Pasadena Part II: Norton Simon Museum

After the the Vinyl Toy Network show, we went to the Norton Simon Museum to see the Marcel Duchamp Redux exhibition.

I took a few pictures out front of the Barbara Hepworth sculpture Four Square (Walk Through) and some of the Rodin sculptures. Dan helped by making the sculpture of Saint John the Baptist suitable for family viewing.

We went to the Duchamp exhibit first. It was smaller than I expected but they had some good pieces on display. They had a set of four "rotoreliefs" that were best viewed in person. These were motor driven turntables that rotated an image to give the impression of a form in movement. I had seen the still images in books (such as the fish in a pond) but it was good to see them in motion. I also enjoyed Boite-en-Valise which was a collection of some of his works (including The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even/The Large Glass) in miniature.

Next we went through the 19th century gallery because Mike prefers the older works of art. We also saw the Mallol Miniatures exhibit. It was interesting to see these smaller pieces after seeing his much larger sculptures in the garden.

We stopped in the museum store to see if they had a book on the Duchamp exhibit. There were books on Duchamp and DADA but nothing specific for the show. I got a post card of Duchamp as Rrose Selavy and some cool goldfish magnets. On the way out I got one last shot of Rodin’s Monument to Balzac.

The Magic Castle

Last weekend Dan and I were invited to visit the Magic Castle by friends. None of us had been there before so we were not sure what to expect. The Magic Castle is a private club and you need to be a member or get guest card from a member. They also have a strict dress code.

We arrived about a half an hour before our dinner reservations so we would have some time to look around. The Magic Castle is in a large Victorian house and is decorated with antiques and magic memorabilia. There is a piano playing ghost who takes requests. Other haunted elements are portraits with eyes that seem to watch you and a table in one of the bars that mysteriously rotates when you set your drink down.

Dinner was served in the elegantly decorated dinning room. The meals were good and filling (especially the Chicken Marsala and the Crème Brulee!) Some people had birthday celebrations there and a cake was brought out by a wizard.

After dinner we went to see some of the magic shows. The First was the main show in the “Palace of Mystery”. The show featured two magicians and a ventriloquist. The second show was in the “Parlour of Prestidigitation” (I just love that name!) The show featured the magician that our friends knew. The shows were very entertaining and the performers excellent.

The last stop on the way out was the gift shop. Dan and I purchased some souvenirs to commemorate our visit. We all enjoyed our first experience at the Magic Castle.

Culture Trip

Today Dan and I went to the Pasadena Museum of California Art. They have some interesting exhibitions that are showing until January 6, 2008.

In the Main Gallery was Beyond Ultraman: Seven artists explore the vinyl frontier. This was a collaboration with the Los Angeles Toy, Doll, and Amusements Museum and featured the works of seven contemporary artists. The collection consisted of vinyl and plush toys as well as drawings, paintings, and photographs. There was even a small section on vintage vinyl toys.

In the Side Gallery was California Colors: Benjamin Chambers Brown. There was a lovely collection of California landscapes painted in an impressionist style.

In the Project Room was an installation by Susan Silton titled Inside Out. It was set up like a store with various striped items for sale. It was very colorful!

The Back Gallery had an exhibit on an artist named Jess. The collection consisted mainly of collages with drawings and paintings in various mediums. We didn't spend much time in there as the light was dim so it was hard to read the descriptions of the artworks.

We purchased the books for the Beyond Ultraman and the California Colors exhibits, a LATDA t-shirt, and Spider Baby Boom figure. The figures are in boxes so you don't know which figure is in the box until you open it. The one we got is in the second photo at the top. His name is Softyboom.

A visit to the zoo.

Earlier today Dan and I visited the Los Angeles Zoo. They have these cool molding machines, Mold-A-Rama, that make neat little plastic sculptures. I got the Three Chimpanzees model. They have twelve other designs so I will go back and try to collect the others. Oh yeah, we saw lots of animals too!