It’s been known as the Pleasure Dome, Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s Honeymoon Hideaway, the Alexander Residence and a cheesy illegal Elvis museum for decades. Designed by prolific Palm Springs mid-century architect William Krisel, the historic site has been brought back to its original glory and opened its oversized doors to the public for Modernism Week.

Built in 1960 for Helene and Robert Alexander of the Alexander Construction Company, Krisel designed a series of four interconnected circular pods, with his idea that “circles have no edge, you can approach them from anywhere.” Many original and dramatic features have been restored by Dan Bridge and partners at ABSea Development, including the terrazzo floors, windows, ceiling-mounted fireplaces and the custom circular sofa in the living room.

The local historic board has jurisdiction of the outside of the building, so anything that can be seen from the outside like the windows, roof, paint, hardscape and landscape must look original. Bridge and team meticulously combed through the Krisel archive at the Getty Center to replicate the original mid-century design.

Original pebble steps (Michele Stueven)

“We touched everything in this house,” Bridge told L.A. Weekly during a tour of the home. “The sewer lines, electrical, the walls were smooth coated and we replaced the 60-year-old roof. The kitchen now looks more like it did originally than when we bought it. It’s all been upgraded with gas burners and porcelain slab countertops from the ‘80s tile that was in there. The bathrooms are redone, and they’re modern and up to date.  We tried to keep with the style of the House of Tomorrow.”

The biggest issue was replacing the structure’s 69 windows, especially the iconic canted angle windows that look out from the master bedroom.

“Try to find a manufacturer that will make a window that is two and a half inches less wide on the top than it is on the bottom,” Bridge said. “Each and every one of them is customized, throughout the house. A national company made them and a local company installed them.”

Custom circular sofa in the living room (Michele Stueven)

There are four living spaces within four 12-sided polygons – living and dining rooms, master bedroom and bath, family room and service, children’s and guest quarters. The four 30-degree angled dodecagons rest at the four points, or two facing 45-degree triangles. Inner triangles comprise hallways and rooms connecting four main spaces.  There are three massive round corners in three of the living areas and the shape of the pool mimics the roof, creating an ascending orientation.

The House of Tomorrow was built in 1960 for Helene and Robert Alexander (Michele Stueven)

Original owner Robert Alexander is a local legend in his own right. He built the first modern tract in Palm Springs, Twin Palms, the Ocotillo Lodge Hotel and other homes in the Old Las Palmas neighborhood like the Lawford/Kennedy House, and partnered with Krisel on numerous projects. The House of Tomorrow became famous after the home and family were featured in an eight-page pictorial in a 1962 issue of Life Magazine. In 1967, Elvis Presley leased out the house to spend his honeymoon with wife Priscilla. Nine months to the day, Lisa Marie was born.

While Bridge wouldn’t divulge the total cost of the 21-month project, he could confirm that it cost $1 million more than he expected.

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As Irvine residents and others throughout Orange County enter the 2022 holiday season, there is no shortage of festive, live, local entertainment. Heading into December, the Barclay Theatre in Irvine will be staging The Nutcracker, alongside several other notable performances going into 2023.

Annual Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony
Saturday, Dec. 3, 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Irvine Civic Center
This annual celebration will make “snow” fall over Irvine! Come bring the family to watch the Christmas Tree lighting celebration, get a photo with Santa Claus, enjoy music, games and a winter-theme train ride under the stars.
www.cityofirvine.org

Hikari – A Festival of Lights
November 25 – December 30, 4:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
While Tanaka Farms will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, there’s still plenty of time to check out all the festivities. Tanaka Farms has installed more than 1 million lightbulbs of colorful Christmas lights for the 2022 season and offers two different options to view the lights, Chinese lanterns and other festive installations set up throughout the 30-acre farm.

