CA 101: an art extravaganza

Your highway to fine art CA 101 opens Friday evening in Redondo Beach by Bondo Wyszpolski Back with a vengeance, CA 101 returns to Redondo Beach, this time with 230 artworks by 73 different artists, and the opening is Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. in the historic library inside of Veterans Park. Curated by…

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Marion McCally’s soulful portraits

On the street, in the studio An afternoon chat with artist Marion McCally by Bondo Wyszpolski Less than three months ago, two things occurred, fairly insignificant at the time, but without them you wouldn’t be reading about Marion McCally and looking at her artwork in this magazine. Early in June, one of McCally’s neighbors invited…

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“Time” at ESMoA: Into the mind of movie production designer Rick Carter

Journeys past, present, and future ESMoA’s treasure trove of artwork by film production designer Rick Carter by Bondo Wyszpolski There must be hundreds of people named “Rick Carter” but there’s only one Rick Carter who’s worked as the production designer for cinematic heavyweights Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Robert Zemekis, and J.J. Abrams. And it’s this…

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In the garden of delights

Overseeing 87 acres of paradise In the summer sun with Adrienne Nakashima by Bondo Wyszpolski She’s lived most of her life in and around the South Bay, but right now Adrienne Nakashima is at the top of the world. I mean, how can anyone say otherwise when Nakashima heads up one of the loveliest spots…

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Long on activism, short on art

Loud voices for the voiceless Works by artist-activist Andrea Bowers at the Hammer Museum by Bondo Wyszpolski The causes she actively and tirelessly promotes are commendable — the rights of the undocumented, the marginalized, the bullied and abused, women’s autonomy over their own bodies, the preservation and dignity of nature, etc — but Andrea Bowers,…

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Scare tactics under the big top

It’s a nightmare in Redondo Anything goes under the black and red tent of “Paranormal Cirque” by Bondo Wyszpolski Leave the kiddies at home. On Thursday, August 11, the self-described thrilling, wicked, sexy, and even dangerous Paranormal Cirque opens the dark maw of its tent for six shows in Redondo Beach. They say it’s not…

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And then we’ll take tea

A walk in the park “Excursions of Imagination: 100 Great British Drawings from the Huntington’s Collection” by Bondo Wyszpolski The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens had begun to celebrate its centennial over the course of 2019 and 2020, and this show, “Excursions of Imagination,” was earmarked for that occasion. Like much else, it…

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Movie music with Peninsula Symphony

Dinosaurs! Superheroes! Pirates! Deserts and plantations! We’re almost at the movies with Maestro Gary Berkson and the Peninsula Symphony by Bondo Wyszpolski Close your eyes, and you’re halfway there. Although the lights won’t go down, theme music from such silver screen blockbusters as “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park,” and “The Avengers” may induce a cinematic euphoria…

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Swagger and swish in the Middle Ages

“The Fantasy of the Middle Ages: An Epic Journey through Imaginary Medieval Worlds,” by Larisa Grollemond and Bryan C. Keene (Getty Publications, 134 pp, $29.95) by Bondo Wyszpolski The Middle Ages, or the Medieval period, fits roughly between 500 and 1500 AD, or from ancient Rome to the Renaissance. If you’re thinking 1200, 1300, you’re…

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Back to the jungle with Werner Herzog

“The Twilight World,” by Werner Herzog, trans. by Michael Hofmann (Penguin Press, 132 pp, $25) by Bondo Wyszpolski Twenty-nine years after the end of World War II, which he thought was still being fought, Hiroo Onoda emerged from the jungle of Lubang Island in the Philippines. He told Norio Suzuki, the young man who’d found…

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Grounded… and enjoying it

Nothing but blue skies “Come from Away” at the Ahmanson by Bondo Wyszpolski If you’d walked into this show by accident I think you could be forgiven for thinking the actors are in a sports bar and watching the NBA finals. Not only that, but at various points in “Come from Away” the singers and…

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Stories by Maggie Shipstead take flight

“You Have a Friend in 10A,” by Maggie Shipstead (Alfred A. Knopf, 253 pp, $27) by Bondo Wyszpolski Now that we’re in June, some people may be thinking ahead to their summer reading, books for the beach, the mountain cabin, or the island getaway. I’m going to add a recommendation of my own and suggest…

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Animal magnetism

The Beastly Ball bounces back Saturday, June 4, at the LA Zoo by Bondo Wyszpolski Yes, I was a card-carrying member of the L.A. Zoo when it opened at its “new” location, but that was well over half a century ago. These days I simply appreciate the efforts of GLAZA (the Greater Los Angeles Zoo…

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Recurring shapes, with variations: the art of Yong Sin

Quiet noise Artist Yong Sin and the nuances of imperfection by Bondo Wyszpolski Shortly after immigrating with her family to the United States from Korea, Yong Sin signed up for several courses in philosophy at a community college and flunked all of them. Even though she’d been reading Sartre, Cocteau, Dostoevsky, Beckett and others, Sin…

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Much Ado about Romeo and Juliet

All the world’s a stage… after a long intermission On the road again with Shakespeare by the Sea The South Bay’s only theater company devoted to the Bard has been spinning its wagon wheels these past couple of years, but they’re back this spring and summer with productions of “Much Ado About Nothing” and that…

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