The Arts in Metro Richmond

[Brent]

The VMFA FAR exceeded my expectations. The part of the new wing that faces the sculpture garden is particularly stunning. It is a place that feels appropriate for a city the size of Minneapolis, Denver or Atlanta. I noticed some new pieces that were really great too. I’m going back today to check it out again and will try to focus more on the collection than on the building itself. I’m also taking my camera. The photos supplied by the RTD just aren’t showing how nice the building and its setting are.

[burt]

The VMFA FAR exceeded my expectations. The part of the new wing that faces the sculpture garden is particularly stunning. It is a place that feels appropriate for a city the size of Minneapolis, Denver or Atlanta. I noticed some new pieces that were really great too. I’m going back today to check it out again and will try to focus more on the collection than on the building itself. I’m also taking my camera. The photos supplied by the RTD just aren’t showing how nice the building and its setting are.

I just received an e-mail saying "Prepare to be WOWed!

Please post your pictures here, Brent.

Thanks.

[Brent]

I took more than I expected (they are a bit out of focus too, some moreso than others) so i don't want to upload them here but follow this link to them

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=677390365&ref=profile#!/photo.php?pid=12202803&id=677390365&fbid=10150171023000366

My profile is public so there should be no problem for anyone to view them.

[burt]

I took more than I expected (they are a bit out of focus too, some moreso than others) so i don't want to upload them here but follow this link to them

http://www.facebook....150171023000366

My profile is public so there should be no problem for anyone to view them.

I'd like to see your VMFA pix Brent but I'm not on facebook. Is there any other way to view some of them?

It is reported that more than 30,000 visited VMFA during its previews and opening last week.

[Brent]

I don't think that you have to be a member to view a FB page, do you? I really don't know... Did you try the link?

I'll upload some of the photos to here but I'll have to load them to photobucket first so it may take a while.

[Brent]

Notice the new, working door…

[burt]

Thank you Brent for the great set of VMFA photos posted immediately above. They provide vistas of the museum not seen elsewhere in this thread.

Here are my brief comments:

Picture #1. A wonderful exterior shot of the west side of VMFA showing the reflecting pool and patios of the new restaurants -- BEST on the ground level and AMUSE above with its canterlevered decks.

Picture #3. A view of the Leaping Rabbit poised in front of the 40 foot glass window on the eastern side of the building overlooking North Boulevard. It is claimed that the glass panel is the largest unsupported pane in the world.

Picture #4. Looking north, this shows the three walkways on different levels connecting the Museum to the 600-space parking deck. The sloping earthern mound is in the process of being terraced from the roof of the garage to the Sculpture Garden which, when completed later this year, will be the fourth largest in America.

Picture #8. Looking west from the third level into AMUSE restaurant. The white building in the background is the former Daughters of the Confederacy Retirement Home and now contains museum administrative offices. It has stood-in for the White House in several major films shot in Richmond.

Picture #11. Another view of the western wall of the building with dining patios and reflecting pool.

Picture #13. What is the function of the six vertical pylons on the rooftop of the new north entrance?

Picture #15. This is the original 1936 museum facing North Boulevard at Grove Avenue. The newest expansion is to the right (north) of this building and can be seen in piicture #14 .

Not seen in any of the photos are the two or three glass enclosed elevators that whisk visitors between various levels.

[burt]

Saturday, May 22nd will be a somewhat bizarre evening at The Carpenter Theatre. The Richmond Symphony in an effort to raise funding to compensate for lost state and local contributions, will show off celebrities conducting the orchestra.

The one-time conductors are a folk singer; a velvet-voiced classical music radio dee jay; a baseball team mascot; a Baptist pastor; the Mayor of Richmond (also a pastor), and no less than Miss America who is on sabbatical from VCU.

Host of the evening will be a local TV news anchor.

Read their true identities in this story from today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...-224202/345704/

[burt]

Manchester, a/k/a Dogtown for reasons unknown to me, has its own performing arts space. The Ground Zero Dance Company has taken over and totally renovated the gymnasium of the former Bainbridge Junior High School.