Hikari is open every day from 4:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. The Holiday Wagon Ride departs at 4:30 p.m., and runs every 10 minutes with the last ride leaving at 8:30 p.m. Entry gates will close at 9:00 p.m.
www.tanakafarms.com/hikari

Pajama Party Movie Night
Saturday, December 10
The Great Park will host a Pajama Party Movie Night on Saturday, Dec. 10, as a part of Holidayz in The Park.  Registration opens Wednesday, Nov. 30.
yourgreatpark.org/holidayz

Holiday Pet Adoption Fair
Sunday, December 11, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Irvine Animal Care Center
Local animal care groups will be coming to the Irvine Animal Care Center to support the 16th Annual Holiday Pet Adoption Fair. There will be hundreds of dogs, cats and other animals like rabbits available for adoption. The event will also feature a bake sale, food trucks and art.
www.Irvineanimals.org/homeholidays

Irvine Barclay Theatre Performances

(Skye Schmidt)

 The Nutcracker presented by Festival Ballet Theatre
December 10 through December 24, 2022 — showtimes at 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
This full-length traditional production is choreographed and directed by Festival Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director, Salwa Rizkalla, and features world-renowned guest artists, FBT’s professional company dancers, and exceptional young talent from across the Southland.

In addition to the classic Nutcracker performance, the Festival Ballet Theatre has also announced the return of the pre-show Nutcracker Tea Party inside the Jade Room at the Barclay Theatre. The Tea Party celebrations will be hosted one hour prior to show time — 12:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.

Please note there will only be one tea party on the following dates:
December 11 (12:00 p.m.)
December 20 (5:00 p.m.)
December 21 (5:00 p.m)
December 22 (5:00 p.m)
December 23 (5:00 p.m.)
December 24 (10:00 a.m.)

Trio Barclay: Tchaikovsky and Arroyo
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, 5:00 p.m.
Irvine Barclay Theatre’s Ensemble-in-Residence, Trio Barclay, includes Dennis Kim on violin, Jonah Kim on cello, and Sean Kennard on piano.

Trio Barclay – Dennis Kim, violin; Johah Kim, cello; Sean Kennard, piano

Aaron Diehl Trio
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Aaron Diehl returns this season leading his own trio in a project showcasing his fluency in both classical repertoire and dynamic jazz improvisation. Part of Distinctive Experiences co-presented by Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the evening will feature Aaron Diehl on piano, John Webber on bass, and Aaron Kimmel on drums.

H.M.S. Pinafore by the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
“H.M.S. Pinafore” is as popular in the new millennium as at its premiere more than 100 years ago. With infectious tunes, broad comedy, imaginative staging, lively choreography, and beautiful costumes, this classic comedy still makes a modern-day splash. The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ production of “H.M.S. Pinafore” is musical satire at its best.

Cyrille Aimée
Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Having won the Montreux Jazz Festival Vocal Competition and the Sarah Vaugh International Jazz Vocal Competition, Cyrille Aimée has established his name in the top ranks of contemporary jazz. Now a native of France, living and working in New Orleans, Grammy-nominated vocalist Cyrille Aimée is being hailed as the new generation of jazz royalty.

Curtis on Tour: L’Histoire du Soldat (Soldier’s Tale)
Saturday, March 11, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Co-presented by Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” will come to life by way of a Curtis Institute of Music ensemble. The performance will also feature actor and narrator John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation), award-winning performer David Shifrin on clarinet, and prominent violinist Soovin Kim.

Alisa Weilerstein: Fragments
Sunday, March 12, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
“Fragments” is performed inside a space defined by fragmented wall pieces, re-framing the stage through mutable design that uniquely frames each selection with aspects paying respects to Bach’s Cello Suites.

Lighting cues shift the wall pieces in mood in response to each musical “chapter” that Alisa performs. “Fragments” is part of the Eclectic Orange series co-presented by the Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

Zakir Hussain: Masters of Percussion
Thursday, March 16, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
“Masters of Percussion” is an evening of drumming that crosses cultures and unites audiences in a dance of the heart performed by tabla virtuoso and Indian national treasure Zakir Hussain.

