yellow
MARCH + APRIL 2017
Africa is calling! take a trip to kenya
some of our
favorite
photoshoots is yours in here?
the met
celeBrates the art of the in-between
Anniversary issue 12 years
the natural beauty of wisconsin + paperweights!
editor,s note If you are a lover of art and fashion, you owe it to yourself to take that trip to NYC that you have been considering. The Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between exhibit will be a feast for your eyes. While the designer’s quest to examine her fascination with “interstitiality” (the space between boundaries) may seem abstract and the understanding of which intimidating, her interpretation is absolutely magical and satisfying. Now, if you already had a trip planned to the West coast and have an affection for art in the form of ceramics, the exhibit Into the Fold: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, includes the works of more than 40 artists who have been influenced by more than 10,000 years of Japanese ceramic making. For something completely different, we take you to Fox Cities, Wisconsin which is one of those places in the United States that you may not have heard about but has a charm and history that is worth exploring to appreciate. For instance, the area is home to one of the largest collections of Harry Houdini’s tools of the trade, a museum with the world’s largest collection of glass paper weights and other glass items that span three centuries. There is quite a bit more to see inside but it is the sheer beauty of the outdoors that draws many to this part of the country who just want to soak in the serenity and decompress. Finally, if you are someone who has wondered about what it would be like to go on a non-hunting safari in Africa, Matt Sims just did it and he has information that very well may inspire you to follow his lead. But watch out for the lions in the trees. Issa Chou Editor in Chief Photo by Andrew Nguyen
Creative? Yellow Magazine is looking for talented, creative writers. Contact Editor in Chief Issa Chou issa.chou@yellowmags.com
The color yellow has played a recurrent symbolic role throughout the history of Asian culture. It symbolizes the earth that sustains all life, yet has been embraced by Buddhist monks as an expression of unchallenged power. Such is the role of yellow: always revered but in different ways under different circumstances. The mission of Yellow Magazine is to introduce our readers to the artistic, fashion, lifestyle, and entertainment contributions made by Asian Americans. It is our hope that the depth and breadth of the topics and events we cover do justice to the pride that the color yellow has represented throughout the millennia. Editor in Chief
Issa Chou
Editor
Contributing Writers
Fashion Photographer
Henri Merceron
Deanne Nguyen Leo Sipras Ashley Vu
Debbie Porter
Cultural Editors
Vuthy Kuon Tricia Volore
Asia Hoang
Ivy Yang
Creative Director
Travel Editor
Jeff Martin
Matt Sims
Website
Wine Editor
Issa Chou
Philip Cuisimano
Assistant to the Editor in Chief
Fifi Phi
Lifestyle Editor
Contributing Photographers
Beauty Editor
Tree Vaello
Mitchell Alexander Quy Tran Andrew Nguyen
This large scale desert artwork near Las Vegas is the new selfie mecca for tourists and art lovers
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Publisher
Yellow Magazine
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Seven Magic Mountains
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Ugo Rondinone: Seven Magic Mountains, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2016. Photo by Gianfranco Gorgoni. Courtesy of Art Production Fund and Nevada Museum of Art.
Ugo Rondinone
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Yellow Magazine is published 6 times a year. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of the magazine is strictly prohibited without the permission of the publisher. Yellow Magazine is not responsible for any unsolicited materials submitted. Subscriptions to Yellow Magazine may be purchased for $36/6 issues. Mail check to: Yellow Magazine, 1990 Post Oak Blvd., Space D, Houston, TX 77056. © 2017 MV Media
Renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s colorful large-scale, public artwork Seven Magic Mountains is a two-year exhibition located in the desert outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring seven thirty to thirty-five-foot high dayglow totems comprised of painted, locally-sourced boulders. Visible across the desert landscape along Interstate 15, Seven Magic Mountains offers a creative critique of the simulacra of destinations like Las Vegas. According to Rondinone, the location is physically and symbolically mid-way between the natural and the artificial: the natural is expressed by the mountain ranges, desert, and Jean Dry Lake backdrop, and the artificial is expressed by the highway and the constant flow of traffic between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Seven Magic Mountains is produced by the Art Production Fund, New York and Nevada Museum of Art, Reno. Approximately 10 miles south of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, the installation site is a short distance from Jean Dry Lake where Michael Heizer and Jean Tinquely created legendary land art works in the 1960s. Many of the project’s public programs will take place at ARIA Resort & Casino, and partner locations in Nevada, including the Marjorie Barrick Museum on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Visit sevenmagicmountains.com for more information.
