Art Talk

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 dance, theater, or a concert. But how many of you know about the museum tucked away down the hill from Royce Hall? I'm talking about the Fowler Museum, where savvy, adventurous Angelenos can find a variety of exhibitions about little-known arts and cultures...

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 figuratively, but literally, in bronze. If you are lucky enough to stumble upon the National Archeological Museum while wandering through Florence, you will never forget the encounter with one of its world-famous treasures, the life-size bronze sculpture of the Chimaera, the mythological creature that is part lion, part goat, and part snake. When it was unearthed in Italy in the 16th century, it immediately became a sensation and soon was installed in the Palazzo Vecchio, the residence of Cosimo I de'Medici...

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 documentary about Herb and Dorothy Vogel, the most beloved American collectors of the last half-century, whose unique and inspiring life devoted to art collecting earned them a well-deserved reputation as cultural icons...

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 while traveling. The first day back in LA, totally jet-lagged and exhausted from two weeks of stuffing myself full of art in Europe (oh, poor Edward...), I rushed to the Getty for the opening of the ambitious exhibition of three centuries of French bronze sculpture. It was full of fascinating objects, but my first impression of the exhibition was that the installation was slightly overcrowded – imagine a dozen larger-than-life generals in one room – I definitely need to see the exhibition again...

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 inaugural ceremony for the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam, the ambitious collaboration between the famous museum in St. Petersburg and its colleagues in the Netherlands? While two previous attempts at branding by the Hermitage Museum – first in London and then in Las Vegas – turned out to be short-lived, this latest and most ambitious venture, in a beautifully restored 17th century building in the center of Amsterdam, seems to have real staying power...

Sunday morning's ritual: a large cup of coffee and piles of newspaper

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 of the time there savoring the

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 their adorable girls on a stroll through the National Gallery, and I fantasized about the president deciding to bring contemporary artworks into the White House – not only into the living quarters, but the Oval Office as well.  What a great chance it would be to breathe new energy into the historic rooms, which have gotten a bit stale and could use a break from traditional images of cowboys roaming the Wild West...

President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame has gotten a lot of attention. I heard it on the radio

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 word you would use to describe what's going on there...