Swan Lake presented by Festival Ballet Theatre
Saturday, March 18 & 19, 2023
This beloved classical ballet is choreographed by Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and features world-renowned guest artists in the lead roles. Set to Tchaikovsky’s elegantly moving score, Swan Lake is the story of young Prince Seigfried and Odette, the Swan Queen, a young girl doomed to be a swan by day and a woman by night.

Nathalie Joachim: Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti)
Saturday, April 1, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
An evening of voice, flute, string quartet and electronics developed by Grammy-nominated composer/performer Nathalie Joachim, “Fanm d’Ayiti” is a celebration of iconic Haitian female artists and Joachim’s Haitian heritage.

Midori Plays Bach
Sunday, April 16, 2023, 3:00 p.m.
Midori has shared the stage with renowned artists for more than 35 years. Having collaborated with Leonard Bernstein, Yo-Yo Ma and many other celebrated names, Midori will bring her precision and unmistakable sound to the Irvine Barclay Theatre. This show is part of the Distinctive Experiences co-presented by Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.

Selected Shorts: Unchartered Territories
Saturday, April 22, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
The hit public radio and podcast series returns to Irvine Barclay Theatre with a program of spellbinding original short fiction performed by actors of stage and screen. Selected Shorts is broadcast on over 150 radio stations around the country, attracting over 300,000 listeners each week through the live show and podcast. Past performers have included Catherine O’Hara, Blythe Danner, and Tony Hale, among many others.

Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles & Villalobos Brothers
Friday, April 28, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles is America’s first all-female mariachi ensemble and will take the stage with Villalobos Brothers on April 28.

Christian McBride’s New Jawn
Saturday, April 29, 2023, 8:00 p.m.
Christian McBride is a seven-time Grammy-winning jazz bassist with more than three decades of experience. From jazz to R&B, McBrides breadth of talent has spanned many genres working with some of the most well-known names, including The Roots, D’Angelo, Sting, and Paul McCartney.

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The John Wayne Airport Arts Program has announced an open call for local artists to display their work inside the Thomas F. Riley Terminal Community Focus Space Program, beginning in March 2023.  

Artists can now apply for the solo-style exhibition via an application process, found here.

If accepted, Community Focus Space exhibitions will run for approximately one month. Exhibitions will be accessible to the public and departing passengers inside Thomas F. Riley Terminal at John Wayne Airport.

The airport has designated the TFR terminal for the Community Focus Space Program, which features local artists and community organizations, rotating every four to six weeks.

In April, the Community Focus Space showcased Portraits of Integrity by Dennis Carrie.

Applications can be submitted to John Wayne Airport no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 30. Artists will be notified by November 18. 

John Wayne Airport’s Arts Program is overseen by the Airport Arts Commission, which works to showcase museum-quality exhibits and also sponsors a yearly Annual Students Art Contest.

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Visitors to Variations of Place might think they are attending an exhibition at the former Irvine Museum (the predecessor of the Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, IMCA, on Von Karman Avenue, where the show is currently mounted).

Indeed, Variations of Place is IMCA’s first exhibition to display paintings exclusively from the California Impressionist genre from the late 19^th to early 20^th century. Janet  Blake, the curator of the show, previously Curator of Collections, Laguna Art Museum, explains in the didactics that the exhibition addresses California Impressionism as it evolved through artistic dialogue. She adds that the 22 artists in the show “shared a passion for Southern California with its Mediterranean climate and its geography – from ocean shores to valleys, the High Sierra to the deserts. With highly individualized styles informed by their education and experiences, these artists created a multifaceted genre rich with variation.”

Colin Campbell Cooper, “The Rustic Gate”, circa 1927. UC Irvine Institute and Museum of California Art, Gift of The Irvine Museum.

Looking back, the Irvine Museum, founded in 1992, was devoted to “this beautiful and important regional variant of American Impressionism [that] has come to be associated with California and its remarkable landscape,” according to its mission statement. Following the 2016 museum closing, IMCA – with its recently acquired Irvine Museum collection of over 1,300 pieces, and the Gerald E. Buck collection of 3,000 plus artworks – was established at UC Irvine.

