Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
Spotlight on The Class of ’68: Paradise regained Swimming with the Sea Kings
Photos by Bondo Wyszpolski, except where noted Palos Verdes High School classmates met up at the home of Claudia Avakian Krikorian and Jim Hale to celebrate their 55th reunion. That means they came of age in the era of gaslamps, switchboard operators, and big-finned Cadillacs. Once again they tore up lawns, blew up mailboxes, and…
Read MoreSpotlight on Asian culture: Japanese days and Chinese nights
Leaving the city: aesthetics and tranquillity On Oct. 21, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino unveiled the newly restored 320-year-old Japanese Heritage Shōya House, brought here from a small farming community near Marugame in Kagawa prefecture. On Sept. 29, the Huntington hosted a Mid-Autumn Moon Celebration in its expansive Chinese…
Read MoreSpotlight on art: Ron Linden returns with “re.dux” at Gallery 478
Photos by Bondo Wyszpolski Earlier this month, Gallery 478 showcased work by Ron Linden, one of the area’s most respected artists and educators. He was, among other things, the director of the L.A. Harbor College Fine Arts Gallery for over 20 years. Several months ago, Linden was hospitalized with COVID, and, let’s be honest, it…
Read MoreSpotlight on art: Construction zone “Assemblagism” at the Loft
Photos by Bondo Wyszpolski It’s a piecemeal word, “Assemblagism,” just like the many works in this nicely curated show of assemblage art, a melding of often unrelated objects, the result being something in most cases highly imaginative. The show is up through Oct. 22 (with a First Thursday Art Walk open house from 6 to…
Read More“Unframed,” curated by Aimee Mandala, at ShockBoxx
Photos by Bondo Wyszpolski The show came and went, but impressed those who saw it. Curator Aimee Mandala envisioned, in her words, “an exhibition focused on the artist’s process — on works that are sketched out, used up, slipped in a folder, forgotten and left behind. It is a look inside the artist’s mind and…
Read MoreJust birding in the park, or, Winging it with Bob Shanman
After three decades serving South Bay birders, Bob Shanman has closed Wild Birds Unlimited. But he’s not retired from birding by Bondo Wyszpolski This is a story about a shop that’s closed and a store owner who’s retired, but of course there’s more to it than that. Both the man and the store had a…
Read MoreSwimming with the fishes and the whales
At the California Science Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific by Bondo Wyszpolski There’s little quite as thrilling as a big subject on a big screen, and it doesn’t get any larger than “Blue Whales: Return of the Giants” on an IMAX screen at the California Science Center. This new 3D documentary, narrated by…
Read MoreBenoit is back, and hopefully his orchestra too
A newly rejuvenated David Benoit is again writing music, conducting and touring by Bondo Wyszpolski It might have seemed David Benoit was down for the count. His kidney had been failing, taking his strength and stamina with it. After each dialysis session, he says, “I’d come out so beat-up… hungry, tired, angry, all of that.”…
Read MoreNourishing body and soul – Talking food and recipes with Homeira Goldstein
by Bondo Wyszpolski We know we’re in for a culinary journey that is off the beaten path when the opening salvo is, “I don’t cook, I create,” with a foreword penned by a composer-conductor, Erica Muhl. Outwardly, Homeira Goldstein’s new book, “Create: Art, Food, Life,” is a lavishly produced collection of upscale recipes, but inherently…
Read MoreSpotlight on Art – Historic Loft Art Studios highlights new art perspectives
Photos by Bondo Wyszpolski The historic Loft Art Studios and Galleries presented Stacking Up, a three-dimensional exhibition featuring 13 Harbor area artists. The show was curated by long-time Loft artists Jim Murray and Jan Govaerts. The exhibit opened on Jan. 5 and runs through. Feb. 4, 2023. Other artists in the exhibit include Phoebe Barnum,…
Read MoreFanning the flames
Kyle Boone isn’t painting roses on a fence by Bondo Wyszpolski Imagine this. You’re at a crowded exhibition of colorful art, most of it depicting familiar scenes, lots of pleasant landscapes, seascapes, a few animals, a portrait or two, some easy-on-the-eye abstracts, but suddenly you’re drawn down a corridor at the end of which is…
Read MoreA Monumental Task
How Frank V. Zerunyan brought awareness of the Armenian genocide to Rolling Hills Estates by Bondo Wyszpolski Last year, a bronze memorial plaque and relief sculpture was placed on the grounds of Rolling Hills Estates City Hall. It commemorates the Armenian genocide of 1915. Does the city, or the Peninsula for that matter, have any…
Read MoreA winner among losers – Director, screenwriter Eric Ustian and “Most Guys are Losers”
by Bondo Wyszpolski If he’d been really good in front of the camera it’s possible that Eric Ustian would not have found his way in behind the camera. “Failing as an actor,” he says, “was my biggest gift as a director.” Ustian, who lives in Hermosa Beach and has an office in Manhattan Beach, heads…
Read MoreChannel crossings – Out of this world with hypnotherapist Shelley Stockwell-Nicholas, PhD
by Bondo Wyszpolski In everyday life, there’s more than meets the eye, and the same goes for what we know or can intuit. Some people, however, seem able to perceive things that leave the rest of us amazed or incredulous. I’m thinking of psychics, clairvoyants, telepaths, mediums, and the like. In 2018, I met and…
Read MoreArt and culture by night in downtown San Pedro
Searching for the bright side of the moon Photos and text by Bondo Wyszpolski Even with COVID lingering and the risk of another surge, the art scene in downtown San Pedro has reemerged. Galleries and art studios are open. Music and live theater have been staples of the Grand Annex and Little Fish, but note…
Read MoreThe new kid in town. Detail and precision in the paintings of Sharon Pomales Tousey
by Bondo Wyszpolski The Palos Verdes Peninsula is home to multi-talented visual artists, many of whom have been featured in these very pages. The most recent artist of note to move into the area is Sharon Pomales Tousey, whose photorealist works are often breathtaking. Pomales recently captured first place in the Pastel Society of Southern…
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