On the cover
Yellow Magazine March 2007 Want to support this incredible project? Purchase some “mini” mountains, available as a full set or individually. $7000.00 for full set of seven stones $1,000 each for individual mountains. Each stone is unique, sizes vary, and includes artist’s initials and title of work Cement base: 7 x 7 in Proceeds support the maintenance of Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains, on view in Las Vegas, Nevada through 2018. Presented by Art Production Fund & Nevada Museum of Art
MARCH + APRIL 2017
travel
GLAD LIVE Gangnam Style by Leo Sipras
Glad Live Gangnam 223, Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu Seoul 06109, South Korea designhotels.com
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Set in Seoul’s fashionable Gangnam district—home to local and global luxury brands and the city’s vast Olympic Park— GLAD Live Gangnam is a beacon of vibrancy that serves as an urban playground for cosmopolitan revelers, both homegrown and international.
Offering a “curated lifestyle” that is in full harmony with Seoul’s chic nightlife offerings, the 210 rooms and suites are design-conscious hubs for the stylish at heart. Culture and entertainment are at the core of the Glad Live Gangnam experience, with the hotel’s afterhours club, DStar, and its lush EDM music and 3D projection mapping, intensifying one’s escape into music and the moment. Perfectly placed for you to get out and explore, Glad Live Gangnam is a hotspot for business and leisure travelers. Located in Gangnam near to COEX, the largest underground shopping center in Asia, and Garosu-gil and Apgujeong, two of the trendiest districts in Seoul, the 210-room hotel is within the business district and close to some of the best retail and entertainment hotspots. Gangnam has established itself as one of the capital’s unmissable nightlife destinations brimming with bars, clubs, and restaurants. From the crew behind Seoul’s fashionable club D.Bridge, comes the sprawling multilevel dining and entertainment concept that encompasses Glad Live Gangnam. With the central lobby at the core of the concept, a playful vibe runs throughout the hotel. The restaurant, bar, and lounge are deliberately layered on top of one another in an open, flowing design over three stories, allowing guests to seamlessly explore each of these areas. The connecting centerpiece is an extraordinary 180-bulb four-yard-tall chandelier which houses hidden speakers, heightening the ambience and energy of the space with orchestrated colored lighting design. Designed to take you from day through night, the robust 24/7 entertainment program enables guests to immerse themselves completely into the local social scene. The hotel’s main restaurant Flint serves up modern European food in elegant surroundings, defined by gold accents and marble furniture, while Powerplant is a more casual brunch and bar area, specializing in burgers, pizza, and tacos. With “Color Up Your Life” as its motto, D.Bridge Colour Avenue is an upscale lounge bar that promises guests a completely new experience every season. Currently rendered in different hues of pink, the space undergoes a biannual design overhaul to reflect the ever-changing color theme. Guests can access Flint, Powerplant, and D.Bridge Flint European Colour Avenue from a central staircase that links all three Brunch Café spaces. The after-hours club D.Star has become the hip new destination for Seoul’s hedonistic party set. With a renowned Korean talent, DJ Komodo, as its star, the club is a hive of activity every weekend and a popular drop-in spot for locals and visitors alike. Minimalist and simple lines dominate the 210 rooms of this steel meshclad property, however, an air of decadence permeates its three types of suites. The Glad House Suite is a mini-museum decked with contemporary art objects curated by the Daelim Museum, Korea’s first photography museum. The room features work by popular Korean animation artist Youngjun Kim, Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, and Korean photographer Lala Choi, who are some of the young artists handpicked to collaborate with the hotel. The Glad Pool Suite has a modern classic black and white interior design, luxuriously outfitted with marble walls and herringbone floors and includes a supersized bed and a soaker pool. The walls of this suite also boast a jaw-dropping LED television, complete with Bang & Olufsen speakers for the ultimate in-room pool party experience. It’s definitely the ideal space for private soirées.