Variations of Place, with paintings from the Irvine Museum and Buck collections, contains three dozen pieces by 22 artists who settled in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach and San Diego. These painters – including Franz Bischoff, Maurice Braun, Alson Skinner Clark, Colin Campbell Cooper, Anna Althea Hills, Joseph Kleitsch, Edgar Payne, Granville Redmond, Guy Rose, George Gardner Symons and William Wendt – used the light, broad brush strokes and pure, bright colors of their earlier French Impressionist counterparts. Yet they concentrated on the magic Southland light, along with nocturnal settings, to depict landscapes, seascapes and people.

Several paintings in the exhibition have been displayed in previous Irvine Museum shows. Nocturne by Granville Redmond (circa 1920) was featured in the museum’s Masters of Light, California Plein-Air Paintings 2002-03 show, which traveled to three cities in Europe. The dark blue painting of ocean, mountains and sky illustrates a dreamy moonlit night. His California Poppies and Lupine (circa 1926) is more recognizable, as it features the artist’s signature golden-hued poppies in a field of lavender, with trees and mountains in the background. Another well-known painting in the show, this one previously owned by the Irvine Museum and often exhibited there, is The Idle Hour (1917) by John Hubbard Rich. It portrays a young woman, exotically adorned, a large, flowered fan framing her profile.

Maurice Braun, “California Hills”, 1914. UC Irvine Institute and Museum of California Art, Gift of The Irvine Museum.

Conversely, Maurice Braun’s Bay and City of San Diego, or San Diego from Point Loma (circa 1910), from a private collection, is a rarely seen illustration of Point Loma, then devoid of most buildings and people that inhabit the area today. The painting reveals the hilly Point Loma peninsula, ringed by blue water with large puffy clouds imparting an ethereal aspect. Another rarely seen painting, Enchantment by Joseph Kleitsch (1922) from a private collection contains the artist’s detailed figuration of a brightly clad woman seated next to a stream and surrounded by stones and cliffs. Kleitsch’s Laguna Beach (circa 1923) is an overview of small buildings and trees, with canyons and sky in the background, before the city was built up as it is today.

Three paintings depict scenes from our beloved San Juan Capistrano Mission. Arthur Grover Rider’s From the Doorway, San Juan Capistrano (circa 1929) is a moody rendition of the mission, as seen from inside an arched doorway while looking out to a bucolic garden. Colin Campbell Cooper’s Mission Corridor, San Juan Capistrano (circa 1920) is also a scene looking out from within, yet with a longer view, revealing multiple arched passageways. Alson Skinner Clark’s San Diego Mission (circa 1922) presents a long outdoor view of the mission’s façade and porticoes.

Frank Cuprien, “Reflections of Evening”, 1940. The Buck Collection

Variations of Place features several seascapes and landscapes. Frank Cuprien’s An Evening Symphony (circa 1929) reveals a greenish-bluish tide rolling in on a misty day. His Reflections of Evening (1940) illuminates the afternoon sun glinting on the low tides as they lap at the shore. Guy Rose’s Incoming Tide (1917) illustrates the tide pools of Laguna Beach, a place that the artist often visited.

Autumn Glory (circa 1920) by Benjamin Brown is a magnificent autumn-hued landscape. Also displayed is California Hills (1914) by Maurice Braun, a classic look at our state before its extensive development. William Wendt (known as the dean of Southern California artists) is represented by two paintings. The House that Jack Built (1929) depicts several small homes against a hillside, possibly in Laguna Beach. His An Echo of the Past (1917) illustrates the side of an old, weathered mission-style building.

Charles Reiffel, “Spring”, circa 1928. The Buck Collection at UCI Institute and Museum of California Art.

