Every Picture Tells a Story at the new Lucas Museum

Posted on by Diversions LA

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art floats low on the Los Angeles skyline, hovering close to the ground, both cloud-like, as its architect Ma Yansong has described the 300,000-square-foot building, and not-dissimilar to a spaceship. The latter of course is most appropriate to the museum’s founder, George Lucas, who has brought joy and fun to all the Star Wars fans out there for decades. The museum is equally guided by Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson.

Now he has turned his attention from movie making to museum making. The result may not please everyone: his sole purpose is to portray narrative art, in other words, storytelling as visual art. He does not mind mixing genres, and he has very singular taste in which a Frida Kahlo is not that far from a Shepard Fairey or an R. Crumb or a Norman Rockwell.

The building, or rather two interconnected buildings with an oculus in the center and a massive greenspace spread behind it, is stunningly beautiful, and not entirely dissimilar from the higher physical profile of the new Geffen Gallery at LACMA. Both offer a circular navigation through galleries that curve rotationally in and out.

The elevators are glass capsules infused with light; the oculus offers a shiny beam at the center. There are long windows along the 4th floor main gallery space that offer city views and garden views, some more spectacular than others, with the east-facing windows showing the back of the Coliseum being the least appealing, and the garden view with its sculptures and varied levels of green, as well as rows of palms to the south, the best.

The museum’s focus is on making art of all kinds accessible and inspiring, and that idea is fully realized throughout the museum, including the first-floor gallery that adjoins the two large theater spaces. Titled The History of Narrative Art: Heroes • Myths • The Sacred, this gallery leads visitors through a wide world of visual storytelling. Visitors enter through a vibrantly illuminated photographic image of the Cave of Altamira in Spain, moving through other photographic recreations, some in 3-D rotation (as with The Goddess of Willendorf) to meticulously rendered physical recreations of famous works. Many of the reproductions were created by the museum in collaboration with institutions, sites and governments around the world, including Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia for the Aztec Sun Stone.

Among the photographic images and detailed recreations are some incredible original works, such as the predella panel from Tommaso Bernabei’s “Scenes from the Life of the Virgin,” and Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s “The Alchemist. ”

While some will take umbrage at the fact that there are genuine-article artworks intermixed with glowing photographic reproductions and recreations of originals, that is really the point. It is especially resonant for those of us who have ever worked in or been full fans of filmmaking: there are props that recreate an object; there are faux backgrounds that could be real but are not; there are real locations, and there are stage sets. And it is all storytelling. It all creates a masterful whole that draws the eye and stimulates the senses. This is the same basic approach that Lucas is taking here with high-resolution images and 3-D scans of original objects intermixed with original works.

Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

As to the jewel-box-perfect 299-seat Robert Flaherty Theater and Slavko Vorkapich Theater, these are designed to be continuous, gallery experiences in their own right, showing films ranging from a few minutes to 90 minutes, running a variety of film programming during the museum’s open hours. According to Lucas, visitors can drop in to screen as much or as little as they want, viewing old favorites or exploring cinematic images previously unknown.

The museum has five floors: on the second is a gorgeous, curving educational library with appealing reading tables and a view straight out to the 13 acres of public garden designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer.

That garden includes a collection of varied sculptures, including the commissioned Princess Leia Frees Herself from Jabba the Hutt by Mark Newman & Giovanni Nakpil which is the centerpiece of the upper garden level closest to the museum.
The third floor is administrative offices.

The fourth houses the main gallery space, along with a major section of the 5th floor which contains large-scale murals, with a specific emphasis on works by Banksy which were recreated by the artist himself for and at the museum. Also on the rooftop floor of the Lucas is the Skywalker Grill, which was not open at press time; the bottom floor houses a cafeteria-style café with an array of choices including a range of pizzas, noodle dishes, and even soft serve ice cream and churros. There is also a Starbucks.

If the café offers a wide variety of tastes, then the main galleries on the 4th level provides a great many more flavors of art. There are illustrations of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, luridly lovely pulp fiction and horror, political poster art, and the works of Maurice Sendak. There are original ink renderings of Garfield and Far Side cartoons, photography, and sculpture.

The latter category alone is varied and crowd-pleasing, including commissioned bronze pieces such as one of Indiana Jones, as well as brightly colored manga characters, Yinka Shonibare’s dazzling “Boy on Globe,” and Banksy’s ornamental lions “with added parts” indicating the demise of a trainer whose legacy is his discarded whip and top hat.

Of course there are a plethora of paintings, including galleries specifically devoted to Maxwell Parrish, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, and Jessie Wilcox Smith.

