ALL Things
zeit bites
a bulb goes on Lindsey Leavitt, noted YA author, on finding the center of her new novel, out this month
Gender on canvas
T
he audio guide describes Painting Women (through Oct. 26, Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, bellagio.com) as displaying work from a time “when talent was assigned to gender.” Changing “was” to “is” might better describe this show. While it often successfully highlights the struggle of women artists to gain equal recognition, aspects of it actually perpetuate the problem. Walking the exhibit clockwise, the first two works you encounter are by men. George Peter Alexander Healy portrays friend Anna Chadbourne posing, with easel and brushes, as the wife of art historian Charles Morey. Although she’s dressed for the part, no information affirms whether she was an artist. The work by Edwin White depicts an anonymous woman “lost in thought as she ponders her canvas.” It’s not just that these are men painting women, or that the women are unknown artistically — it’s the information not included on the placards that’s telling. There are no relationship specifics or revealing personal details about the male artists, which wouldn't be striking except that those details are provided about most female artists. For instance, the first thing you learn
about Adèle Romany’s opulent portrait of an 18th-century man is that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis de Romance; that colors your viewing. Audio on Doris Lee says she married Russell Lee, then later studied with Arnold Blanche and married him. That implies an affair — how is that relevant to Lee’s work? Torrid details in the exhibit scholarship detract from these otherwise inspiring stories of women persevering in the arts. Nonetheless, Painting Women showcases many talented, underappreciated artists. “Scrutiny” by Maud Morgan brings attention to an abstract expressionist whom critics often chided for the lack of feminine qualities in her work. A cubist piece by Marie Laurencin, soft pastel tones and doll-like figures, responds to the “arrogant masculinity of cubism.” The assertive self-portrait of Ellen Day Hale nonchalantly dismisses timid female posturing. In the text by her large-scale portrait of two figures in riding garb, artist Cecilia Beaux says she looks “forward to a time when ‘the term Women in Art’ will be as strange sounding as … ‘Men in Art’ is now.” More than 100 years later, that remains a challenge. — Jenessa Kenway
I discovered the Neon Museum on the way to my daughter’s dance recital at Cashman. “Look at the pretty shoe, Mommy.” That’s when I first noticed the twirling Silver Slipper. And the retired neon signs. And the old La Concha. My first thought? Now that would be a great place to make out. I’d been struggling with my latest youngadult novel. I’d never set a book in my hometown, and I wanted to weave my childhood into the landscape — the non-adventures of a master-planned community kid among the landmarks I only saw as we drove to a buffet. I couldn’t figure out how to mesh it all together. This was Vegas, not the made-up towns of my other novels. So I toured the Boneyard on a Wednesday afternoon in January. The members of my group were elderly locals who became my temporary friends. Maybe every tour is that magical. Maybe every group has a lady who heard Elvis the first night he sang at The New Frontier. I don’t know. You should go there and see. It’s amazing, the stories rusting on that dusty lot. The Chapel Wars, about a 17-year-old girl who inherits a Vegas wedding chapel and falls for the boy at a rival chapel, got its, well, bones that day. I knew this was where my star-crossed lovers needed to connect. After witnessing a mesmerizing sunset, Holly, the native, could argue with transplant Dax about Vegas history, neighborhoods, reputation, and, yes, the dry heat. Toward the end of my tour, I had my characters challenge each other to all sorts of explorations across the city. Other scenes formed. I had to stop and write out dialogue on the back of my brochure. Finally, Vegas promised to become the character it deserved to be. Most poetic, the sign that reads, “Wedding Information.” Of course my characters took a picture there. And like the teen-romance writer that I am, Holly and Dax also shared a giddy first kiss.
TOMATOES OVER VEGAS! Viva Las Vegas came out 50 years ago this month. How did subsequent Las Vegas movies score on rottentomatoes.com? Lost in America (1985) Rain Man (1988) Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
100
Bugsy (1991)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Casino (1995) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Viva Las Vegas scored a solid 88.
Pay It Forward (2000) Vegas Vacation (1997)
22
M ay 2 0 1 4
DesertCompanion.com
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
Leprechaun 3 (1995)
75
The Hangover (2009)
What Happens in Vegas (2008)
Last Vegas (2013)
50 25
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
0