Other classic SoCal landscapes in the exhibition include Franz Bischoff’s Alpenglow, High Sierra (circa 1918) of the snow-laced mountains; Edgar Payne’s Temple Crag  (circa 1920) of mountains above a High Sierra lake; and the magnificent Spring (circa 1928) by Charles Reiffel, of a farmer and horse amidst the desolate Southern California countryside.

Variations of Place: Southern California Impressionism in the Early 20th Century is on view through September 3, 2022. Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, 18881 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 100, Irvine. Tue.–Sat., 10 am–4 pm. 949-476-0294. Free. imca@uci.edu.

Edgar Payne, “Temple Crag”, circa 1920. The Buck Collection at UCI Institute and Museum of California Art.

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In L.A. Weekly’s recent Meet An Artist Monday, Art Editor Shana Nys Dambrot interviews artist and photographer Matthew Brandt. “Particularly enamored of the rough-hewn and storied lands of the American West, Brandt seeks to describe and transport the landscape’s histories, damages, and glories through his unique photo-based multimedia language,” writes Dambrot. “Brandt is always devising new ways to make all of this clear and inherent in his photographs — large-scale, often fantastically colored and evocatively textured landscapes and portraits — by means of labor-intensive processes from photography’s early days and sometimes physical artifacts of the sites where they were captured.”

Read more on L.A. Weekly online here. 

Meet Light and Matter Artist Matthew Brandt

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Phillip K. Smith III’s light-based public sculptures draw on elements of the Light and Space art movement, and on aspects of reflection, color, light and shadow, environment and change. They are installed throughout this country and beyond in outdoor landscapes, site-specific conditions, and as part of urban architecture. These groundbreaking works are inspired in part by Smith’s Light and Space predecessors, including Robert Irwin and James Turrell. Three of Smith’s recent sculptures can be viewed as maquettes at the Great Park Gallery.

The Light and Space movement, which originated in the 1960s, is Southern California’s response to the minimalist art movement, popular at that time on the East Coast. But it is much more, as it focuses on depicting sensory phenomena, especially light. Materials include glass, neon, fluorescent lights, resin and cast acrylic. Fabrication methods include technologies of the engineering and aerospace industries.

Adam Sabolick, co-curator of the “Phillip K. Smith III: Shared Light” exhibition and gallery assistant, adds that the nearby UC Irvine art department hosted Light and Space artists as faculty and students in the 1960s and 70s. In addition to Irwin and Turrell, Larry Bell, Ron Davis, Tony De Lap, Joe Goode, John McCracken and others taught there, while several UCI students and teachers crafted artworks from that genre while studying and working there.

Smith explains, “I think that the Light and Space artists were all in search of a deeper understanding of perception, a more real experience. There was a search for truth through light, perception, site, material, manufactured product, paint, and composition.”

He adds, “My ‘Shared Light’ exhibition focuses on the notion of art sited in the public realm. The greatest cities of the world have embraced the arts as emblems of their identity. Art in the public realm creates iconic visual experiences that positively bond people together around shared memories and shared spaces. The Great Park and Irvine is fertile ground for the siting of these kinds of influential, unifying art projects.”

To create his many public art projects, Smith employs his artistic and architectural training, along with his understanding of technology, and his inquisitiveness about new processes and materials. Before building each installation, such as a large window display, he constructs a maquette – a smaller scale model of the piece. Three of his maquettes are displayed throughout the gallery.

Each maquette in the exhibition is accompanied by several photographs of the original installation by photographer Lance Gerber. These photos document the light-based works, along with their interplay with the surrounding environment. Two installations in the show are depicted only through the photos.

“I’ve been working with Lance since 2013,” Smith explains. “He has photographed every single piece I’ve made. In my opinion, 99.99% of the world will view my work through photography and video. So the documentation of my work has to be as good as the real thing. Working with Lance has been a fun, rewarding, ongoing conversation. He understands my intent as a light-based artist and knows precisely how I want to visually share my work with the world.”

