Thoughts on the movie 'Begin Again'

We went to see 'Begin Again' this afternoon.  Wikipedia describes it as a 'musical romantic comedy-drama' which pretty much covers the bases that this film touches -- I would only add that it's a 'New York' movie.

'Begin Again' movie poster.

Keira Knightly is Greta, a British song writer stuck in New York when her rock star boyfriend (Adam Levine) two-times her.  She's discovered by Dan, a record producer who's on the skids (Mark Ruffalo), at an open-mike organized by Greta's British friend, Steve (James Corden), in a dive bar.  Dan's estranged from Violet, his 14-year-old daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) and his former wife, Miriam (Catherine Keener), who's a pop-music journalist.  Dan assembles an unlikely back-up ensemble for Greta and they proceed to 'begin again'.

The performances are wonderful -- especially Knightly's spunky, vulnerable Greta and Ruffalo's depressed, disheveled Dan, but also Corden's raffish, positive Steve and Steinfeld's confused, aloof Violet.  There's an hilarious cameo from CeeLo Green basically as a version of himself.  New York City is a vibrant presence throughout.

The editing is sometimes sloppy and the time frames are sketchy.  The big romance in the movie is the one between all of the characters and the music business.  It's a nice change of pace to a season of generally lackluster films.

Visit to the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden

While we were in Washington, DC in June I visited the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden -- another part of the Smithsonian Institution.  The museum opened in 1974 in a building on the National Mall designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill -- basically a brutalist concrete donut perched on four massive legs.  

Hirshhorn Museum by Gordon Bunshaft viewed from the National Mall.  Photo by McClure

Interior of Hirshhorn Museum courtyard with lobby on far side of fountain.  Photo by McClure

If it were stuffed with wonderful art, I'd probably call it a 'cronut' -- but it's not.  There are three round floors of galleries above the glass enclosed lobby and another floor beneath the square podium that the museum is set on.  Only the underground floor and the sculpture garden were open when I was there.

The core of the museum's collection is the bequest from Joseph Hirshhorn and his wife of over 6,000 objects that had been housed in their New York City apartment, their Connecticutt estate, and in warehouses.  The most important works are the sculptures -- mostly from the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Of the paintings in the underground galleries, I found only two that interested me.

'Blue Balls' (I kid you not) by Sam Francis, oil on canvas, 1962.  Photo by McClure

I found the brilliant color and placement of the blobs fascinating and organic -- rather like cells multiplying in a petri dish.

'Phenomena Reverse Spell' by Paul Jenkins, acrylic on canvas, 1963.  Photo by McClure

This painting also has bright colors and an organic feeling -- like kelp under water waving in the current.

There were also two video installations, but they didn't interest me.  The graphics in the lower lobby were bright and dramatic in a commercial way.  I couldn't find any attribution for them.

Hirshhorn Museum, lower lobby graphics.

Leaving the building, I proceeded to look at the sculptures installed around the periphery of the podium which are generally more recent than those in the sculpture garden across the street. 

'Brushstroke' by Roy Lichtenstein, painted aluminum, 1996 (National Archives beyond).
Photo by McClure

We had seen another version of Lichtenstein's 'Brushstroke' in the atrium of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.  It's a nice departure from Lichtenstein's more familiar pop art paintings.

'Last Conversation' by Juan Munoz, bronze, 1995. Photo by McClure

One corner of the site is dotted with these bronze push-overs which look like children's toys with adult heads engaging in childish pursuits.

'Throwback' by Tony Smith, bronze, 1979.  Photo by McClure

This piece by Tony Smith is situated on the east lawn, visible from several vantage points.  It looks different every time you catch sight of it.

'Two Disks' by Alexander Calder, painted steel, 1965 (FAA Building beyond).  Photo by McClure

This Calder stabile sits in front of the museum's entrance on Independence Avenue.  It's kind of predatory and spider-like -- reminding me of the huge Louise Bourgeois 'Maman' that we saw outside a church in Oostende, Belgium, in 2006.

The Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden sits across Jefferson Drive from the museum -- 1.3 acres sunk into the National Mall. It's filled with works by well-known artists in a multi-level garden setting:

'Burghers of Calais' by Auguste Rodin, bronze, 1889.  Photo by McClure

This monumental sculpture portrays the leading citizens of Calais who were forced to deliver the keys of the city to Edward III in 1347 to lift a year-long siege of the city by the English during the Hundred Years' War.

Detail of 'Burghers of Calais' by Auguste Rodin.  Photo by McClure

Rodin depicts each figure, gaunt from starvation, struggling with conflicting emotions of betrayal, fear and resignation. Commissioned from Rodin by the city of Calais in 1884, the completed sculpture unveiled in 1889 disappointed many of its citizens.  They had expected a heroic depiction of the burghers in keeping with contemporaneous civic sculpture of the period.  At the Hirshhorn it is set on a low pedestal so that viewers encounter the figures almost at eye level, as Rodin intended.

'Crouching Woman' by Auguste Rodin, bronze, 1907-1911.  Photo by McClure 

Rodin made versions of this figure in terra-cotta as far back as 1880-82 when he was working on his monumental 'Gates of Hell' and intended this figure to represent 'Lust'.  This larger one was created between 1907 and 1911 and this bronze casting was made in 1962.  

'Monument to Balzac' by Rodin, bronze, 1898.  Photo by McClure

 It took Rodin seven years to complete his monument to the novelist, Balzac.  The plaster model was completed and displayed in 1898, but it was rejected by the literary society that had commissioned it.  It wasn't until 1939 that it was finally cast in bronze.  Today there are at least nine castings of the work scattered widely around the world.  It is considered by many to be the first modern sculpture. 

'Walking Man' by Auguste Rodin, bronze, 1877-78.  Photo by McClure

Rodin probably created this piece as a study for his 'St. John, the Baptist' of 1877 which has much the same stance.  This casting was made in 1900.

'Great Warrior of Montauban' by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, bronze, 1900.  Photo by McClure

Bourdelle (an 'assistant' of Rodin's for a few years in the mid-1890's) created this work as part of a war memorial for those from his hometown (Montauban) who had died in the Franco-Prussian War.   The figure seems overly muscular with disproportionately large hands and small head.  Still, it conveys the power of a gladiator in combat. 

'King and Queen' by Henry Moore, bronze, 1953.  Photo by McClure

Henry Moore is well-represented at the Hirshhorn.  Two spare figures -- one male, one female -- sitting side-by-side on a simple bench seem reserved, but hardly regal.

'Draped Reclining Figure' by Henry Moore, bronze, 1953.  Photo by McClure

Moore's use of the drapery on this figure is almost Grecian, yet the face remains sketchy and inscrutable.

'Seated Woman' by Henry Moore, bronze, 1962.  Photo by McClure

By 1962, Moore's figures were more abstract, almost misshapen, but still graceful.

'Three-Way Piece #3: Vertebrae (Working Model)' by Henry Moore, bronze, 1968.  Photo by McClure

Moore likened this work to vertebrae, basically all the same shape but just slightly different one from another.

Moore's 'Three-Way Piece #3' in its verdant Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden setting.  Photo by McClure

Part of the glory of the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden is how isolated it seems from the National Mall.  There were hardly any visitors the morning that I was there.

'Eros, Inside Eros' by Arman, bronze, 1986.  Photo by McClure

Arman (Armand Fernandez) is known for his deconstructions like cutting this sculpture of 'Eros' into strips -- perhaps a comment on the emptiness of love.  It does look great in this verdant setting.

'Evocation of Form - Human, Lunar, Spectral' by Jean Arp, bronze, 1957.  Photo by McClure 

For me, this is very much a human form, but obviously Arp felt it had lunar and spectral possibilities.  Whatever the viewer decides it is decidedly sensuous.

