Culture View

09/26/2020

Hello Culture View friends and followers!

Really long time no post. I hope all of you are healthy and all is well with your families.

New York is opening up, and my first cultural outing after the quarantine was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where I visited three exhibitions.

The first exhibition that I explored was a privet collection. Some people collect art, some shot glass, and some articles of fashion. Sandy Schreier’s fashion collaboration was one of the first fashion collections and represents twentieth century fashion with some interesting pieces from promenade designs.

03/08/2020

The Armory Show features leading international galleries. It is very cool annual event with diverse art for every taste. This year second year going and I am planning to go next year.

02/17/2020

02/17/2020

Play Medea at BAM theatre is a modern interpretation of the original Greek tragedy, which is still relevant in our time.

The play is very original with completely white stage setting and interesting use of video and screens. Because the set is completely white, every little nuance has a magnifying dramatic effect.

I also liked translations from scene to scene with the actor from previous scene remaining on stage and standing still while the next scene begins.

And the leads Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale are just spectacular.

This play is no classic and is not for everyone. However, if you are in the mood for something different, you will thoroughly enjoy it, just like I did.

There is still time until March 8th to see Medea
https://www.bam.org/theatersection?alttemplate=MobileGenre

02/03/2020

This rendition of Swan Lake by Matthew Bourne is for those who are all grown up. The combination of classical Tchaikovsky, modern plot twist, and all male swans dancers is definitely something worth seeing. The ballet is powerful and superbly done, from beautiful dancing and costumes to vivid emotions. However, the main attraction are the swans. What a beautiful display of manly masculinity, like Greek gods on parade. And the dance of the little swans is definitely something. I think we were admiring wrong kind of swans 😉.

If you have a chance to see it, I would highly recommend it.

https://www.nycitycenter.org/

12/07/2019

Dear Culture View readers, after a long break, I would like to share with you one of the hidden gems of New York.

Nicholas Roerich Museum is a small museum located on West 107 street. It fully dedicated to just this one artist. Nicholas Roerich is known first and foremost as a Russian-born artist. His paintings, of which there are thousands around the world, explore the mythic origins, the natural beauty, and the spiritual strivings of humanity and of the world. The Museum houses approximately two hundred of these works. As you explore the museum, you can clearly see the chance in style from his earlier years to the later period.

The museum also hold periodic concerts, about 1 hour long. Both museum and concerts are free, but you need to register in advance due to limited space.

As the weather gets cold, visiting this museum combined with the classical music concert could make for a very pleasant afternoon.

http://www.roerich.org/

08/20/2019

Play It Loud - Instruments Of Rock & Roll exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art examines the instruments of rock and roll. Early rock musicians were attracted to the wail of the electric guitar and the distortion of early amplifiers, a sound that became forever associated with rock music and its defining voice.

Rock fans have long been fascinated with the instruments used by musicians. At the exhibition, you can see instruments played by Beatles, Metallica, Lady Gaga, and many other famous musicians.

Exhibition is open until October 8.

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/play-it-loud

08/19/2019

CAMP - Note on Fashion exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art explores the origins of camp's exuberant aesthetic through more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present. The exhibition examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.

But what is Camp? Camp in this sense has been suggested to have possibly derived from the French term se camper, meaning "to pose in an exaggerated fashion". The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. The modern usage “camp” is often used as synonymous to “kitschy” or “flamboyant.” Some consider Camp something of a private code, a badge of identity even.

If you have a chance, go and see for yourself. Very cool exhibition and very well done.

The exhibition is open until September 8
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2019/camp-notes-on-fashion

08/08/2019

Moulin Rouge has all the aspects to be a great show, and it is! The set is spectacular, leading actor and actress are awesome (Karen Olivo and Aaron Tveit), and costumes and dancing make the picture complete.

If you have seen the movie, you might remember how modern songs are organically incorporated into the plot. The show added a few more modern songs, but they fit well into the over-all musical.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and should highly recommend it.

08/04/2019

I would like to conclude French Riviera series will the post about Cannes annual Fireworks Festival.

This internal annual event has been taken place since 1998 for 6 Sunday from mid July to mid August with a different country presenting their creation every Sundered evening.

The show, performed on a 400-metre sea front, is watched by 200,000 spectators every night, who gather along the Croisette. The master alchemists of illumination practise this thousand-year-old art form using the ultimate innovations of our time, combining creativity, technology and high precision. The reflection of the fireworks on the water and the soundscape that accompanies them transport the public to an enchanting world with a series of scenes.

08/03/2019

One of Antibes attractions is Picasso museum. Picasso lived in Antibes in the autumn of 1946. The museum contains a unique and more or less unknown collection of Picassos. The artist’s output – everything he created – in the five months from September, 1946, to January, 1947, is on permanent loan to the museum.

In Antibes Picasso met a friend, the photographer Michel Sima, who told him about the space at Château Grimaldi, a Roman fort that was rebuilt in the 14th century and bought by the French crown. Now owned by the city of Antibes, it had been renamed Musée Grimaldi and housed archaeological artifacts (now Picasso museum).

The museum's curator was struggling to fill its vast space and was more than happy to devote the former guards' hall on the second floor to Picasso as his studio.

Picasso’s time in Antibes is referred as the Age or Renewal. He was happy in Antibes, and his mood is reflected in his paintings from that period. The work produced in Antibes is unique to that period, but they are all done in a very evident Picasso style.

08/02/2019

Antibes is more of a resort town. However, it does have a charming Old Town with a few cute galleries. One notable attraction in Antibes is Fort Carre, which offers 360 degrees view of Antibes.

Fort Carré was commissioned by France's King Henry II in the second half of the 16th century, this fort was built for defense purposes, but was later used as a prison (Napoleon Bonaparte was briefly held here), as well as military barracks.

Another worthy attraction in Antibes is Picasso museum, which I will talk about in a separate post.

Complete French Riviera itinerary is available for sharing.