“Three Half Lozenges” (Photo courtesy of the City of Irvine)

The first maquette you will see at the Great Park is of the installation, Three Half Lozenges (2017-21) at the Newark (New Jersey) Museum of Art. The original piece with its multi-colored full-spectrum lighting is installed onto three historic double-height windows on the museum’s façade. It is constructed with LED lighting, electronic components and unique color choreography. Exhibition didactics explain, “Shifting from linear to rectangular to lozenge within gradating and full fields of color, the three half lozenge-shaped windows operate as a monumental light-based triptych at the scale of architecture.”

“Parallel Perpendicular” maquette (Photo courtesy of the City of Irvine)

Across the country in West Hollywood, Parallel Perpendicular (2022), made of steel, glass, LED lighting, electronic components and unique color choreography, is composed of five freestanding parallel and perpendicular planes. They reflect the movement of the sun during the day; at night they become floating fields of color creating a constantly changing composition. The installation also reflects the surrounding trees, bushes, buildings and sky, often bathing them with colored lights. Walking around the magnificent maquette of this piece at the gallery enables viewers to become part of it, to see themselves and others in it through various permutations and colors.

“The Circle of Land and Sky” (Photo courtesy of the City of Irvine)

Also in the Southland, The Circle of Land and Sky as part of the 2017 exhibition, “Desert X,” near Palm Desert, was composed of 300 mirror-polished upright reflectors. Emerging from the ground, angled at 10 degrees, the reflectors were placed in a large circle. They engaged and tracked the light, sky, mountains and atmosphere of the Sonoran surroundings as the light changed. This process was complemented by the viewers as they moved along and throughout the installation.

“Skybridge” by Lance Gerber

One of the more adventurous Smith installations is the Detroit Skybridge (2018), made of an existing skybridge, along with acrylic, aluminum, LED lighting, electronic components and unique color choreography. Connecting two important office buildings in downtown Detroit, Michigan, the 100-foot-long, 16^th floor bridge is at night a scintillating multicolored work, composed of shifting gradients and moving planes of light, merging art with architecture, and available for all viewers to see.

“Open Sky” (Photo courtesy of the City of Irvine)

In Milan, Italy, in the courtyard of the centuries-old Palazzo Isimbardi, Open Sky (2018) greets visitors. The multi-faceted semi-circular ring dominates the courtyard, mirroring the building’s intricate floor, its 16^th century architecture and the sky, while providing multiple reflections of visitors. Made of polished stainless steel, aluminum and concrete composite panels, it combines an abstract design with circular construction. It is in a constant state of flux, propelled by continual changes of light, day and evening, and by the viewers as they move along it. This installation’s maquette reveals how majestic the original sculpture is.

Smith explains, “There are moments of universal beauty, of shared experience, of discovering experiences that bond all of us together as human beings. Light is most often at the root of these experiences. It is these moments of beauty, purity, and universality that I am seeking to create.”

“Phillip K. Smith III: Shared Light” is on view through August 28. Great Park Gallery, Palm Court Art Complex, Great Park, Irvine; Thu. & Fri., noon-4 p.m.; Sat. & Sun., 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; free. cityofirvine.org/orange-county-great-park/arts-exhibitions.

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Artist and writer Scot Sothern first came to prominence during the 1980s, with the unique combination of photographs and stories in LOWLIFE — a project chronicling the lives and times of Los Angeles sex workers. Proving himself a fearless and unflinching chronicler of the challenging stories of society’s subcultures — including the one from which he personally escaped — in his long career in words and images, including in books and VICE Magazine, Sothern has pursued a compelling combination of controversy and empathy. His current exhibition and this week’s book launch at These Days gallery pair early, deeply personal work with a recent, politically charged series in visceral mixed media works that speak to an America grappling with change that is not always for the better.

Scot Sothern: FAMILY TREE 1975-80, Fun on Skates

L.A. WEEKLY: When did you first know you were an artist?

SCOT SOTHERN: I started out as a portrait photographer which was more about making a living than making art. I learned photography from my father who had a portrait studio in Springfield, Missouri. I became an artist in my early twenties when my work stopped looking like my father’s work and became exclusively my own.

