Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
In and Out of Context-Collages by Tm Gratkowski challenge the viewer
Art, like music, needs to be seen or heard, and thus written descriptions or analogies will never hit the bull’s eye, even when they do manage to hit the target. And so now, excuses aside, I’ll try to describe Tm Gratkowski’s fascinating work, its motivation and effect, with copious quotations from the source, the artist…
Read MoreLocal poet still calls it as he sees it
JB Kennedy is leafing through an unadulterated (early 1960s) copy of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which one of his longtime friends has just acquired for him. He holds the weathered volume as if it’s a precious artifact – which in some ways it is. “When I had my bookstore,” he says, “I used to keep this…
Read MoreOur Fabled Past-“Myth and Image” at El Camino College
In some ways, mythology is religion without the hardball tactics, or the politics. We can leave Jesus and Mohammed aside while we mingle comfortably with tales of Cupid, Icarus, Prometheus, Pandora, and Gaia. That’s because myths ground all of us in who we are, why we are, and where we come from. It’s serious stuff,…
Read MoreTurning up the lights
James W. Gruessing, Jr., the artistic director of Palos Verdes Performing Arts, though most of us still think of as simply “the Norris,” comes across as self-assured and commanding. And so, when asked about his initial interest in theater, his answer is surprising. “I was always a very shy kid,” he says. “I never wanted…
Read MoreBetween the Serene and the Ominous-Natalie Arnoldi’s paintings featured in Arts Manhattan inaugural show
Arts Manhattan is no more. But don’t place a wreath on the coffin just yet because the group has, with modifications, metamorphosized into Art Avenue Foundation according to Homeira Goldstein. As past president of the former and now president of the latter, Goldstein knows better than anyone else how the art organization she’s led has…
Read MoreA Dark Place, Well Lit-Candace Gawne on her artistic journey
No bones about this, Candace Gawne – painter and neon artist – has been one of my favorite people for several years. A show of her neon work at El Camino College, a while back now, still remains fresh and vigorous in my memory. Gawne is one of two featured artists (the other is Ellen…
Read MoreBelgian Bad Boy: “The Scandalous Art of James Ensor”
“The Scandalous Art of James Ensor” at the Getty
Read More“We Will Rock You” – Tossing and turning in a Queen-sized bed
Shall we talk about a musical that may not be worth talking about? “We Will Rock You” is a dystopian, futuristic tale that weaves in and out of 24 songs written and recorded by Queen from the early 1970s through the 1980s. With the apparent blessings of guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, Ben…
Read MoreThe Doctor Will See Through You Now-There are two sides to this Hermosa author
First, a writer was asked to describe “Quickies” and “Poseidon’s Tunnel,” two recent books by a resident of Hermosa Beach. “I would say these books are psychedelic, free-form fiction, not following any type of rules of what books should be. They’re definitely not novels. They capture an underground counterculture that’s alive and thriving, and that…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 8/14/14-8/17/14
Thursday the 14th THEATER “Oswald – The Actual Interrogation”: This play by Dennis Richards re-enacts the cat-and-mouse interview of Lee Harvey Oswald in the hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Directed by Stephanie Coltrin, it runs Wednesdays and Thursdays through Sept. 4 at Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro. Information:…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 7/31/14-8/03/14
Thursday the 31st MUSIC The Swing Kings: You’ll sway and be persuaded by their music, performed lived from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Redondo Beach Pier, 100 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach. And then come back on Saturday to hear the roots/soul music of Justin Hopkins. Information: RedondoPier.com. REMEMBRANCE Louis Zamperini – Celebration of Life:…
Read MoreSpellbound Pumps It Up-The funk and Latin groove band plays Suzy’s on Saturday
The years get away from us, don’t they? Paul “Pablo” Thomas and Bobby Moon started writing and playing music together some 30 years ago when both were living “on the hill” and attending Palos Verdes High. At first there was the group Life After Death, and then later, at least by 1996, the two friends…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 7/24/14-7/27/14
Thursday the 24th THEATER “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”: Presented by the Aerospace Players, this humorous play, which is set in ancient Rome, is performed tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m. in the James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance. Tickets, $24; $22. Information: (310) 781-7171 or go to…
Read MoreLove Me Tender-The Belasco Theatre Company celebrates 10 Years with special alumni production
Shanti Belasco didn’t lose any sleep mulling over what she wanted to be when she grew up. By the time she was 13 she was choreographing for one of the greatest men she’d ever met: her father. Edward Belasco was an actor with a theater background who in 1981 started a youth musical theater group…
Read MoreSealed with a Kiss-“Romeo and Juliet” under the stars
Young love against the world, does it ever stand a chance? The literary genre’s classic tale of crushed innocence is “Romeo and Juliet,” which Ben Donenberg and the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles are presenting under the tall trees and the night sky in the Japanese Garden at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Campus.…
Read MoreSouth Bay Arts Calender 7/17/14-7/20/14
Thursday the 17th A FESTIVE OCCASION Third Thursday in the Village: It’s something of a street fair atmosphere, with participating shops staying open until 8 p.m. in Riviera Village, Redondo Beach, and with live music at various locations, and even poets on street corners. Information: (310) 791-7104. MUSIC Jack Dani’s ‘90s Rock Revue: This 1990s…
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