Glad Pool Suite
Deluxe Double Room D.Bridge Colour Avenue Lounge
Glad Live Gangnam is the latest Design Hotels™ member in Asia. Design Hotels represents and markets a curated selection of over 290 independent hotels in more than 60 countries across the globe. Each property reflects the ideas of a visionary hotelier, an “Original”, someone with a passion for genuine hospitality, cultural authenticity, thought-provoking design, and architecture.
Glad Live Lobby yellowmags.com
MARCH + APRIL 2017
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fashion
Rei Kawakubo Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute spring 2017 exhibition, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between, will examine Kawakubo’s fascination with interstitiality, or the space between boundaries. The Costume Institute’s spring 2017 exhibition will examine the work of Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, known for her avant-garde designs and ability to challenge conventional notions of beauty, good taste, and fashionability. The thematic show will feature approximately 150 examples of Kawakubo’s womenswear for Comme des Garçons dating from the early 1980s to her most recent collection. The galleries will illustrate the designer’s revolutionary experiments in “in-betweenness”—the space between boundaries. Objects will be organized into eight aesthetic expressions of interstitiality in Kawakubo’s work: Fashion/Anti-Fashion, Design/Not Design, Model/Multiple, Then/Now, High/Low, Self/Other, Object/Subject, and Clothes/Not Clothes. Kawakubo breaks down the imaginary walls between these dualisms, exposing their artificiality and arbitrariness. This in-between space is revealed in Kawakubo’s work as an aesthetic sensibility, establishing an unsettling zone of oscillating visual ambiguity that challenges conventional notions of beauty, good taste, and fashionability. Not a traditional retrospective, this thematic exhibition will be The Costume Institute’s first monographic show on a living designer since the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition in 1983. In celebration of the opening, The Met’s Costume Institute Benefit, also known as The Met Gala, will take place on Monday, May 1, 2017. The evening’s co-chairs will be Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour. Rei Kawakubo and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy will serve as Honorary Chairs. The event is The Costume Institute’s main source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, and capital improvements. Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between May 4 – September 4, 2017 The Met Fifth Avenue metmuseum.org Upper right: Rei Kawakubo (Japanese, born 1942) for Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), Blue Witch, spring/summer 2016, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi Lower left: Rei Kawakubo (Japanese, born 1942) for Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), Body Meets Dress - Dress Meets Body, spring/summer 1997, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi Lower middle: Rei Kawakubo (Japanese, born 1942) for Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), Body Meets Dress - Dress Meets Body, spring/ summer 1997, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi Lower right: Rei Kawakubo (Japanese, born 1942) for Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), Not Making Clothing, spring/summer 2014, Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Paolo Roversi
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home Nirvana Starts at Home Elizabeth and James Nirvana perfume candles
Elizabeth and James Nirvana Perfume Candles Available for $60 (10 oz.) each at all North America SEPHORA stores and Sephora.com
Elizabeth and James designers, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen unveil the newest way to experience Nirvana throughout the home with Elizabeth and James Nirvana Perfume Candles. Create Nirvana throughout the home with the luxury candle inspired by the signature Nirvana Black fragrance. An aromatic and addictive blend of alluring violet, sensual sandalwood, and rich vanilla strikes the perfect balance between masculine and feminine. The signature Nirvana White fragrance candle features an aromatic and captivating blend of delicate peony, chic muguet, and tender musk leaves a feminine scent with dark sophistication. Each candle is housed in a beautiful glass vase and has a burn time of approximately 55 hours.
travel
Africa is Calling By Matt Sims
The Land Rover paused as a small herd of zebras crossed the dirt road in front of us, and a giraffe stood off to one side among tall trees regarding the vehicle with caution. Suddenly, our guide and driver, a Masai tribe member from a nearby village, said, “There’s a lion in that tree!”
