It’s really nice to be home after ten days on the road, but the College and the Arts trip with Eli was fantastic. Here are some highlights and pointers from the trip.
Laguna and Los Angeles
school: UC Irvine
hotels: 14 West and Palomar Los Angeles
arts: LACMA
highlight: visiting Bob and Espie in Topanga
special thanks to: Louise Schlegel and Carter Jones
San Francisco
school: UC Berkeley (Cal)
hotel: Palomar San Francisco
arts: The Elias String Quartet
highlight: the berkeley tour with Jonathan
special thanks to: Jacob and Jonathan
The Elias Quartet
Fossils and Bells at Berkeley
Colorado
school: Colorado College (Eli’s favorite by far)
hotel: Garden of the Gods
arts: um, well, grappa?!
highlight: hanging out with Pier and Debra
special thanks to: Pier and Debra for the hospitality
NCMA has a fantastic collection, particularly if you get a tour thought out carefully in advance by a serious curator. Thanks Francesca for producing the apex of our college and the arts tour.
NCMA Spring blue
Francesca
The tour started with early artifacts from Egypt, Rome, and the Renaissance, through the lens of human cognition, psychology, medicine, and psychosis. The arts are a necessary salve for the human condition.
Each picture has a story
Look closely, the moon is waxing.
Beware: your head may explode, smolder, or otherwise smoke
Fingers out of control
hilarious
eerie
The Blue Dancer is somewhat of a nexus. Ahead of its time and forgotten. Also see this book.
Oh no!
Eli will save you. Eli will possibly save us all.
In the end, it is all information in space and time. Without negative space, there is nothing. More than this, there is nothing.
Colby College is pretty much set up for college and the arts. The largest art museum in Maine (with a very nice collection) is located right on campus.
It is not yet Spring (in April) at Colby College
Colby College Art Museum
College and the Arts Perfection
Even the lobby has art
This is not Kandinsky. Painted at the same time tho.
My cousin Pier was supposed to be in charge of art while we were in Colorado.
Sure, I can do art!
We did have a delightful dinner on Pearl Street in Boulder. And even some gelato. But we had to make our own art, because Pier thought we wanted to purchase a doodad or craft??! Crazy Italians.
Monday night in college and the arts land it was Beethoven. We went to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco to hear the Elias String Quartet play three Beethoven Quartets. For more on what this fantastic quartet is doing, also see the beethoven project.
Jacob, Jonathan, and Eli enter a church
St Mark’s Lutheran Church
The Elias Quartet
The music was sublime and moving. Wow. Listen.
Sara Bitlloch, violin
Donald Grant, violin
Martin Saving, viola
Marie Bitlloch, cello
From Beethoven String Quartet in F minor, Opus 95 “Serioso” (3rd movement)
Beethoven String Quartet in F Major, Opus 135
Allegretto
Vivace
Assai lento, contante e traquillo
Grave, ma non toppo tratto; Allegro
Beethoven String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Opus 131
Today, nature was our art. We drove from downtown Los Angeles up 101 to San Luis Obispo, had some fantastic pizza, and then hit CA Route 1 to Santa Cruz. Mesmerizing. Gorgeous.
College tours are boring. Art is not. So to make a great trip out of looking at a bunch of colleges, what you do is add art every day.
On #collegeandthearts tour with #2, we’ll document the arts part here.
Not in Kansas
Stop one was UC Irvine, which being near LA means a visit to the LACMA right in the middle of town. LACMA hack of the year: bring a minor under 18 and get in free.
We spent our cash on a refresher at the Stark bar instead.
12 mile limit at Stark Bar LACMA
Eli and Kandinsky
Kandinsky
Kandinsky
Who knew that lumber could dance?
One view of LA from the LACMA
Feeling inspired, we headed to Topanga for dinner.