What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?

Politics, sex, humor, rage.

What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?

Watching television and yelling at the screen.

Scot Sothern: The Girl with Opaque Eyes

Did you go to art school? Why/Why not?

I was a horrible student in high school. I had learning problems. I was rebellious and angry at the world and because It was the sixties I had an excuse to run wild. I did manage to graduate from high school but that was it for my formal education.

Scot Sothern: School Days

When was your first show?

I have a two-foot-tall box of rejection slips from galleries, museums, publishers, agents, and magazines. I didn’t get my first show until I was 60. Since then I’ve kept pretty busy.

When is/was your current/most recent/next show or project?

GENERATIONS is up now — extended until June 19 and with a book-signing reception on Saturday, June 11, 3-5pm — at THESE DAYS LA in DTLA. The show is twofold in that we have a series of vintage photographs and quick stories from the 1970s, FAMILY TREE, as well as a new series, IDENTITY, which I did during the pandemic. IDENTITY is made of 19th Century glass plate ambrotype photographs which I have disassembled and then reassembled with spliced-in images from my own files and/or found images.

Scot Sothern: Family Tree 1975-80, Knocked Up

What artist living or dead would you most like to show or work with?

Vivian Maier — who never had an exhibit in her lifetime — would be my first choice. On a more realistic note, Miron Zownir. Miron is a German photographer/artist/writer/filmmaker and he, like his work, is amazing. I generally don’t like to make comparisons and I hope Miron doesn’t mind, but I think of him as the Lou Reed of photography. We did a book together, HELL BENT, published by THESE DAYS and I think we could do a great show.

Scot Sothern: Rising Waters

Website and social media handles, please!

scotsothern.com

IG @scotsothern

FB @scotsothern

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On select Mondays, L.A. Weekly Art Editor Shana Nys Dambrot dives into the unique world that is the beautiful mind of the greatest artists of our time. Called “Meet The Artist Monday,” she recently had the honor of interviewing Guillaume Levy-Lambert; Co-Founder of The MaGMA Collection and Singapore’s Art Porters Gallery, Levy-Lambert is a fixture at museums and galleries globally and has introduced millions to his extraordinary artistic vision. The article focuses on the origin and result of a project that he holds near and dear to his heart: The 21 May 1962 Community. Described as “an artistic project that aims to connect people around the world that were born on this special day,” this so-called meeting of all Levy-Lambert’s Cosmic Siblings is worthy of a read. 

Read more on LAWeekly.com here.

Meet Cosmic Art Sibling Guillaume Levy-Lambert

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L.A. Weekly Arts Editor Shana Nys Dambrot tackles the mysterious world of NFTs and NFT art in her newest cover story The Future of NFTs is Female, Too. “Like it or not, understand it or not, the NFT-backed world of crypto art and visual culture on the blockchain has been a breakout story of Covid-era society; and there’s a lot of upside for artists, like enshrined authorship, economic stewardship, global audience reach,” she writes. Women, non-binary folx and POC are often underrepresented in sectors of society like NFT and digital art. However, dedicated and inclusive artists and community representatives have been working diligently, digitally, to prevent the “dreaded tech-bro patriarchy represented by Beeple and Bored Apes from taking hold in Web3 — working instead to ensure that the cryptoverse future is female,” explains Dambrot. To learn more about how the future of NFTs is female, dive into this wonderful explanation and exploration of how art, community and finance collide on the blockchain. 

Read more on LAWeekly.com here.  

The Future of NFTs is Female, Too

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The Earl Gordon Quartet is a gift to Orange County Jazz lovers, and a representation of UC Irvine’s superlative music department.

Comprised of four undergraduate students in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, the group was formed by Earl Gordon, a drummer/percussionist, formerly from the Philippines. He is joined by bass player Tyler Dukes from Paso Robles, saxophonist Mathew Nelson from Hawthorne, California, and by keyboard player Hime Ikehara from Kobe, Japan. While all the musicians are in their 20s, their playing is so well executed and sophisticated, that they sound as though they have been together for decades.