Other fabulous and famous works are intermixed by theme with close-to-complete-unknowns, a Renoir there, and the somewhat infamous painting of dogs playing poker there. Fernand Léger’s “Woman with a Cat” surprises as does a brilliant work by LA artist Narciso Martínez of Latino field workers.

 

Kadir Nelson’s sprawling, hyper-realistic canvases are on view as are works by Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera, along with Warhol’s “Howdy Doody” and Robert Colescott’s trenchant “George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook.”

Then there are costumes (the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz steals this category from Batman), and whetting the appetite of millions of Lucas fans, a gallery devoted to Star Wars props, costumes, vehicles, miniatures, and beloved characters including figures of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, and of course R2D2 and CP30. There is even General Grevious’s life-size Wheel Bike from 2005’s Revenge of the Sith.

This gallery will undoubtedly be a magnet to the public; many press attendees were gathered there, eager for the eye candy, while my associate and I were often alone in many of the other galleries.

There are 30 in all, broken primarily into themes, while others are devoted to specific artists. The themed galleries include those devoted to fantasy, romance, adventure, manga, history, cinema, family, work, motherhood, comics, graphic stories, love, community, school, play, sports, and photography.

On the 5th floor, the category is murals—from Banksy, JR, Diego Rivera, and Judith F. Baca’s “The History of California,” the latter presented as a riveting video installation that flows, appropriately enough, over an installation whose base is water.

The museum is inclusive and egalitarian in nature. Lucas and Hobson have made access free to those in the local zip code, making this a special place for lower income families in the neighborhood. The library, like the garden, is free to enter. Any child over the age of 12, with or without a museum ticket, is welcome in the library.

Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

In opening remarks, both Lucas and Hobson noted that the museum was initially conceptualized in Chicago and in San Francisco prior to its incarnation in Los Angeles, and Lucas acknowledged some controversy over his vision, calling himself a “contrarian.” Be that as it may, and regardless of how others may critique the mix of genres and the predominance of several artists in the couples’ voluminous collection, like Lucas’s movies before it, the museum is designed to bring pleasure to everyone. The storytelling focus is truly the basis of Lucas’s own auteur/collector’s vision: he is a storyteller, so naturally he is drawn to art that tells narrative stories, stories that are accessible and personally meaningful.

“The artists in this collection didn’t just create images, they connected our modern imaginations with our ancient emotions, with common beliefs creating community. Their work spans genres, media, and time,” Lucas says. “They deserve to be in a museum.”

Hobson adds that “We wanted a museum unlike any other — one that brings people from every walk of life through the same doors. That’s why this collection holds so many different kinds of stories: so that more people can walk in and, somewhere in these galleries, see themselves…”

Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

They will also enjoy themselves, learn to recognize art in many forms, and smile at many of the juxtapositions, at the cultural icons from Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Newman to the sweet watercolor animals of Beatrix Potter, a winter scene by Grandma Moses, or a photograph of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road or the stunning, renowned image of a young Arab girl.

Museum goers will see a poignant 1960s drive-in in the rain, a charming ‘”first day of school” farewell, as well as a resonant pairing of Rockwell’s bucolic 1958 “The Runaway” with its friendly policeman speaking to a small runaway white boy, with Richard Williams’ 2014 update of the painting’s theme, “The Militarization of the Police Department” in which a cop clad in riot gear leans over a young black child.

As author and journalist Mitch Albom said, “There’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face.” Or as Rod Stewart once sang, “Every picture tells a story, don’t it?”

And when we share those stories, we share our humanity, our hopes, and create emotional connection, building and sharing understanding, empathy, and—enjoyment.

And isn’t enjoyment what art is really all about? Even Michelangelo created the Sistine Chapel for his joy and that of the viewer, not for analysis as to whether each of its parts made a critically reviewed perfect whole.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis, except as credited to the Lucas Museum 

Graceful Watercolors: The Art of Claudia Kazachinsky

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Claudia Kazachinsky primarily works in watercolor, painting delicately nuanced beauty inspired by everyday life. Everything this prolific and passionate artist sees becomes an image she cherishes and often paints.

She says “from a flower I photograph on one of my walks to an interesting face or scene I happen to notice in a restaurant, museum, or while traveling… I think artists are always observing the world around them, and I’m no exception. I am an avid urban sketcher and almost always carry a sketchbook, a pen, and a small watercolor palette with me because I never know when I’ll come across something I want to capture. I consider myself primarily an observational artist, painting what I see, but I also love to let my imagination take over. ”

According to Kazachinsky, she often adds “whimsical elements, rich textures, expressive backgrounds, and handmade printed paper collages that bring another layer of interest and storytelling to my work. While my paintings begin with real-life observations, they often evolve into something that reflects not just what I saw, but how I experienced the moment.”