The school building which, as I recall from my youth was quite visible from Cowardin Avenue, was demolished some years ago. But the gym was in a separate building at 109 West 15th Street and it is that structure which is the subject of this Richmond dot com story:

http://www2.richmond...-open-business/

Check out these websites for detailed info on the building and the dance company:

http://www.dogtowndancetheatre.com

(click on "about the theatre.")

http://www.groundzerodance.org

[burt]

The Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibition, VMFA's first big-ticket blockbuster, opens Saturday, May 29th and will be on display until August 15th.

Also, a Tiffany stained glass window which was installed in All Saints Episcopal Church when it was built in the 300 block of West Franklin Street will become part of Virginia Museum's permanent collection. All Saints was built between 1898-1901. It was demolished and replaced by the Berkshire Apartment building in the 1970's.

From Roy Proctor in today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/entertainment/theatre_arts/article/S-TIFF23_20100519-181209/345537/.

[burt]

This is a great story in the current Style Weekly by Don Harrison about the carilloner who plays the bells in the stately World War I Memorial Tower in Richmond's Byrd Park.

http://styleweekly.c...F28EC3057EA1071

And here are some exterior shots of the Carillon tower from The Historical Marker Database web site which I found on Google.

Scroll down and note that in Pictures #3 and #4 the plot below the tower was intended to be a reflecting pool. Unfortunately, the reflecting pool never became a reality.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=22492

[burt]

The theatre in The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is operational and being used again after the shut down of Theatre Virginia some years ago.

Last night, in cooperation with VCU, the VMFA launched a series of themed commercial films. The current program is "southern related" movies. It began with "Fried Green Tomatoes" and offered a talk-back with one of its actors. The next feature will be a southern film by the Coen Brothers.

I was told by my source that the theatre still looks as good as in the old days, although the Green Room has disappeared and is now a backstage hallway; and apparently, the dressing rooms have been used recently by museum security personnel and are a bit disheveled.

There is no plan to reintroduce live theatre on the stage, but a program similar to the Fast Forward music and dance presentations of yore may be revived.

[burt]

VMFA officials and spokespersons are tight-lipped about the possibility of a major Picasso exhibition at the Virginia Museum beginning in February. On loan from Musee National Picasso in Paris, the artist's work will go on display at Seattle Art Center in October after which it is anticipated the exhibit will move to two more American cities before returning to its newly renovated home in Paris.

This speculative story is from the current Richmond Style Weekly:

http://styleweekly.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=07DA43459F0248B7AFA209F904C9375E

[burt]

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has installed Jun Kaneko's enormous sculptures as its first major exhibit in the new E. Clairborne and Lora Robins Sculputre Garden.

Roy Proctor, former arts and theatre writer for The Richmond Times Dispatch, has contributed excellent coverage in today's RTD.

Be sure to click the slideshow in the "Related Links" box.

http://www2.timesdis...fa01-ar-353600/

[burt]

If you scroll down this VMFA website to the box on the left headed "Jazz Cafe + Friday Films" you'll see "Prairie Home Companion" listed.

I point it out because I don't think many are aware of the Friday night movies shown in the Leslie Cheek Theatre. This great playhouse was originally known as The Virginia Museum Theatre and, while not widely publicized, the venue is once again being used on a limited basis.

Besides, who wouldn't want to see Merle Streep?

http://www.vmfa.stat...us/Default.aspx

[burt]

Edwin Slipik and photographer Scott Elmquist, have done a comprehensive story on the newly re-opened Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It is a separate section of the current Style Weekly Magazine.

Although this Arts in Metro Richmond thread has pages of pictures and reports about VMFA, I have placed the Style Weekly report in the thread titled Museum Developments in Richmond because I believe more people will access it there.

[burt]

MAJOR ART NEWS:

It's all but official that Richmond's Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host a Picasso exhibition of 150 works by the Spanish modernist from February 19th through May 15th, 2011.

