.The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Snap Inc in "Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style."
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The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco house one of the most notable collections of 20th- and 21st-century women's costumes in the United States. This collection includes exceptional gifts of high fashion and haute couture from philanthropic women in the Bay Area. "Fashioning San Francisco," the inaugural exhibition in over 35 years to showcase the richness of the costume collection, will delve into the ways in which women's fashions have shaped and been shaped by the city of San Francisco.
San Franciscans have a rich history of early adoption of experimental dress, actively supporting and donning garments designed by those with a penchant for the avant-garde. A section of the exhibition will highlight Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, and Yohji Yamamoto, showcasing how these avant-garde creatives redefined conventional fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. "Fashioning San Francisco" will also delve into the contributions of Western designers who drew inspiration from the aesthetics of Asian, African, and other international cultures, addressing the contemporary discourse on cultural appropriation.
In paying tribute to San Francisco, "Fashioning San Francisco" will celebrate the women civic leaders, business owners, and public influencers of the Bay Area. The exhibition will spotlight their "power suits," symbolic of their instrumental role in shaping and constructing the city. Reflecting the distinct climate, terrain, and diverse aesthetics of San Francisco, these suits portray the city as a dynamic and empowering environment for confident women.
Using Microsoft Excel, Tatsuo Horiuchi, a Japanese artist, has depicted the intricate details of mountains, cherry blossoms, and dense forests.
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Using Microsoft Excel, 77 year Tatsuo Horiuchi, a Japanese artist, is creating delicate intricacies of mountains, cherry blossoms, and dense forests. The illustrator rejected investing in costly painting supplies or even opting for a basic drawing program on his computer. Instead he prefers Excel over Microsoft Paint, citing "it more functions and easier usability." How's that for creativity.
San Francisco Fall Show 2023
An exquisite San Francisco Fall Show Opening Night Gala took place at the Festival Pavilion of the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on October 11th.
This year's show invites to celebrate La Dolce Vita, the epitome of the Italian "good life." It's a call to bask in the pure pleasure of appreciating and collecting art, antiques, and design. From luminaries like Botticelli to Bertoia, Fellini to Fornasetti, Schiaparelli to Sottsass, La Dolce Vita embodies poetic beauty, awe-inspiring art, groundbreaking design, vibrant colors, and refined materials. Andiamo!
The 41st edition of the Show shows over forty international dealers, each offering an extraordinary array of fine and decorative arts spanning diverse styles and eras, encompassing American, English, Continental, and Asian furniture, decorative objects, paintings, prints, photographs, books, gold, silver, precious metals, jewelry, rugs, textiles, and ceramics. Dealers present pieces ranging from antiquity to the present day. The Show will features a popular series of book signings and lectures, with confirmed speakers including luminaries like Nina Campbell, Newell Turner, Jean Liu, Miguel Flores-Vianna, Brigette Romanek, Michael Diaz-Griffith, Noz Nozawa, William Li, Alfredo Paredes, and many more.
The 2023 Show's Honorary Chair is none other than Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer at Moda Operandi and Artistic Director of the Home Collection at Tiffany & Co.
October 14 – 17, 2021 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Thursday – Saturday 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sunday
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON’S CINDERELLA RETURNS TO SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
San Francisco Ballet's 90th Anniversary Season is featuring Christopher Wheeldon's adaptation of Cinderella©, with Sergei Prokofiev's score, opened on March 31st at the War Memorial Opera House and continuing until April 8th. Wheeldon's Cinderella takes a captivating twist on the well-known fairy tale, with the protagonist controlling her own fate after the loss of her mother, rather than relying on a fairy godmother or the stroke of midnight.
The production, inspired by the darker Brothers Grimm version of the story, boasts set and costume designs by Tony Award-winning designer Julian Crouch and San Francisco-native puppeteer Basil Twist. The dazzling end of Act I, which The New York Times describes as a "triumph of fantasy," is directed by Twist and features a tree growing from Cinderella's tears. With an enormous 197 roles and 370 costumes, including Cinderella's gold gown detailed with computer-printed feathers, the production is a co-production with Dutch National Ballet, and it premiered in the United States with SF Ballet in 2013 before touring the world.
Casting for Cinderella includes Soloist Isabella DeVivo in her role debut as Cinderella, while Principal Dancer Max Cauthorn also makes his role debut as Prince Guillaume. Additionally, Principal Dancer Isaac Hernández performs as Prince Guillaume for the first time with SF Ballet, having previously played the role at English National Ballet in 2019. Cinderella is Wheeldon's only full-length ballet for SF Ballet and one of the 15 ballets he has choreographed for the Company. The production was last performed at SF Ballet in 2020.
CALENDAR: Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 7:30 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm Friday, April 7, 2023 at 8 pm Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 2 and 8 pm
Rare and Unique Christmas Ornaments by Artist Rena Leinov
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Photography by occtop.us
Christmas tree ornaments are significant to families during merry day. They allow families to reflect on milestones and pastimes. Decorating Christmas trees is a popular holiday tradition across the globe. Every year, most families prioritize gathering together, sharing a meal, and making memories. They also decorate Christmas trees with glass ornaments, tinsel, lights, ribbons, and numerous other ornaments.
This year artist Rena Leinov introduces TheGulliverandCo collection of beautiful vintage, unique holiday ornaments handmade using spun cotton.