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I strained my eyes to see where he was looking, but could see nothing unusual. Without warning, he turned off the road and steered the vehicle toward a range of hills at least a mile away, and before I knew it I was staring up at a large lioness yawning sleepily in a thorn tree. For the life of me, I could not understand how the guide could have seen the animal, or even the tree in which it rested for that matter, from so far away. After taking lots of pictures, we sped across the dry landscape in search of other animals. By the end of the day, we had seen herds of wild elephants, hippos and crocodiles splashing in the Mara River, and rare black rhinos grazing beside gazelles and hungry lions. This was a typical day on safari in the Masai Mara game preserve in Kenya. Each morning began with personal tea or coffee service brought to our luxurious tents to help us wake up, followed by a delicious breakfast at the Kichwa Tembo resort restaurant. Although the accommodation at Kichwa Tembo (maasaimara.com) is technically a “tent,” the structure actually more closely resembles a luxury villa on a platform among the trees. The days could be spent out in the vehicles looking for wild animals and taking photos or just relaxing around the pool. In the evening, you can dine on gourmet steaks, salads, pastas, and desserts and perhaps be treated to a traditional Masai tribal dance around a campfire. For anyone wanting to go on safari, there are many such camps in the Masai Mara, as well as Kenya’s other wonderful game parks. Nairobi National Park is just outside the capital city and may be visited on a day trip with other area attractions such as the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage (sheldrickwildlifetrust.org) where you can see and pet baby elephants, and the Giraffe Center (giraffecenter.org) where visitors can feed giraffes and learn about them. You will definitely find yourself falling in love with Africa after seeing a small herd of baby elephants stampede toward you to feed from oversize milk bottles. During the process, you can pet them as they tumble around and play with each other and their handlers. Just watch out for your toes as these babies can weigh several hundred pounds. Giraffes may not be as cute, but they are graceful and quite fascinating to watch, and you can feed them by hand from an elevated tower or at ground level. Neither place feels like a zoo since you and the animals are meeting in their natural habitat – the wilds of Africa within sight of city skyscrapers. It is not uncommon to be anywhere outside the city and have a warthog wander up and munch on the grass nearby. Other popular safari parks include Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, and Hell’s Gate National Park. All of them possess unique landscapes that draw many visitors from all over the world. Safaris can be booked directly with a resort or through the travel desk at any of Nairobi’s finer hotels. Trips typically include all meals, lodging, guides, and transportation with airfare from Nairobi’s domestic airport to the game reserve.
While in the capital city of Nairobi, the Sankara Hotel (sankara.com) provides a luxurious five-star refuge from the hectic streets of Kenya’s largest city. The rooftop pool and bar are the hippest places in the city to see and be seen, and the hotel’s three restaurants will thrill your palate with dishes from around the world. Although the rooms and amenities are definitely first class, it is the personal service that really sets the Sankara apart from other hotels at this level. Whether it was the kind greeting from each of the staff members in the club lounge who knew my food, beverage, and seating preferences, or the front desk staff who went out of their way to direct me to the city’s best shopping and dining experiences, I found the friendliness and efficiency of the staff to be the equal of any hotel in the world. Have them arrange a car for short trips around town. For other dining experiences away from the hotel, Nairobi’s best restaurants are only a short walk or taxi ride away. Nairobi’s finest Indian restaurant, Haandi is located in a small shopping center across the street. The small but well-known Westgate Mall is 10 minutes away and is home to Artcaffe, the city’s nicest bakery and café, as well as the city’s best Spanish restaurant, Tapas Ceviche Bar. You can also find a plethora of authentic souvenirs at this mall if you don’t have time to visit the other area markets. Nairobi is not a pleasant city for long wandering walks as the traffic and road conditions can be a challenge, but it is an easy city to discover if you have a sense of adventure and don’t mind taking a taxi or private car. The real attraction in Kenya is the country’s wildlife and the natural environment they inhabit. It is also said that people in Kenya are among the world’s friendliest. After a stay at the Sankara and a trip out to one of Kenya’s great national parks, you will probably agree.