Each player brings to the group her/his unique background in music and life, as well as a strong perspective on the jazz pieces they perform. Yet together, they play the renditions seamlessly, choosing selections from classical jazz of the 1940s, 50s and 60s, to recent pieces from the 1980s and 90s.

Earl Gordon on drums (@VinceNealePhotography)

Drummer Earl Gordon, born and raised in the Philippines, grew up enjoying music, but as he explained, “recently got into jazz,” as he loves the artistic freedom and opportunities for improvisation that the genre affords. His creative aspects of playing were on display during the band’s recent performance of Paul Desmond’s Take Five (originally performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet), known in part for its extensive, toe-tapping drum solo. Earl practices the drums two hours every day.

Tyler Dukes began playing the bass at age 14, after being inspired by a Red Hot Chili Peppers piece, and has pursued the instrument ever since. As a bass player, he is trained to use his instrument to support the other quartet members, he explains, to help move the music forward. His musical heroes include Charlie Hayden, Ron Carter, Ray Brown, and especially UCI Music Department faculty member and veteran bass player Darek Oles.

Matthew Nelson grew up in the Hawthorne area of Los Angeles. His music-loving parents – his father is a gospel organ player – encouraged him to study the piano. Yet as a teenager, he became interested in the saxophone, and began practicing several hours a day. His heroes on the instrument include Dexter Gordon and Joshua Redmond.

Mathew Nelson on the saxophone (@VinceNealePhotography)

Hime Ikehara began studying the piano at age six in Japan, concentrating on classical pieces with private teachers… until she moved to Southern California to attend college. Before UCI, she attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa where she auditioned for a big band. She enjoyed playing with the band so much, especially its sense of freedom, the interaction with the other musicians and the opportunities to improvise, that she began exploring the jazz musical genre.

The four Earl Gordon Quartet performers describe the exhilarating experience of playing and performing with each other. They talk about the importance of observing each other’s body language, of cuing eye movements, of having musical conversations, and of being in the zone while playing. The players add that they don’t enjoy playing with musicians who have big egos and try to dominate the group.

Along with several local concerts, the quartet recently played three gigs at the Great Park Gallery to complement the exhibition there, “52nd Street, Jazz and the Photography of William Gottlieb.” The concerts were so well attended that at one event, many audience members were sitting outside on the Palm Court Arts Complex grounds. For their first concert, they concentrated on the Swing Era, performing Take the A Train, made famous by Duke Ellington, recorded in 1941 (regarded as one of the most important American musical works of the 20th century), and April in Paris (1955) by Count Basie. Their second show featured bebop selections, honoring the music of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, including his legendary Round Midnight (1943), among other renowned performers of that period. For their final concert, they played Take Five (at the request of a little boy who attended their previous performances), and recent selections by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. The quartet members agreed that the concerts were demanding, requiring a lot of practice, but were exhilarating and well worth the effort.

Tyler Dukes on the bass (@VinceNealePhotography)

As the Earl Gordon Quarter members will soon graduate from UC Irvine, the group will break up. Gordon plans to return to the Philippines for a year where he will explore the music scenes. Nelson, who has been teaching music at a Santa Ana High School, will continue this endeavor, while working in a music library. Ikehara plans to obtain an international student internship and teach piano. And Dukes will move to the East Harlem area of New York City to live with friends. He plans to get a day job – perhaps working from home in the IT field – while immersing himself in the Big Apple music scene and hopefully picking up gigs.

While Irvine and the larger Orange County will miss the Earl Gordon Quartet, the members are planning to spread their good will and the expertise they have gleaned from their musical mentors to disparate places in this country and abroad.

To contact Earl Gordon, please write to earlgordondrums@gmail.com. Hime Ikehara can be emailed at himeikehara398@gmail.com. And Matthew Nelson can be contacted at matthew.nelson.music@gmail.com.

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