Calendar from page 14. Crenshaw Blvd. along Burma Road and through the Conservancy’s habitat restoration work at Peacock Flats, the return uphill on the Rattlesnake Trail through lovely Altamira Canyon. This is a strenuous walk. Park on the street at the end of Crenshaw Blvd near Del Cerro Park. Meet at trailhead end of Crenshaw, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Details: (310) 541-7613 ext. 201; www.pvplc.org
Steven Amado stands next to art renderings honoring the late Mexican actorGerman Valdez, “Tin Tan.”
“My Way,” a painting by Gabe Razo, featuring Frank Sinatra is part of the Gallery Azul exhibit being displayed through Sept. 7 at Warehouse 1333 in Long Beach.
Beyond James Dean
by Andrea Serna, Arts Columnist
G
Estela Gama poses adjacent to the artist rendering of Mexican actress María Félix, “La Doña.”
August 18
Banning Museum’s Fourth Annual Phineas Banning Birthday Concert Friends of Banning Museum welcomes the Fabulous Esquires Big Band, who will perform on the front porch of the historic Banning Museum. The Fabulous Esquires Big Band, which was started in 1958, is a well-known 17-piece swing band with two vocalists. Concert including dinner, dessert, dancing and dance lessons with a professional, wine, reserved seating and VIP gated parking is $75. Concert only including dance lessons and dessert, bring your own dinner, blanket or chair and enjoy a picnic inside the gates on the front lawn of the historic Banning Museum is $25. From 5:30 to 9 p.m. Venue: The Banning Museum Location: 401 E. “M” St., Wilmington Robotics By the Sea Robots take over the lower Cabrillo Marine Aquarium courtyard at the 3rd annual Robotics Day. Watch demonstrations from local high school robotics clubs and learn about land and underwater ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles). Drive an underwater ROV through an obstacle course and discover how scientists use ROVs to explore the ocean. Robotics By the Sea is a free. Calendar to page 16.
Aug. 24 (4th Friday Monthly) • Free Dance Lesson 7pm • Barry Anthony Live Music 8pm • Free Refreshments • No-host Bar • $15 Advance • $20 Door • Volume Discount $10 Each* (*table of 10 or more)
People’s Palace • 365 W. 6th St., San Pedro • 310–547–BFIT (2348) www.SwingPeedro.com • www.PeoplesPalaceSP.com Proudly Sponsored by:
Get Dinner Before the Dance & Get 15% OFF! San Pedro Brewing Co. 331 W. 6th St., 310-831-5663
www.RandomLengthsNews.com Find Random Lengths News On Facebook and look for the R. Pedro Facebook page for local events. 310-519-1442
Come for Dinner, Stay for the Dance!
August 10 – 23, 2012
“We were invited to have a show in this space and the show was really inspired by the space,” Cora said. “We decided to work with the iconic imagery from the 50s and 60s.” Cora believes the decades represented much more than the iconic images of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe and wants to educate this generation of the larger pop cultural history of that time. To explore these themes, the Ray and Cora assembled 22 artists, exhibiting 44 works, in a juried art show that examines the sensibilities and values of the two revolutionary decades that shaped much of the American culture we know in the 21st century. Included in the show are representations of the 10 most
sexist ads of the 1950s, most likely never considered sexist during the decade, but somewhat alarming by today’s standards. The advertising arm of major 1950s and 60s network television, such as Chesterfield Cigarettes exemplified this period’s enthusiastic acceptance of Hollywood’s influence. Lucille “Lucy” Ball, one of TV’s first mega stars was a frequent model in their ads. In this show two iconic images of Lucy emerge. The first, by Hector Silva, has Lucy as a temptress, posing in an elegant black floor length gown for Macy’s Department Stores. The cigarette held chicly between her fingers. The second image, by Eric Guaderanna, gives us the safer icon, the familiar clown, homemaker Lucy with the blazing red hair and lips, sans cigarette. The Vasquez’s have drawn art submissions from throughout Southern California, to as far south as Ensenada, Mexico. As a result, exhibit includes a number of iconic pop culture figures from Mexico. Frida Kahlo and actors María Félix and Tin-Tan both figure prominently. Among the work that is on display is, “My Way,” a striking computer-generated piece by Wilmington artist and poet Gabe Razo. Gabe is a quadriplegic working on his iPad using only two fingers to create an image of Frank Sinatra gazing on a brilliant Manhattan sunset, seeming to realize he is the master of all he surveys. Sinatra as the icon of show business power and style displays the somewhat misguided fascination with what we now refer to as the “Mad Men” decade, which was about to be blown wide open with the coming of the anti-war movement, civil rights, the women’s movement and the summer of love.
August 14
NAVY DAYS - LA Navy Days - LA invites all Kids in Uniform and Boys and Girls in definable, organized groups, who are at least 5 years old, to tour a US Navy ship in San Pedro. Children must be accompanied by responsible adults. The USS Wayne E. Meyer DDG108, one of the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA guided missile destroyers, will arrive at the Port of Los Angeles Aug. 14. On Aug. 15 and 16 private tours of the ship will be conducted between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Expo are tours assigned for each hour between 10 to 3 p.m. “For Kids only Tour Days of Navy Destroyer.” Space is limited space. Details: (310) 392-1275 Venue: Cruise Terminal building, Location: Harbor and 1st Street, San Pedro
Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.
allery Azul duo, Ray and Cora RamirezVasquez, just love to push the envelope and poke convention in the eye with their themed shows. Known for putting on exhibitions that explore issues of identity and resistance against dominant regimes in various contexts, the husband and wife team are doing it again with their group show, 1950’s and 1960’s Icons, which scrutinize the objectification of women’s roles and identity, the influence of Madison Avenue and the explosion of color as evidenced in the Technicolor films produced by Hollywood during that period.
The exhibition space, Warehouse 1333 in Long Beach, is a sprawling mid-century vintage antique mall, where vendors sell highly collectible retro items. Most of the art exhibition is housed in the second story gallery space, but several pieces are displayed in Mary Ramirez’s space #121 in the warehouse. The furnishings and the art join together to create the feeling of a movie set or perhaps a living room which could have been in your family home. Since closing their own brick and mortar gallery a couple of years ago, Cora and Ray have been running Gallery Azul as a “mobile gypsy” gallery, exhibiting in alternative spaces like Warehouse 1333. But the husband and wife team are in the process of moving back to a home gallery in San Pedro. They have secured a new location at 520 8th St. in San Pedro and have a full schedule of intriguing shows scheduled, beginning in September. Shows scheduled include Brandon Harrison, who had a previous show Civil Disobedience at Gallery Azul. In November, they will host their annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibition in the new space. 1950’s and 1960’s ICONS runs through show Sept. 7. A closing reception will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7. The Warehouse is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Venue: Warehouse 1333, Location: 1347 Redondo Ave., Long Beach
EG Ryan Book Reading/Signing at The Corner Store Join Lis Ryan at a reading and book raffle of some of her books at the Corner Store Cafe from 2 to 4 p.m. Enjoy the best sandwiches, pastries, and coffee in San Pedro as you listen to a story and maybe win a great children’s book. Details: (310) 832-2424 Venue: The Corner Store Location: 1118 W. 37th St., San Pedro
15