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start you summerr reading off early
books
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The Wangs vs. the world
a separation
Jade Chang
Katie Kitamura
Janie Chang
Sharply observed and full of charm, this debut novel is an entirely fresh look at what it means to belong in America—and how going from glorious riches to (still name-brand) rags brings one family together in a way that money never could.
A searing, suspenseful story of intimacy and infidelity, A Separation lays bare what divides us from the inner lives of others. With exquisitely cool precision, Katie Kitamura propels us into the experience of a woman on edge, with a fiercely mesmerizing story to tell.
From the author of Three Souls comes a vividly imagined and haunting new novel set in early 20th century Shanghai—a story of friendship, heartbreak, and history that follows a young Eurasian orphan’s search for her long-lost mother.
pachinko
six four
The tea girl of hummingbird lane
Min Jin Lee
Hideo Yokoyama
Lisa See
Pachinko is a sweeping saga of an exceptional family in exile from its homeland and caught in the indifferent arc of history, and whose members are bound together by deep roots as they face enduring questions of faith, family, and identity.
An award-winning phenomenon in its native Japan and already a critically celebrated top-ten bestseller in the U.K., Hideo Yokoyama’s Six Four is a dark and riveting plunge into a crime, an investigation, and a culture like no other.
A powerful story about two women separated by circumstance, culture, and distance, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane is an unforgettable portrait of a little known region and its people and a celebration of the bonds of family.
MARCH + APRIL 2017 yellowmags.com
Dragon springs road
social Photos by Quy Tran
The 3rd Annual KNOWAutism gala “A Transformational Evening”
Zanya & Sneha Merchant
Held at The Briar Club The Briar Club’s ballroom was transformed into a tranquil garden where a runway stage covered in spring flowers served as the backdrop. There were more than 300 guests in attendance at the event which raised $220,000 for KNOWAutism. The evening opened with a fashion show featuring models comprised of children between the ages of 3 and 11, wearing David Peck of Miles David clothing. The gala honorary chair, Dr. Carolyn Farb, said that “the children were a scene stealer and they helped bring autism into the light”. The gala closed the evening with local celebrities and professional models showcasing spring gowns by David Peck for Miles David and diamonds from Van Cleef & Arpels. The Chairs for the gala were Tracy and Harry Faulkner and Drs. Alice and Matthew Brams who closed the evening by walking the runway. For more information visit KNOWAutism.org. Celebrity Model Lisa Kornhauser
Meredith Beaumont, Dr. Sherman Yu
Judge Theresa & Dr. Peter Chang
Drs. Mathew & Alice Mao Brams
Roya & Massoud Taghdisi, Carolyn Farb
Varda Dror Fields and Yasmine Haddad
Tammy T. Nguyen, Crystal Tran, Linda Tran
Celebrity Model Varda Dror Fields
Christina Zhou, Perri Palermo yellowmags.com
MARCH + APRIL 2017
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art
Works by Master Japanese Ceramists Exhibition Features Works by Female Artists Who Conquered Cultural Barriers Beginning in January, the Crocker Art Museum will bring to Sacramento Into the Fold: Contemporary Japanese Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection, an exhibition highlighting the technical virtuosity of more than 40 artists, including many of Japan’s greatest living ceramists. Japan has an exceptionally long and distinguished history of ceramicmaking, dating back to the Neolithic period, around 10,000 BCE. As techniques have been explored through the ages, and as other nations introduced their own cultural influences, Into the Fold: Contemporary Japan’s ceramists have honed their craft Japanese Ceramics from the while adhering strictly to standards Horvitz Collection involving quality and creativity. Into the January 22 – May 7, 2017 Crocker Art Museum Fold features works produced in 20th216 O St. and 21st-century Japan, some of which Sacramento, CA 95814 crockerart.org are inspired by traditional themes and methods, while others break new ground as part of the avant-garde. Tensions between form and functionality, traditional and modern, national and international, are often evident across works in the exhibition and individual pieces. Groupings suggest particular elements associated with the medium’s development, including tea vessels, geometric design, and sculptural forms. Some of Japan’s greatest ceramics artists, past and present, are represented, including pioneers Hamada Shoji (1894-1978), one of the founders of the Japanese Folk Art (Mingei) Movement, and Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959), an enormously influential artist and restaurateur who created extraordinary tableware for use in his Tokyo restaurant. Other featured ceramists have been designated by the Japanese government as living national treasures for their contribution to reinventing and perpetuating Japanese ceramic traditions.
