wcw FEB 2022

out and about continued
grave, the second crisis, the extinctions
crisis—which threatens the
lives of a million species of plants and
animals—has remained more hidden
and out of the headlines. Fortunately,
there is some hopeful news: the extinctions
crisis has a solution, and in
2022 the whole world will assemble
to face this growing calamity.
“Half Earth” is the shorthand
name for what needs to be done. The
science is clear: most species can
survive if at least half their original
habitat is protected over the next
30 years, and so the goal is 50 x
50—protect half the earth by 2050. In
May 2022, 196 countries will meet in
China to take the first big step: 30 x
30, 30% by 2030.
Hiss’s illustrated talk, based on
his book, Rescuing the Planet: Protecting
Half the Land to Heal the
Earth, published to excellent reviews
in 2021, presents the problem, the
solution, and his own further reasons
for optimism. Traveling around
North America from Canada to
Mexico, from the Rockies to Florida,
he met with extraordinary people
and groups that, years before the
China meeting, were already working
tirelessly and inventively to save
our continent’s beloved landscapes
and iconic species. Hiss also shares
information about the many ways
anyone can join this movement.
Hiss is the author of 15 books,
including the award-winning “The
Experience of Place.” He was a staff
writer for “The New Yorker” magazine
for 30 years, and a visiting scholar
at New York University for 25 years.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
at Ringling College (OLLI at Ringling
College) presents its third annual
“Listening to Women,” a seven-session
series featuring women whose
innovations and accomplishments are
having an impact and influencing lives
locally and globally.
The series takes place on Thursdays
at 1 p.m., through March 3 at the
Ringling College Museum Campus,
1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Registration
for the seven-session series
is $81 for OLLI Gold Members; $90
for general admission. To register,
call 941-309-5111, or visit www.OL-
LIatRinglingCollege.org. Listening to
Women is made possible, in part, with
support from West Coast Woman.
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Art Around
the State
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The Stebbins Collection: A Gift
for the Morse Museum introduces
to the public for the first time a
previously held private collection
of seventy works of art by 53 artists.
From paintings and sculpture to
works on paper, the Stebbins Collection
includes American masters from
Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and Albert
Bierstadt (1830-1902) to Thomas
Eakins (1844-1916) and Fidelia Bridges
(1834-1923).
Assembled over the course of fiftyfive
years, the Stebbins Collection
features artists of both great renown
as well as many who have been
largely forgotten. Each work of art,
however, shares the common trait of
presenting the artists at the height of
their abilities.
With particular strength in landscapes,
as seen in
the work of George
Inness (1825–94)
and Worthington
Whittredge (1820–
1910), and still
lifes, exemplified
through the paintings
of George
Cochran Lambdin
(1830–96) and
Martin Johnson
Heade (1819–
1904), the Stebbins
Collection also
offers superb watercolors
by American
Pre-Raphaelites
such as Henry
Roderick Newman
(1843–1917) and
Ellen Robbins
(1828–1905). The
Stebbins Collection
complements
the Morse’s wonderful
collection
of Tiffany’s work in
all mediums, while At
broadening the
Museum’s holdings
of American paintings.
Morse Museum Info: https://
www.morsemuseum.org/on-exhibit/
the-stebbins-collection-a-gift-for-themorse-museum
At The Museum of Fine Arts in St.
Petersburg:
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• Explore the Vaults: Black Portraits
through February 27. Black
Portraits spans two very different
approaches to the portrait tradition:
contemporary works on paper, and
historical vernacular photographs.
Taken together, this exhibition presents
varied approaches to visualizing
Black identity and experiences.
• Pieced and Patterned American
Quilts runs through January 23,
2022. This exhibition features more
than 30 quilts whose design, materials,
and craft reflect the complexity
and richness of American life
from the brash first decades of the
republic through the Great Depression.
Pieced and Patterned includes
examples of this quintessentially
American art form, ranging from
early appliqued textiles to boldly
graphic bed coverings of the early
modern era.
More info at https://mfastpete.org/
At Boca Raton Museum: Machu
Picchu and the Golden Empires of
Peru. This will be the inaugural stop
of its global tour in South Florida this
fall. This combination of rarely seen,
world-class museum artifacts alongside
technological breakthroughs in
virtual reality is unparalleled (watch
the video announcing tickets on sale).
The early access online ticket portal is
now open to the public at BocaMuseum.org/Golden.
Audiences will discover an all-new,
immersive museum experience that
will transport visitors to the jewel of
the Southern Hemisphere’s cradle of
civilization, the Incan city of Machu
Picchu ‒ voted one of the new seven
wonders of the world. The exhibition
will encompass the entire museum,
including all galleries on both floors.
The experience will also feature the
first-ever virtual reality expedition
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At The Van Wezel: The Simon and Garfunkel Story on
of Machu Picchu, recorded in 2020
during the unprecedented closure
of the site during the pandemic. It
was the first time in recent history
this majestic City in the Sky was
completely empty, filmed using state
of the art drone-VR technology.