She began painting when she was a small child and never stopped. “Art has always been a part of my life,” she attests. “I can honestly say that my style has continually involved.”

When she began to paint regularly ten years ago, she relates that she worked “almost entirely from observation,” describing herself as more timid with her art. While today she still begins her work by painting what she sees, now she is more willing to “let my imagination take over” and introduce “unexpected elements, textures, and patterns that make each painting uniquely my own.”

The artist describes herself as a “fast, loose painter” and notes that her current challenge is learning to “slow down and pay closer attention to detail. I especially love painting portraits and the human figure, although it took me a long time to become confident with them. As the saying goes, it’s ‘all about the miles on the brush. Every painting has taught me something.”

While she says that her first love is and always will be watercolor, she also enjoys working in mixed media. In regard to watercolor, she explains that “Most people don’t realize that it’s actually one of the most difficult mediums to master. I love its
spontaneity, its fluidity, and the luminosity of its colors. There is something magical about watching the paint move across the paper, creating effects that can’t be completely controlled.”

When it comes to mixed media she says that she jokes about throwing “everything at the canvas but the kitchen sink. I enjoy experimenting with texture, collage, handmade printed papers, and anything else that adds depth and interest to the work.”

Kazachinsky has even returned to a past love of oil painting, rediscovering her enjoyment of the medium. ” Unlike watercolor, oil forces me to slow down. The longer drying time gives me the opportunity to step back, rethink, and refine my paintings,
something that has been an important part of my growth as an artist.”

Over the years, her work has changed most dramatically in terms of thematic focus, having initially spent many years painting portraits. “In 2019, while visiting Washington, D.C., we happened to stumble upon the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition exhibition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Standing in those galleries, I made a promise to myself that one day I would submit my own work to the competition…it has motivated me to keep learning, growing, and becoming a better portrait painter with every brushstroke.”

That said, Kazachinsky creates dynamic floral works and delightful images of animals as well.  And while she describes portraiture as her “greatest passion” she also enjoys plein air painting that allows her to “observe light, atmosphere, and color in a way that continues to influence all of my work.”

Her current exhibition at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery in Manhattan Beach represents “the largest body of work I have had
the opportunity to showcase,” but the artist continues to be an integral part of multiple group exhibitions around greater Los Angeles.

Kazachinksy spent nearly 35 years as an interior designer while continuing to paint throughout her career. That experience gave her “a unique perspective on how art transforms a space and how the right piece can completely change the feeling of a home.”

She loves to assist collectors and designers in sourcing artwork and placing it. “Choosing art isn’t simply about finding something that matches the sofa—it’s about selecting pieces that speak to you emotionally while also considering scale, proportion, placement, and how the artwork interacts with the architecture and furnishings around it.”

She feels that some people are intimated by the act of buying original art simply because they don’t know enough about it. “My goal is to make that process enjoyable and approachable. Art should move you first and foremost, but when it is thoughtfully
chosen and beautifully displayed, it has the power to elevate not only a room but the way you experience your home every day.”

Viewers can let Kazachinsky’s art elevate their lives at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery through August 30th. The gallery is located at 1069 N. Aviation Blvd. in Manhattan Beach. A gallery hop with other area galleries will take place August 22nd 12-3; the exhibition will have a closing reception and artist talk on the 30th from 1-3 p.m. along with fellow exhibiting artists Jeffrey Sklan and Angelica Sotiriou.

  • Genie Davis; photos provided by the artist and by Davis 

Chromatic Wonder and Pitch Perfect Composition: Photographic Artist Jeffrey Sklan

