Minny don't burn chicken

November is a long way away II

100 YEARS: The imagination of Robert Crowder, Vralati, and Shoji Kuroda

  

The three faces of an artist that lived for a century

A special exhibition to mark Robert Crowder's centenary

November 13, 2011 - January 8, 2012

9:30 am—6:00 pm (Monday—Saturday. Sunday by appointment)

Shumei Hall Gallery

Pasadena, California

1960s folding screens which typify Crowder's work

Crowder (1921-2010) was an American-born painter who learned the technique of Nihonga while living in pre-war Japan. He took the artist name of Shoji Kuroda after having studied under the master painter Mochizuki Shunko (1893-1979). With the outbreak of World War II, Crowder was interned as an enemy alien and subsequently deported from Japan in 1943.

His profound affection for the country, however, remained intact, and to this day he shows not a trace of bitterness or regret. He would have stayed forever, he says, had it not been for the circumstances. As it was, he returned to the United States, and the beautiful things that had captivated him in Asia — ikebana flower arrangement and painted byobu, as well as fabrics purchased from the mountain “aborigines” on his visits to Taiwan from Japan — formed the basis for establishing a studio of handpainted murals and folding screens used in decorating the Hollywood homes of the rich and famous. - April, 2007 issue Cultural News

Imperial City  by Robert Crowder & Company

The last incarnation of Mame's Beekman Place apartment

Now playing:  Ryuichi Sakamoto - Solitude 

Relative

Figure 1. Manifestation of Culture at Different Levels of Depth

In fact I'm rather anti culture... I'm rather put off by culture worshipers as they are somewhat precious and prone to gushing.  The danger is one can use culture worship as a substitute for engaging with the... messy business of living.  - the character of Christopher Isherwood,  Christopher and His Kind (2011)






Now playing: Culture Club - It's A Miracle

Beauty in exile

  Footage of Natalie Paley and Lucien Lelong from the documentary Mémoires d'exil 

Now playing:  Dmitri Shostakovich - Waltz 2

Twofold

Divine

Peter Hujar, 1975

In quiet, black and white portraits, Peter Hujar captures his subjects in moments of reverie. This one shows Divine, a famously foul-mouthed drag queen, usually seen wearing a blonde wig, sequined dress, and garish make-up. In Hujar’s portrait, the public persona is stripped away. Divine appears as a man, wrinkled and balding, resting on a velvety black blanket and gazing into the distance. His half-closed eyes suggest he is on the borderline between dream and sleep... - Whitney Museum of American  Art

Now playing: Divine - I'm So Beautiful

There ain't nothin' an ol' man can do but bring me a message from a young one.

So said Loretta Mary Aiken (1894-1975), better known as Jackie Moms Mabley.

Quite possibly one of the funniest comedians of all time. And most certainly a pioneer. 

The social issues that boiled over in the late sixties were something Mabley had been addressing for decades. When the struggle against war, racism and varied discrimination became the focus of a new generation, Mabley suddenly found herself a bigger star than before, her message embraced by those involved in the fight.   From,  Moms Mabley - Agitation in Moderation

Amazing Grace (1974)

Mabley's last role

Now playing: Heatwave - Super Soul Sister

Grace under fire

The sari, an embellished strip of cloth that is quite possibly the most elegant form of evening dress. On the right woman. On the wrong woman it can be costumey. And as yet I have to see a blond that can pull one off without looking as if she were: a Hare Krishna convert,  a patronising bored housewife doing good works in a Calcutta slum (there was a perfect example in Elle Decor not that long ago, though I think she was actually on her veranda in the Hamptons), or a vapid tramp .

With the right proportions, hair, accessories, and most importantly, intent - one could not possibly go wrong.





Now playing: David Bowie with Gail Ann Dorsey - Under Pressure

Before Mr. Chow

There was John J. Kan (1905-1972). More commonly known as Johnny Kan,  the man who introduced Peking duck to the American palate and also the man who taught Danny Kaye to cook. Originally a native of Portland Oregon, Mr. Kan was both a fixture and a force in San Francisco's Chinatown - his home since the age of four. 

This unusual photograph appeared in the March 1941 edition of San Francisco Life, a tourist publication that featured restaurants that paid for advertisements in the magazine. The photo was taken at Cathay House, 718 California, at Grant Ave., probably in January or early February 1941. - San Francisco Museum

In 1935 he opened the first large soda fountain and Chinese bakery in San Francisco's Chinatown and originated (what today would be called fusion) flavoured ices such as lychee, kumquat and ginger. In 1940 he initiated the Chinese Kitchen, a venture said to be the first delivery of Chinese food. And, after his service with the Army in World War II he opened Kan's Restaurant at 708 Grant Avenue. It was to become one of the finest, Chinese or otherwise, restaurants in San Francisco.

 In 1959 Mr. Kan commissioned artist Jake Lee (1911-1991) to paint a series of twelve watercolours depicting the ignominies and the glories of early Chinese American history. These paintings hung in the private  Gum Shan (Gold Mountain) dining room. 

Sometime after the death of Mr. Kan in 1972  the works disappeared. For decades they were believed to have been lost. That is, until eleven of the works surfaced at auction in Los Angeles in 2010.  Now, for the the first time in almost 30 years the complete series of paintings will be exhibited. On 12th February, 2011 the Chinese Historical Society of America will stage  Finding Jake Lee: The Paintings at Kan’s.

 

Eight Immortal Flavors by Johnny Kan

Now playing: Jerry Goldsmith - Love Theme from Chinatown