'Figure' by Jacques Lipchitz, bronze, 1930.  Photo by McClure

Lipchitz, along with Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris, was at the forefront of the Cubist movement in the 1920's and 30's.  This piece shows the influence of African masks on Cubist art.

'Lunar Bird' by Joan Miro, bronze, 1966-67 (towers of the Smithsonian beyond).
Photo by McClure

Miro's strange abstraction alights in a field of grasses -- part rhino, part bird, all strange.

'Seated Yucatan Woman' by Francisco Zuniga, bronze, 1977.  Photo by McClure

 This earth mother sits in lazy repose in the shade of a tree.

'Self Portrait with Model' by Giacomo Manzu, bronze, 1942.  Photo by McClure 

This high relief sits against a vine covered wall.  Note how the artist uses perspective to increase the feeling of depth in the piece. 

The Italian, Manzu (Manzoni) was commissioned by Pope John XXIII to create the 'Doors of Death' installed at St. Peters Basilica in Rome.  He was a personal friend of the pope even though he was an atheist and a communist who lampooned church figures in some of his art.  He also created two reliefs for Palazzo d'Italia at Rockefeller Center.

'Young Girl on a Chair' by Giacomo Manzu, bronze, 1955 

The simplicity of this girl sitting in a straight-backed chair speaks to the innocence of childhood.   

'Sphere #6' by Arnaldo Pomodoro, bronze, 1963-65.  Photo by McClure

The contrast between the smooth exterior and the pitted gash feels organic -- smooth shiny facade, ripped away to reveal the complex, corrupted interior beneath.

'Horse and Rider' by Marino Marini, bronze, 1952-53.  Photo by McClure

Both the horse and rider give a sense of celebration.  In the 1930's Marini did several realistic equestrian pieces.  Here both horse and rider are wildly abstracted, but still recognizable.

*  *  *  *  *

There's wonderful art in the sculpture garden (and presumably languishing on the upper floors of the museum). It appears maintenance is needed in the garden.   Unfortunately, the Hirshhorn has been consumed by in-fighting and grandiose schemes like covering the hole in the concrete donut with something called the 'Bloomberg Bubble' -- an inflatable dome to be added each summer.  While we were in Washington, a new director, Melissa Chiu, was appointed for the Hirshhorn.  Let us hope that she can rescue it from seeming chaos and folly.   

Italian Trip Diary -- Day #6 -- Florence

Monday, June 18, 2001, Florence:

We started the day at the Bargello Museum, famed for its collection of Renaissance sculpture – especially masterworks by Donatello.  The museum spirals up three stories around a delightful open courtyard with a grand staircase leading up to an open loggia on the second floor.  

Courtyard and staircase of Bargello Museum, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Second floor loggia of Bargello Museum, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Interior of loggia, Bargello Museum, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Donatello’s “John the Baptist”, “St. George”, and “David” are all magnificent examples of his lithe, elegant figures – usually in rather contemplative, static poses and all beautifully finished.  While lacking the weighty tension of Michelangelo’s finest works they are completely enchanting.  

'St. George' (in niche) by Donatello, marble, 1417,
from the church of Orsanmichele, Florence.  Donatello's 'St. John, the Baptist'
in foreground.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

'St. John, the Baptist' by Donatello, wood & polychrome, c. 1422.
Donatello's 'St. George' in background.
Photo by Blomme-McClure 

'David with the Head of Goliath' by Donatello, bronze, circa 1469.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Bargello has two 'Davids' by Donatello.  The other is wearing a hat or helmet which makes him look too effeminate.  

In addition to the Donatellos, the Bargello contains pieces by Micahelangelo and the della Robbia family, among many other wonderful works.

'Bacchus' by Michelangelo, marble, 1496-97. Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Madonna of the Architects' by Andrea della Robbia, glazed terra-cotta, 1475.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

After the Bargello, we walked to Piazza Santa Croce, where the lovely white, pink and green marble of the façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce stood out against swirling, grey storm clouds – it never really rained, but the sky was quite dramatic all day.

Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

We stopped for lunch at the outdoor terrace of Ristorante Santa Croce (Piazza Santa Croce 11r, Firenze, 055/2479896) on the square.  It was fun to sit and watch the activity on the square – particularly a shrewish woman across the way arguing with two workmen who were erecting a scaffold that was going to block her window with the shutters permanently open.  We watched this little drama unfold and before we were finished with lunch the scaffold was coming down.

Statue of 'Dante' by Enrico Pazzi in Piazza Santa Croce, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

After lunch we went inside the church which (like all churches we visited) is filled with beautiful works of art – sculpture, painting, frescoes, carvings, and reliquaries.  

Chancel and altar of Santa Croce, Florence.

Altar of Santa Croce with frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi and others.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Annunciation' by Donatello, gilded stone, 1435, in Santa Croce, Florence.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Crucifixion' by Taddeo Gaddi, fresco, 1360, in Sacristy of Santa Croce, Florence.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Basilica of Santa Croce is also the site of the tombs of many famous Italians, including Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli.

Tomb of Michelangelo designed by Giorgio Vasari.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Tomb of Galileo Galilei in Santa Croce.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Medici Chapel with 'Altarpiece (Coronation of the Virgin)' by Andrea della Robbia.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Leaving the church, we stopped briefly to look at the Pazzi Chapel designed by Brunelleschi.

Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel in cloister of Basilica of Santa Croce.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Then we crossed the Arno and walked along the river to the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. 

Motor scooters parked along the bank of the Arno.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

River facade of Uffizi Gallery from across the Arno.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

The Boboli Gardens are extensive, but somewhat unkempt.  They sweep up the steep hill behind the palace to a small rose garden with views across to the hilltop where San Miniato al Monte sits.  

San Miniato al Monte from upper belvedere of Boboli Gardens.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

From this high point they descend to an artificial lake with an island containing a sculpture of Neptune.  

Looking down from the top of the Boboli Gardens to the Pitti Palace and Florence beyond.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

'Giant Fractured Head' by Igor Mitoraj on a path in the Boboli Gardens.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

There is lots of sculpture scattered through the gardens.

Fountain?  Drainage?  These grotesque heads channel water down the hillside.
Boboli Gardens, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Queen Anne's Lace framed against a dark archway.  Boboli Gardens, Florence.
Photo by Blomme-McClure

Hydranga and other flowers along a path in the Boboli Gardens, Florence.
Photo by Blomme-McClure 

View of Campanile and Duomo from the Boboli Gardens exit path.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

It was a lovely, if arduous, way to end the day as the sun danced in and out of the clouds.  After the gardens, we stopped for granites at a sidewalk café across from the entrance to the palace.

Flowers outside a florist shop near the Pitti Palace, Florence.  Photo by Blomme-McClure

Then we made our way back across the Ponte Vecchio to the hotel – always tempted to visit ‘just one more’ church along the way, but too tired to do it.

At the Duomo the space between the church and the baptistery had been cleared for a procession of the clergy celebrating something??  The gates in front of the baptistery had been opened and we were able to get unobstructed views of the wonderful bronze reliefs by Ghiberti that Michelangelo called “the gates of Paradise”.  

Ghiberti's East Doors of Baptistery, Florence.
Michelangelo called them the 'Gates of Paradise'
Photo by Blomme-McClure

We were too exhausted to stay for the parade (which we learned was still about an hour off) preferring a nap before dinner.

That evening we ate at Ristorante Buca Lapi (Via del Trebbio 1r, Firenze, 213.768, http://www.bucalapi.com/).  It is in a cellar.  We sat in a room with a large barrel arch papered over with hundreds of travel posters.  Unfortunately, the sound from a particularly loud, obnoxious American party carried directly to our table and spoiled the effect of the delicious food and good service.  Maybe the dining room nearer the kitchen would have been a better choice – certainly it would be worth a try.