Arts Forever

A Night of Special Effects

2006-07-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Roy Johnson - Arts Forever
Published on July 23, 2006

Valentine’s Day isn’t all about giving presents, kisses and making love declarations. In order to be somewhat more effective there has to be created a romantic atmosphere everywhere the lovers will go. And especially when the evening comes and a romantic dinner just has to take place.

You have to prepare early and let your imagination go wild. And this is all so you two will be able to express freely on Valentine’s Day.

What is the thing you need the most to create the desired effects?

Candles … Lots of them … Of different colors and dimensions … The predominant color has to be red, the color that is considered to be the color of love. They can be placed anywhere in the room: near the windows so their light would seem to come from out there somewhere, on the nightstands, on the desk and in every other corner of your room.

It’s going to be a long dinner and a long evening, so the candles will have to burn a long time. Pick candles in small bowls or if you choose bigger bowls you can let them burn without any worries: they will burn but nothing else will catch fire around them.  If you can’t agree with candles, pick then some scarves to throw over the light sources. They have to be colored, preferably red, but they can also come in the color you both like. Keep in mind that the material they are made of must not have plastic fibers in it so that it won’t heat and you can eat your dinner without having to worry about them. If scarves are chosen, the light will be softer and the room invaded with many effects.

Don’t forget the aromatherapy bowls and the perfumed sticks. Your loved one will appreciate if you will use his or hers favorite scent. If you like more the perfume of fresh flowers, pick a discreet bouquet of your favorite ones and place them somewhere around.

Keep in mind that dinner must be something you both like and has to last longer. So, pick different food types and a desert that seems appropriate. The desert would have to have some hearts or cupids design on it if possible. If you don’t cook, order food early and make sure it gets delivered right on time.

Rembrandt's work still has lessons to teach the postmodern world

2006-07-22T00:00:00.003-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 22, 2006

Inevitably, art critics get asked about the greatest exhibitions they have seen. In reply, I seldom fail to mention "Rembrandt/Not Rembrandt," which New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art drew from its own collections in 1995. The show placed paintings,...

Read more...

Art Rearranged: The Shock of the New and the Comfort of the Old

2006-07-22T00:00:00.001-07:00

by Alan Riding - The New York Times
Published on July 22, 2006

Like rearranging the throw pillows on a sofa, shuffling the Monets and van Goghs can really spruce up a room.

Read more...

Should Art Museums Always Be Free? There’s Room for Debate

2006-07-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Roberta Smith - The New York Times
Published on July 22, 2006

If there is no accounting for taste in art, should there be accounting for access to it?

Read more...

At the South Street Seaport, Eugeen Van Mieghem’s Pictures of the Tired and Poor Before They Sailed to America

2006-07-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

by Grace Glueck - The New York Times
Published on July 21, 2006

A close observer of maritime activity, the Belgian artist captured the exhausted masses as they boarded ships headed for the New World.

Read more...

For collectors with deep pockets, China is fast becoming the place to buy new art

2006-07-21T00:00:00.002-07:00

by Olivia Wu - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 21, 2006

When a painting by the early 20th century Chinese artist Xu Beihong fetched 33 million yuan ($4.1 million) at an auction earlier this summer, the news made the front page of the China Daily. It was the highest amount ever paid for a Chinese oil painting. The...

Read more...

Summer in Washington, Where Image Is All

2006-07-21T00:00:00.001-07:00

by Holland Cotter - The New York Times
Published on July 21, 2006

Housing a healthy mix of the permanent and the transient, the Smithsonian carries a summertime smattering of history, iconography and portraiture.

Read more...

Into the Metropolitan Museum: What’s It Worth to You?

2006-07-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

by David Leonhardt - The New York Times
Published on July 21, 2006

There are no free museums in this world, but there are plenty of reasons why the Met's new sticker price isn't as bad as it sounds.

Read more...

Museum of the African Diaspora Offers Anecdotal Evidence of a Homesick Humanity

2006-07-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Edward Rothstein - The New York Times
Published on July 20, 2006

The San Francisco center is a crucible of cultural identity, commemorating its peoples' tragedies and achievements to others.

Read more...

Celebrated Gee's Bend quilts blaze with color, unforced invention, unique kind of sophistication

2006-07-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 18, 2006

"The Quilts of Gee's Bend," which opened at the de Young Museum during the weekend, created a sensation in 2002 when it appeared at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art, the second stop on a 12-venue tour. The show brought into the official art...

Read more...

A Fireplace in your Apartment

2006-07-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Jason Roberts - Arts Forever
Published on July 16, 2006

We sometimes think that we cannot realize everything we want in such a limited space, referring to an apartment, might it be a block apartment or a villa apartment. But either way we can adapt the already existent dimensions or we will think in such a manner that we will create the space we need to bring in a new piece of furniture that we really want or maybe make some mounted bookshelves on one wall of the room.

You can even place a fireplace, an object that usually takes up a lot of space and requires unwanted modifications.

A fireplace can be placed in a corner of a room and it could be, for design’s sake, linked with some mounted bookshelves that can total a real bookcase.