Hattori Makiko, Wandering (Samayou), 2012, porcelaneous stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Photography by Randy Batista
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Ogata Kamio, Abyss (En), 2014, marbleized stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Photography by Randy Batista
Of particular note in this exhibition are works by female ceramists, many of whom have achieved international acclaim. The traditional manner of becoming a ceramic artist in Japan involved apprenticing to a master – a process traditionally not open to women. After World War II, many women instead attended universities in Japan and abroad to learn ceramic arts, resulting in the opening of the field to diverse and important contributions by women. Ono Hakuko (1915-1996) is known for mastering yuri-kinsai, a difficult decorative technique involving gold foil underglaze. Tokuda Yasokichi IV (born 1961) is a fourth-generation head of a traditional potter’s family. Tokuda produces richly decorated vessels of Kutani porcelain, an historic art form that has flourished in her hands. Tokuda’s works are richly decorated with arrangements and gradations of glaze colors, using a technique unique to her family and passed down by her father, its inventor.
Hayashi Yasuo, Quickening A, 1990, Black englobing, inlaid glazed stoneware, Collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz Photography by Randy Batista
social Photos by Quy Tran
Intimate Dinner with Mina Trinity Chang “Linking The World” Held at Hotel ZaZa An Intimate group of friends gathered for dinner at Hotel ZaZa to listen to Mina Trinity Chang speak about the mission of Linking the World, which provides aid, empowerment and advocacy to people in areas around the world that are suffering from instability, conflict and disaster. Linking the World believes in a shared future where the provision of aid affords an opportunity to strengthen global security and to acknowledge our unified humanity. The evening was highlighted by a preview of Nha Khanh’s spring 2017 fashion collection. The event was organized and sponsored by Mandy Kao, Nha Khanh, and Viet Hoang. For more information www.linkingtheworld.org
Rita Garcia, Tabitha Smith
Amy Dichoso, Alice Mao Brams
Nha Khanh Collection
Betty Gee, Tammy Su, Jean Wilson
Nancy Almodovar, Donna Cole
William Kao, Daryl Dichoso
Donae Chramosta, Katherine Le, Sandy Nikko
Models wearing Nha Khanh 2017 Spring Collection
Andrea La, Yasmine Haddad
Chau Nguyen, Tracy Faulkner
Loi Dang, Khanh Nguyen, Jake Harriman, Mina Trinity, Mandy & William Kao
Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao yellowmags.com
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travel
A Trip to Fox Cities, Wisconsin From Retro Toys and Houdini to Electrified Mansions and German Glass By viet hoang
I had a chance to visit America’s heartland a few months ago. Specifically, I was in the area known as Fox Cities, Wisconsin, a collection of 20 towns that reside along the shores of Lake Winnebago and the Fox River. The area has long been a center of papermaking and printing and is considered to be one of the top fifty manufacturing regions in the nation.