Made from organic cotton and cornstarch glue, these ornaments are light yet resistant. Hand-painted with acrylic and watercolor paints. Mica powder - a natural stone mineral - is added for that extra sparkle. Each piece made is one of a kind with unique character. Each collectible comes bundled up for the winter and ready in a box to keep or gift to your loved ones. When we asked Rena what is the most challenging part of making these ornaments, she said,
"The most challenging part of creating a figure is painting the face. Handpainting is what gives my figures personality, adding a small layer of lifelikeness and realism to each figure with distinctive touches."
This year Leinov's ornaments will be gracing the shelves at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, Bloomingdale's San Francisco and Gump's. But that's not it. The artist was invited to create The Ghost of Jacob Marley ornament for the 2022 Christmas Carol production at American Conservatory Theater, in memory of actor Ken Ruta who embodied the role of The Ghost of Jacob Marley for 14 consecutive seasons, but died this September due to post Covid complications.
The Ghost of Jacob Marley ornament for American Conservatory Theater San Francisco by Rena Leinov
In addition TheGulliverandco creates custom made ornaments that are designed to capture a photographic moment that can now decorate family Christmas tree. A perfect gift for your loved once.
Childhood photo and an ornament figurine of artist Rena Leinov .
TheGulliverandco
The history of Christmas tree ornaments
Christmas tree ornaments first originated in Germany in the 16th century. This tradition began when Germans started decorating evergreen trees using apples, commonly called paradise trees. The tradition was picked up by many people who started manufacturing various Christmas tree ornaments. The first ever manufactured ornaments were called baubles and were made by Hans Greiner. During this time, people would also decorate trees with candles, painted nutshells, wafers, and pastries with heart, angel, star, and flower shapes. According to history, Martin Luther, a great religious reformer, first introduced candle decorations on a Christmas tree. Today, people use numerous Christmas tree ornaments such as glass Christmas ornaments, porcelain Christmas ornaments, candy canes, Christmas stars, Christmas pickles, angels, etc.
Importance of Christmas tree ornaments
The culture of hanging various ornaments on Christmas trees has never stopped since it started long ago. This is because the ornaments have a special meaning and significance during the festive seasons as follows:
- Red Christmas tree ornaments symbolize the blood of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us.
- Bells placed on the Christmas tree branches symbolize happiness and joy during the merry day.
- Every Christmas tree tends to be decorated with lights that symbolize the significance of family love during the festive season.
- Ribbons symbolize family ties where all family members gather together to celebrate and share a meal after a whole year of busy routines.
- Stars signify the shining hope for better days ahead. It's a symbol of Bethlehem's star that guided wise men to see baby Jesus.
- Wreaths symbolize rebirth and eternal love.
A Hidden Self-Portrait of Van Gogh Was Found Behind The Artist's Other Work
Vincent Van Gogh often used both sides of the canvas because he was low in money and over the time the reversed works were discovered here and there. Recently the National Galleries of Scotland found the another of the gems.
"Moments like this are incredibly rare," Frances Fowle, senior curator of French art, said in a statement. "We have discovered an unknown work by Vincent van Gogh, one of the most important and popular artists in the world."
The discovery occured during an X-ray of an 1885 painting by Van Gogh, Head of a Peasant Woman.
"Hidden from view for over a century, the self-portrait is on the back of the canvas with Head of a Peasant Woman and is covered by layers of glue and cardboard," the museum said in a statement on Thursday.
Mona Lisa Gets Caked
Mona Lisa gets caked. Yes, this Sunday, in a stumt that went viral. “There are people who are destroying the Earth,” the man says in the video, speaking in French. “All artists, think about the Earth. That’s why I did this. Think of the planet.” The Mona Lisa is one of the Louvre’s—and the world’s—most widely-seen artworks.
Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love
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The career and legacy of Black fashion designer Patrick Kelly (1954–1990) is celebrated at deYoung museum in San Francisco. Patrick Kelly was born in Mississippi in 1954. Kelly learned sewing at a tender age, possibly through the help of his mother, who worked as a teacher, teaching home economics. Immediately after he graduated, Kelly moved to Atlanta, where he was employed in a thrift shop, which exposed him to a broad range of vintage designer clothes, which he would later modify into new, unique designs.
Patrick Kelly’s design career took a significant turning point after he moved to Paris in 1980. He got a chance to pursue his love for being a designer and exhibit his outstanding talent as a designer. With the help of his friend, photographer Bjorn Ameslan, Kelly established the Patrick Kelly Paris company in 1985.
1988 saw Kelly become the first-ever American to earn admission to the renowned Chambre du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des creatures de mode, where he ascended the status of a ‘creature .’The African American culture highly informed his designs.
The San Francisco exhibition’s sections and themes include the “Runway of Love,” highlighting the designer’s heart-shaped embellishments to his clothing, often composed from his signature buttons. As a child growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Kelly would often lose his buttons, which his grandmother replaced with those of many different colors, a look that Kelly later adapted for his fashion designs.
”Fast Fashion” includes designs that Patrick Kelly assembled quickly to sell on the streets of Paris after he moved there in 1979. He dressed his model friends in body-conscious knits, which they would wear around the city, becoming living advertisements of his vision. These dresses quickly caught the attention of an editor at French Elle magazine, which featured Kelly’s fashions in a six-page spread in February 1985, as well as the Paris boutique Victoire. His first collection was purchased by Bergdorf Goodman, who found Kelly’s designs fun, chic, affordable, and Parisian. The New York–based department store showcased them in a window display reserved for new designers
Kelly often incorporated humor to address serious issues in his designs, especially those pertinent to racism.
Unfortunately, Kelly succumbed to AIDS in 1990, aged thirty-five, and after having produced ten collections, which included a collaboration with Benetton.
