LAJOLLATODAY
FOR BETTTER OR WORSE, farce is here to stay as part of the theater’s literature. North Coast Repertory Theatre’s current ‘Unnecessary Farce’ sports a culture of ensemble that makes a very funny argument in the genre’s favor. See Marty’s review beginning on PAGE 12.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
LJTODAY.COM | VOLUME 18, NUMBER 33
Art was in fashion at the Timken's Masters of Style show Fashion Files
Diana Cavagnaro
The Timken Museum of Art and the David Copley Center for Costume Design at UCLA presented the eighth annual Art of Fashion Masters of Style show on April 20 in Balboa
Designer Ashley Tipton's entry was inspired by a Franz Hals painting, “Portrait of a Man.” PHOTOS BY ANNA TYCHINSKAYA
Park. This fashionable occasion also celebrated the Timken's 50th anniversary, with Dame Zandra Rhodes as honorary chair. Rhodes is an international fashion designer from London who rose to notoriety in the '70s with amazing textile prints in bold colors. The crowd was entertained by the haunting music from Jennifer Spingola, of Spags. Spingola performs on the electric violin, combining the old with the new in creating a style of music that delighted everyone. The delicious hors d’oeuvres were supplied by Catering Solutions, with the Timken staff creating an incredible Candy Bar (the guests filled containers with candy samplings to take home) Previous winning Art of Fashion designs were shown off on beautiful models, graduates of Fashion Careers College; the designs were inspired by the fine art in the Timken. Additional designs showcased the work of students from UCLA, who studied the painting “A Seaport at Sunset,” by ClaudeJoseph Vernet, from the Timken collection. The students did extensive
research on this painting, which depicts a Mediterranean seaport. They first began with an inspiration board and a fashion illustration, and the work itself was modeled on miniature mannequins. Each of these one-of-a-kind designs incorporated an element from the masterwork. Students from The David C. Copley Center for Costume Design were there to greet the crowd, along with their teacher, Prof. Deborah Nadoolman Landis, an Oscar-nominated costume designer and author. Charlotte Ballard, the winning participant, was awarded a $5,000 scholarship. Her inspiration came from the astrolabe, which determines the latitude at which ships travel; she thought that the brass of the astrolabe against the sunset hues would reflect beautiful warm colors. Ballard also interpreted the guiding light of the lighthouse for her design approach, and this created a truly artistic piece. Proceeds from this event will support educational programs at the Timken. For more information, visit timkenmuseum.org.
These miniature designs, inspired by fare at The Timken Museum of Art, feature Charlotte Ballard's winning entry at left. PHOTOS BY ANNA TYCHINSKAYA
UPCOMING EVENTS TUESDAY MAY 12 – GLOBES GUILDERS: “Celebrating Couture” luncheon and fashion show, presented by Neiman Marcus, featuring designer Naeem Khan at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Proceeds benefit The Old Globe Theatre. Reservations at globeguilders.org/fashionshow. FRIDAY MAY 15: COUTURE & COCKTAILS: annual Lizz Russell collection
fashion show at the Westgate Hotel in the Versailles Ballroom beginning at 6:30 p.m. A portion of the proceeds benefit The GBS/CIDP Foundation International in its goal to eradicate Guillaine-Barre Syndrome. Reservations at westgatehotel.tix.com.
— Diana Cavagnaro is an internationally renowned couture milliner based in the Gaslamp Quarter. Learn more about this hat designer, teacher and blogger at DianaCavagnaro.com.
Athenaeum's membership figures don't jibe with mainstream La Jolla By MARTIN JONES WESTLIN Editor's note: This is the second installment in a two-part series on The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, a unique La Jolla repository for all things artistic. The venue will host an annual national Membership Libraries Group meeting on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26 – meanwhile, its director notes that the community approaches it with something close to benign neglect. As nearby Whisknladle and Puesto Mexican Street Food noisily sanction the afternoon Wall Street bustle, The Athenaeum, at 1008 Wall, quietly recedes several feet in, secure in the universal significance of its rarefied bounty. A CD of 19th-century Moravian parlor music. A DVD of “Quadrophenia,” The Who's second rock opera. An exhibit of the works of the 2014 San Diego Art Prize winners, running through May 2. More than 8,000 volumes of art books, containing information on myriad techniques and surveys. Sheet music from as early as 1813. Administration of the Murals of La Jolla series, featuring regular walks and talks on the neighborhood's cool outdoor art. Outreach to the city schools' nine districts that touches
40,000 students a year. Funky satellite branches in Logan Heights and University Heights. The tranquility and history beckon one inside – but on a recent afternoon, the delicious fare at Whisknladle and Puesto holds sway, with The Athenaeum virtually empty. “Many [members] are here just for a short time,” Torri explained. “We have 2,000 members, and we pretend we remember everybody's name, which isn't always true. And the other thing is, more than 50 percent of the members are not from La Jolla.” Well, that tells you what you need to know right there. A highly educated neighborhood of 48,000 whose household incomes are nearly half again the national average, fewer than 1,000 of whom (knowingly or not) acknowledge The Athenaeum as the cultural trove it is. There's a definite disconnect here, and truth be told, part of it may be attributable to an Athenaeum PR practice itself. “We want to be very careful not to send out too many eblasts,” Torri explained. “We are very careful to remember that the members and nonmembers are not coming to the same thing. Some of them are interested in jazz; some of them are interested in chamber; some are interest-
In 1926, Ellen Browning Scripps made the cover of Time. COURTESY PHOTO
ed in the books and manuscripts. The ones that are using the books and taking the CDs home, they probably don't have to come to a concert, because they already have the music. No. We're very careful.” Programming is central to the venue's divisions of labor, and membership facilities feel the winds of change in their offerings. The La Jolla venue takes notice accordingly. It presents an eclectic, year-round schedule of art exhibitions, concerts, lectures, studio art classes through its School of the Arts, tours and special events.
Jazz concerts, kids camps and parties for the venue's so-called young Night Owl members fuel activities for the bluejeans crowd and younger, but, Torri said, “We really haven't integrated into the more established programming yet. “You started out with television and now this and this,” Torri explained, “and now look where we are. You can have your little iPhone, and that's what you do. We need someone to offer more in social media, and we want to do iPhone photography and so on. We're also going back to letterpress, weaving, knitting. We also offer classes for the retirees, a doctor, maybe, who wants to go into painting.” These topics, she assures, will be among those front and center at the April meeting. For now, the topic turns back to London native and onetime La Jolla resident Ellen Browning Scripps and her colossal local clout. Lots of people are teachers and publishing tycoons and family heirs, but very, very few exploit those occupations to avocational status. “I wish I could express in living language,” Scripps once reportedly wrote of La Jolla and The Athenaeum, “what I feel in my heart... [m]y grateful appreciation of
‘…we pretend we remember everybody's name, which isn't always true.’ ERIKA TORRI ATHENAEUM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
the community spirit which has been, and continues to be, adding new life and strength to an organization which, it seems to me, should be never-ending in its scope of special and educational activities.” The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library wasn't made by Ellen so much as for her and others like her. She'd agree that La Jolla's face is changing (indeed too rapidly for some), but she'd add that a place like The Athenaeum is the exception to this rule in its history and aesthete. Just as 19th-century San Diego would yield so precious a gem, so too would its present-day stewards echo Scripps' fervent hope to mine it. The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, at 1008 Wall St., is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Call (858) 454-5872 or visit ljathenaeum.org.