The show, on loan from Musee National Picasso in Paris, will be on display at The Seattle Art Museum from October 2010 until January 2011. After Richmond the exhibition will move to The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and possible additional venues yet to be determined.

A different exhibition of 300 works by Picasso at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art closed August 15th after a four-month visit that attracted a record-breaking 700,000 attendees.

From The Federal Register:

http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/08/20/2010-20697/culturally-significant-objects-imported-for-exhibition-determinations-picasso-masterpieces-from-the

[wrldcoupe4]

Very big news!!!!!!

[burt]

The Richmond Symphony begins its season this weekend at The Carpenter Theatre under the baton of its new music director, Steven Smith. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony will be performed Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in the 1,800-capacity hall.

Subscription sales have increased between 21% and 84% over last year for its various programs.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...mp23-ar-520073/

[burt]

MAJOR ART NEWS:

It's all but official that Richmond's Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will host a Picasso exhibition of 150 works by the Spanish modernist from February 19th through May 15th, 2011.

The show, on loan from Musee National Picasso in Paris, will be on display at The Seattle Art Museum from October 2010 until January 2011. After Richmond the exhibition will move to The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and possible additional venues yet to be determined.

A different exhibition of 300 works by Picasso at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art closed August 15th after a four-month visit that attracted a record-breaking 700,000 attendees.

From The Federal Register:

http://www.federalre...pieces-from-the

The last I heard, VMFA was going to make an official announcement in September about the upcoming Picasso show. It could be that arrangements have not been finalized, or perhaps there are other reasons, such as insurance questions.

But then, September is not yet over.

[burt]

It's official. As reported here at Richmond Urban Planet on August 23rd (see story immediately above in this thread), a major Picasso exhibit will take up residence at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond from February to May of 2011.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...seum-ar-529457/

I have posted the VMFA video about the exhibition in the Museum Development thread, but it also can be accessed by clicking the "Related Links" box in the RTD story.

[burt]

Katherine Calos, writing for the Richmond Times Dispatch today, has updated her previous story about the Picasso exhibit coming to the Virginia Museum.

The story includes a "Related Content" box which offers capsuled information about dates, admission price, etc.

At least 10 hotels are offering "Picasso Packages" including tickets.

The largest exhibit ever at VMFA, prior to expansion, attracted about 130,000 visitors. This one is sure to break all records. If you have not done so, scroll up in this Arts in Richmond thread to see Brent's excellent photo coverage.

http://www2.timesdis...fa29-ar-530729/

A side note: I have been told that the water feature cascading down the slope from the top of the landscaped parking garage into the as yet unfinished Sculpture Garden has been flowing for about a month.

[burt]

There is an Associated Press story out today about the upcoming Picasso seven-city International tour.

http://hosted.ap.org...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

The tour began in Helsinki, moved to St. Petersburg and then to Moscow.

Next is Seattle:

http://www.picassoinseattle.org/

Then Richmond:

http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/Picasso/

The American tour ends in San Francisco:

http://bit.ly/bhKvDW

Before returning to its home at Musee National Picasso in Paris, it will make a final stop in Sydney.

[burt]

You might want to book a table at your favorite Shockoe Slip restaurant for this coming Friday, October 22nd.

More than 60 artists are installing 39 pieces of "light" art along the streets, storefronts, alcoves and alleys of The Slip. Festivities will begin at 7:30PM with a Lantern Parade starting in the Omni Hotel Atrium on East Cary at 12th Streets. Later in the evening, judges will announce winners at Shockoe Slip Plaza in front of The Martin Agency.

And the weather folks say it will be cool and clear.

From River District News:

http://riverdistrictnews.com/2010/10/18/inlight-set-to-transform-shockoe-slip-this-friday/

[burt]

InLight Richmond 2010 on Friday night, October 22nd in Shockoe Slip was one large piece of art.

Take a look at these flickr slideshows:

http://www.flickr.co...ith/5106718310/

and:

http://www.flickr.co...57625096450261/