Depending on the dimensions of our room, we will make a design sketch for the wanted fireplace and for the bookshelves made out of wood or wood-like materials that will be chosen accordingly to the objects that are already situated in the room or accordingly to the material the fireplace will be build from (I mean the material the fireplace has on the surface, not the one it is actually made of).  If we have a tall room then we can build a tall fireplace. In the case it will grow a lot up or on the contrary, grow horizontally quite a bit, we will have to keep in mind ventilation. In an apartment we might have to use the common ventilation system unless we are on the top floor. To deal with this aspect you will have to bring a specialist and let him do the calculations and plans needed.

We can think of the fireplace creatively. Why not designing it as a multitude of stairs that will serve as support for different object we can find around the room? Or we can create spaces to store fire wood that will have just a decorative purpose in a block apartment where the fire can be made using gas. But they will bring the rustic image closer to you and will provide the room with infinite connotations.

Layers of abstract-art history in Moses' paintings Paint, digitized images collide in Yoon Lee's works

2006-07-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 15, 2006

Painters pick up lots of studio tricks over a long career like that of Southern California native Ed Moses. But nothing guarantees that know-how and experience will snowball into great work. It has happened for Moses, at least occasionally, on the...

Read more...

No-Dig Gardening

2006-07-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Cynthia Richards - Arts Forever
Published on July 9, 2006

The idea of no-dig gardening was developed by an Australian named Esther Deans. It was originally both developed both as a labor saving idea, and a method to rejuvenate badly depleted soil in a vegetable garden.

The process involves starting with layers of newspaper, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you can create a growing medium without resorting to heavy digging, and one that is rich in nutrients and which will simplify weeding and encourage your much desired plants to grow. The layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and should not be dug up, as this will undo the good work. I have used this approach to creating vegetable gardens, and it certainly does work.

The principle of not digging has sound foundations. Excessive cultivation of the soil, especially when very wet or very dry, will damage the structure of the soil, and lead to compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage the earthworms, and they are the best free labor a gardener has.

Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated no-dig into never-dig, which I believe is sadly mistaken. If you start with a base soil that is badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially work well, but you may find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you have built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They have been found to seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometime many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, it is my contention that they will die out or move out.

My belief is that an initial cultivation of the soil before you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a better environment for the worms, and thus a better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.

By all means give the no-dig approach a try – you will be pleased with the result.

Arnold's realism conveys his anxiety, and sense of humor

2006-07-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published by July 8, 2006

Some painters feel comfortable with plenty of distance between their work and their worldviews. Not Chester Arnold. A sort of realist, the Sonoma painter persists in trying to phrase in images some of the anxiety and revulsion that his consciousness of...

Read more...

In a world where the primeval past and gritty modernity live side by side, Indian artists attempt to illuminate both

2006-07-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 5, 2006

"Edge of Desire: Recent Art in India" at the UC Berkeley Art Museum has a problem in common with most contemporary art exhibitions that travel across cultures. It requires so much explanation that we miss in nearly all of it the immediacy that we hope...

Read more...

Julia Cairns' years spent in a reed hut left an indelible stamp on the artist

2006-07-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Nick Thomas - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 3, 2006

Starving artists can't afford to be too fussy when a commission comes their way. Julia Cairns wasn't exactly "starving" in 1986, but she had blown her savings in preparation for her first art exhibition. So when the offer came to design a series of national...

Read more...

A Garden for the Whole Family

2006-07-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Roy Johnson - Arts Forever
Published on July 2, 2006

You can have the most elaborated back yard from the entire neighborhood, but if it isn’t functional you have built it in vain. We all want to have beautiful and flourishing gardens, but when we have a family, we must also take into consideration the needs of the other members of it. Divide the space of your yard in two or three visual spaces, one for play and relaxation, one for gardening and maybe one for pets.

An open space, covered by lawn is ideal for your children. Here you can install a table for open air lunches or for a romantic summer evening dinner.

Do you have a fireplace? Keep a portion of your garden especially for depositing fire woods, but make sure it is at a considerable distance from the house or animals that can cause damage.

How about pets? You can build for these little members of your family special spaces, in which they can play and exercise. Before you plant bushes and ornamental plants, surround the pet space. Cats and dogs tend to be attracted exactly by the things we try to keep them away from.

Keep the by-passers’ eyes away from your personal life. Before planning the scenery, you must have in sight a place for the garbage cans. It wouldn’t be very nice to have a wonderful garden right next to the garbage cans. These can be efficiently hidden in some kind of surrounded space, decorated on the sides with life fence.

Functionality is an important factor in your garden, so you have to think about children, little pets and family assets before you plant anything. Save a portion of the yard especially for you, in which you can plant whatever you want and leave for the others some space to breathe freely.

You will find it more satisfying this way, once the whole family is happy with your garden and they might even bring their personal ideas for it. It is important that personal space is respected and that is why the garden must not be very wide, taking up all available space. Build from time to time a pathway or some benches where you can just relax and admire your work.

New shows at the Asian trace paths through history, from 1st European contact to Three Gorges ruin

2006-07-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

by Kenneth Baker - San Francisco Chronicle
Published on July 1, 2006

So far, the Asian Art Museum has coped as well as any local art institution with the task of tracking into the present the odd threads of the cultural history that its collections survey. In this, the Asian enjoys an inherent advantage over the Fine...

Read more...