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From faces to flowers,  Jeffrey Sklan is a photographic artist who makes his visions bloom. The artist says that implausible or not, “almost everything inspires me at this point. I have set it up that way. First, the obvious: unique light and beauty surrounds us in Los Angeles. I watch almost every sunrise and every sunset. There is an endless cascade of interesting faces and talented people to observe and create portraiture with.”
Sklan notes that past perceptions are coming to the forefront for him as an artist today. “Increasingly, ideas that had their roots in a moment or season years ago have been providing inspiration. It is not nostalgia, it is perspective. And that can only come with time and distance. Revisiting the work of  artists who contributed to my aesthetic is a bottomless well. Likewise, the young artists with whom I collaborate or envy– so many talented people are doing beautiful and thoughtful work.”
On the same subject, it is no accident that his work seems to provide an almost musical catharsis for the viewer. It’s a visual soundtrack to joy and existence. “Music is my wellspring for emotional content,” Sklan attests.
The artist’s work has gone through many changes over the years. “For the past ten years or so, I deliberately have tried new things, new techniques, and reworked the classical portraiture styles that are my foundation. My preference is still simple, unaffected portraiture or botanicals. But, I consciously take different roads to get there and to avoid getting stale,” he explains. “Stasis is death for creativity.”
According to Sklan, he works in medium format cameras. “Mostly they are digital but film is still important for certain instances. I don’t care about the gear or the technology – the priority is actualizing my intuition.”
He is deeply involved in many upcoming projects. “I’m very excited about the next few books that are in varying stages of layout – and sharing them with a (hopefully) wide audience. Restarting my artists’ portrait project is a priority, also. Later in autumn, I will be returning to a botanical project and building out a dedicated space for it. I need to find a representative that can keep up with me,” he stresses.
Sklan describes his work as “originating in my heart, which is is my north star. Hopefully, it both resonates with others and finds new homes. Art is like a favorite meal: best when shared, not when hoarded.”
Come feast and share the artist’s stunning botanicals at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery August 1st through 30th. Opening reception is the 1st from 4-7; regular gallery hours are 12-4 Sunday-Thursday, and the closing reception will be held August 30th from 1-3. Stay tuned for information about a book sale and signng for the artist as well.
– Genie Davis; images provided by the artist

Angelica Sotiriou Creates Spiritual Wonder in Deeply Layered Art

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Deeply wondrous, luminous with light, and shimmering with meaning, Angelica Sotiriou’s art touches the eye, heart, and soul of the viewer. Her work embodies a sense of spiritual presence, generating a collective awe in those witnessing her paintings, drawings, and mixed media pieces.
According to Sotiriou, “My work has always come from the deepest place of my prayer life. Be it finding beauty in the world or the darkness that invades our good intentions, my works take the sacred and secular and use them to create my abstract narratives.”
Her sense of purpose and meaning has not changed over the years, even as her techniques or mediums shift. “My works have not deviated from my internal focus of one’s life journey. I started out painting, using other-worldly, intensely brilliant color transparencies on canvas. I continued with creating bigger than life handmade paper bas-reliefs, dealing with the  plight of young womanhood and the spiritual journey of transfiguration,” she says. And in the meantime, she notes that she’s “always loved [the] energetic movement of soft graphite on large sheets of rag paper. Early in my career, they were autobiographical abstracts. These works eventually evolved into spiritual landscapes with the focus on the visceral search for Light.”
Today,  the artist has combined these techniques and mediums, shaping thematically imagined landscapes. She relates that she is “still searching for Light…still energetic…still [creating] larger than life narratives.  Thematically, I have attempted to meld the secular and the sacred in each new work using mixed media.”
Asked which mediums she prefers, Sotiriou says that she loves “the energetic line work of soft graphite, acrylic brushwork, interference pigments, transparencies and I have incorporated the line work into my subtle mixed media painterly abstract narratives.” She wants viewers to “look long enough to see the multiple layers of dark to light pigment, water soluble graphite, and interference pigments” that make up individual works.
Sotiriou’s newest works “deal with the notion of longing for home and the familiar, our earth as home, stewardship, the sacred, the secular and the ache that comes from wanting to go home to a place that may not have ever existed.”
As profound as it is beautiful and involving, Sotiriou’s stunning art will be on view at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery in Manhattan Beach,  August 1st. In September, she will be sharing another large body of her work at Kipos Gallery/Trinity San Pedro, as well as several works at the Pacific Unitarian Gallery in Palos Verdes. In November, she’ll be showing some work at “Art At Dark”,  St. Katherine GOC, Redondo Beach.
The artist has been creating her powerful work for 56 years, and for each of those years, she says that her images have asked “my viewer to sit with them for more than a few moments and to explore the layers of marks and pigments, to tap into the energy of the compositions and to explore where their own sensibilities reside in each work.” She adds that “There is a narrative in each work; if you listen close enough you will find your answer.”
For all those seeking answers, or simply the beauty of life itself, visit the artist’s exhibition of both large scale and small works at Diversions Fine Arts Gallery, 1069 N. Aviation Blvd. in Manhattan Beach. Opening reception is 4-7, August 1st; regular gallery hours are 12-4, Thursday-Sunday.
– Genie Davis; photos provided by the artist