Art Talk

If you have the slightest interest in the art of photography or fashion, you will undoubtedly recognize the name Irving Penn, whose artistic achievements have had a major influence on the contemporar…

So, how was your Labor Day? Myself, I'm never sure what's the proper thing to do on this holiday – to honor it with an honest day of work or by taking it easy. Even here in Santa Monica it was hot, s…

Five flights, four cities, two countries – not too bad for a one-week trip, eh?  It was my first trip to Canada, where I spent three days in Toronto and two in Ottawa, followed by even shorter visits…

Truth be told, I haven't yet seen any of the five exhibitions that I want to tell you about today – though I'm still hoping to catch one of them in New York, and another, if luck is on my side, in Fl…

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...You are probably packing for a trip and looking for a book to read, so here's my suggestion: the recently published collection of essays by Los Angeles art inside…

There were four of us on this warm Friday night; blankets under our arms, plastic bags full of snacks; we were walking down a nondescript stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard after a seemingly endless s…

I wonder how many of you would raise your hands if asked, "Who has been to a performance at UCLA's Royce Hall?" I wouldn't be surprised if most of you have been there on a number of occasions to see…

What would you say if a nightmare that woke you up in a cold sweat could be described in the most terrifying detail to a great artist who would be able to recreate it in bronze...and I mean it not fi…

For those looking for an excuse to step away from the media obsession with Michael Jackson – and the Sarah Palin sideshow – here's a good chance to do just that: go see the irresistibly charming docu…

Immediately after coming home from a trip abroad, I like to check out what's happening on the art scene here in my own town, to see if it holds up against the great variety of art adventures I had wh…

It's been only a couple of months since my last trip to Amsterdam, so there better be a good reason to return so soon for yet another visit. And how could I say no to an invitation to attend the ina…

Sunday morning's ritual: a large cup of coffee and piles of newspaper spread out all over my bed. Then, out into the world to the farmers' market, with its abundance of color, texture, and taste. The…

Let me come clean. Every time I visit the Metropolitan Museum, I skip the galleries displaying American art, and until recently, it was the same with the Huntington in San Marino. I would spend most …

On Inauguration Day, four months ago, I talked about the dream I had for what our new president could accomplish if he decided to become a champion of art.  I imagined Barack taking Michelle and thei…

President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame has gotten a lot of attention. I heard it on the radio and watched it on TV and was impressed by his eloquence. But when I saw on the front page of…

For good, normal folks who might go to a museum only once in a while, museums present themselves in a stately, unhurried, dignified manner.  But if you peer behind the curtain, 'calm' is the last wor…

In last week’s program I asked you for advice: ‘To Tweet or Not to Tweet...’ and respond you did – with humor, sarcasm, and good straightforward advice.  To read all the responses posted, visit the A…

Looking back at the past thirty years, I see the pattern of my initial reluctance to embrace the technology of the modern world.  First, I had to learn to drive a car, though some of my friends tell …

It's unbearably hot even here, in Santa Monica, near the beach. Damn those Santa Ana winds. To survive, I need to think and talk about something cool. How about this? A stone's throw from Venice Beac…

Compared to a journalist covering the disintegration of the international financial system or reporting from the battlefield in Afghanistan, there is an obvious advantage to being an art critic. Afte…