I centered my focus on two of the towns, Appleton and Neenah. Appleton is a community of artists and offers the quaint types of coffee shops, restaurants, bars, shopping boutiques, art galleries, and hotels that you would hope to find in such an idyllic setting. If you interested in doing a little more than relaxing in the ambiance that surrounds you, there are three museums that should definitely be visited: The Trout Museum of Art, Hearthstone Historic House Museum, and the History Museum at the Castle. The latter holds many artifacts that relate to the history of Fox Cities. One of its largest collections is of Harry Houdini’s performance paraphernalia and includes locks, keys, handcuffs, and an assortment of picks used by him to make his great escapes. Houdini’s family moved to Appleton when he was a toddler and, therefore, he always referred to it as his hometown. The museum also has a large collection of old toys with which visitors are able to play. You may set a Slinky on its course down a flight of stairs, get constructive with Happy Builder Blocks and Tinkertoys and draw with an Etch A Sketch. The exhibit also includes vintage television toy commercials from the 1950s and 60s.
The Trout Museum of Art 111 W College Ave. Appleton, WI 54911 troutmuseum.org Hearthstone Historic House Museum 625 W Prospect Ave. Appleton, WI 54911 focol.org/hearthstone History Museum at the Castle 330 E College Ave. Appleton, WI 54911 myhistorymuseum.org Paper Discovery Center 425 W Water St. Appleton, WI 54911 paperdiscoverycenter.org Fox Cities Performing Arts Center 400 W College Ave. Appleton, WI 54911 foxcitiespac.com Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass 165 N Park Ave. Neenah, WI 54956 bmmglass.com 26
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The History Museum at the Castle has one of the largest collections of Harry Houdini memorabilia.
The Trout Museum of Art has nothing to do with fish but is named after the museum’s benefactors. Art enthusiasts will enjoy a collection of 150 pieces of American, European, Asian, and African paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects, some of which date back more than 400 years. The Hearthstone Historic House and Museum has the distinction of being the first residence to receive electrical service in the United States from hydroelectric power in 1882, thanks to the country’s first hydroelectric central power station based on Thomas Edison’s new innovation. Appleton was once home to several toy companies. Just a few blocks down the street from the History Museum is the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, also known as the PAC. The center is home to the Broadway Across America (BAA) where the premiers of Disney’s The Lion King, The Producers, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Billy Elliot, Les Miserables, Kinky Boots, and The Book of Mormon were hosted. Another interesting place to visit is the Paper Discovery Center because Wisconsin has a long history as the premier papermaking state in the United States. The museum allows you to explore the world of paper through exhibits, interactive activities, hands on interpretive displays and an opportunity to make your own piece of paper. About 20 minutes from Appleton is the town of Neenah, situated on the picturesque banks of Lake Winnebago. The town boasts the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass which has the largest collection of glass paperweights in the world. You can find 19th Century glass paperweights from the finest glass houses in Italy, France, Germany, England and the United States. In addition, there is a Germanic glass collection that spans three centuries of northern European glass making (1593-late 1800s) and contemporary glass sculptures on permanent exhibit. I had never been to this part of the country and aside from its phenomenal natural beauty, which is a sufficient reason to visit, it has more to see than I imagined. There are things to see here that simply cannot be seen anywhere else.
The Paper Discovery Center is a museum and workshop center focused on papermaking.
Upper: Single Flower, Monot, Pere et Fils, et Stumpf, Cristallerie de Pantin, c.1878 Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass Middle: Summer Bouquet with Walt Whitman Cane and Honeybee, Paul Stankard, 2013, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass Lower: Joan of Arc Sulphide Paperweight, Compagnie des Verreries et Cristalleries de Baccarat, c.18451860, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass
Harry Houdini display in the History Museum at the Castle. yellowmags.com
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