woman

(949) 922-53550 antjecampbellart@gmail.com • www.antjecampbell.com 94

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

for thei

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

ART MARKET ORANGE COUNTY

ART WORKSHOPS in LAGUNA BEACH

Learn to Paint Landscapes Indoor and outdoor classes led by Laguna Plein Air Painters Association artists beginners and all levels invited!

Explore the Art World One Custom Trip at a Time.

Adult classes: January 27, February 12, March 12, 17 Adult & family classes: February 10, March 10 Find information at

LOCAarts.org (949) 363-4700

w w w. a s t -g.c o m â&#x20AC;¢ 949-478- 7141

GET

YOUR

ART

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

subscribe today

$24 for 6 issues www.ArtPatronMagazine.com

advertise today

888.343.9908 www.ArtPatronMagazine.com

David Palmer,“Cherry Blossoms #1,” Acrylic on Canvas 30 by 40 inches

MARCH 30 - APRIL 1 AT THE INDIAN WELLS TENNIS GARDEN

An International Palette with 200 Juried and Acclaimed Artists representing more than 25 Countries | Paintings, Sculpture, Jewelry, Pottery + Ceramics Photography, Art Fashion + More | Children’s Activities | Saturday + Sunday “Eggs + Champagne in the Garden” brunch menu ‘til noon | Admission $13 Children Admitted Free | Free or Valet Parking | Open Daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. IndianWellsArtsFestival.com Produced by Dianne Funk Productions © 2017 Festival Information: 760.346.0042

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

March 1-4, 2018

The Ultimate Fine Art Experience! A short drive from legendary Palm Springs Presenting 220 contemporary fine artists in a magnificent outdoor gallery 10 am to 5 pm Daily Live Entertainment Fabulous Food & Drink Single Day $17, Multi-Day Pass $22 Children under 12 are Free Valet & Self Parking Info & Tickets:

LQAF.com

La Quinta Civic Center Campus 78-495 Calle Tampico

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M

TONY DELAP: A RETROSPECTIVE Laguna Art Museum’s 2018 retrospective of Tony DeLap’s work will include approximately eighty paintings, sculptures, and drawings by Orange County’s foremost living artist.

February 25, 2018 - May 28, 2018 Laguna Art Museum 307 Cliff Drive Laguna Beach, CA 92651 100

A R T PAT R O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M