Many of these 192 priceless
artifacts are from royal tombs,
including spectacular objects that
belonged to noble Andean lords,
and have never-been-seen before
out of Peru. Guided throughout the
exhibition by Ai Apaec, a mythical
Andean hero, visitors will gain a
window into transformation through
the forces of nature that result in his
death and subsequent rebirth. In
this exotic land nothing is fixed and
beings can change from one form to
another. Throughout this dramatically
staged expedition, the sounds of
roaring jaguars, screaming macaws,
and torrential rainfall surround
visitors as they unravel the mysteries
of Andean cosmology and marvel at
the sophistication of Andean artists.
Visitors will behold the marvels
of engineering that sheltered a truly
spiritual civilization and the ornate
riches they once cherished. Rivaled
only by Ancient Egypt in longevity
and by the Roman Empire in
engineering, Andean societies.
On view now at the Boca Raton
Museum of Art through March 6,
2022. https://bocamuseum.org/
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On display at Norton Museum
of Art: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera
and Mexican Modernism from the
Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection
on view through February
6, 2022. Featuring over 150 works,
including paintings and works on
paper collected by Jacques and Natasha
Gelman alongside photographs
and period clothing, the exhibition
includes the largest group of works by
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera ever on
view at the Norton. Presenting these
artists’ creative pursuits in a broader
context, the exhibition also includes
work by Manuel and Lola Álvarez
Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, Gunther
Gerzso, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida,
David Alfaro
Siqueiros, Juan
Soriano, and Rufino
Tamayo.
The Gelmans’
close relationship
with this
community is
underscored by
the number of
portraits of them
made by their
artist friends in
the exhibition.
Photographs
related to Kahlo,
Rivera, and their
enduring legacy
by a global roster
of artists including
Lucienne
Bloch, Imogen
Cunningham,
Juan Guzmán,
Graciela Iturbide,
Nickolas Muray,
Edward Weston,
and Guillermo
on February 12.
Kahlo—Frida’s father—help
round
out our understanding
of these iconic painters.
More info at https://www.norton.org/
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At The Baker Museum:
• Subject Matters; Selections from
the Permanent Collection. Drawn
from The Baker Museum’s permanent
collection, this exhibition addresses
subject matters commonly
found in visual arts, while exploring
a wide array of formal characteristics
and styles in modern and contemporary
art. It also demonstrates
differing artistic approaches taken by
different individuals, reflecting their
personal experiences and concerns,
as well as the time and places in
which they lived and have lived. Subject
Matters is organized into nine
sections: the Human Figure, Plants
and Animals, Landscapes, (Sub)
Urban Life, Still-Life, the Home, Artist
and Studio, Narratives and Nonfigurative
Abstraction. Runs though
March 2. Located on the second
floor of The Baker Museum.
• Baseball Heroes: Works from the
Jay H. Baker Collection. Featuring
more than 100 iconic artifacts from
the unparalleled New York Yankees
memorabilia collection of Jay H.
Baker, this exhibition celebrates
baseball as an integral part of American
life for nearly 200 years. Baseball
Heroes presents extraordinary
objects and original documents
from Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe
DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Derek
Jeter. Highlights include Babe
Ruth’s earliest known game-used
bat, Mickey Mantle’s first signed
professional contract and the jersey
worn by Derek Jeter for his Yankees
debut in 1995. Runs through May
15. Located on the third floor of The
Baker Museum.
• Love in All Forms: Selections from
the Art Collection of Patty and Jay
Baker. As a complement to Baseball
Heroes, this exhibition will paint a
fuller portrait of noted collectors and
philanthropists Patty and Jay Baker
through the presentation of selections
from their remarkable collection
of fine art. From the Impressionist
painting of Claude Monet to
the art deco portraits of Tamara de
Lempicka to the abstract sculpture
of Henry Moore, the works in this exhibition
represent some of the most
significant art historical movements
of the past 150 years. Runs through
May 15. Located on the third floor of
The Baker Museum.
• Florida Contemporary, an annual
exhibition organized by Artis—Naples,
The Baker Museum, highlights
work by notable visual artists
active in Florida. Three artists are
invited for its ninth iteration this
season: Gonzalo Fuenmayor, Akiko
Kotani and Noelle Mason. A wide
array of compelling works by these
artists with distinct backgrounds
and artistic interests testify to the
creative energies and intellectual
vigor present in the state’s visual
art world. Runs through July 17.
Located in the Kohan, Newell and
Friends of Artis—Naples Galleries
of Hayes Hall.
Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg:
has More Than Retro Art Photography
Of The 1970s, through April
3, 2022.
The 1970s witnessed a dramatic
shift from photojournalism, the dominant
occupation of photographers
since the 1930s, to art photography in
the United States. More Than Retro:
Art Photography of the 1970s celebrates
and explores that remarkable
change, revealing 1970s artistic trends
including the snapshot aesthetic,
the rebellion against purism, image
manipulation, and social landscapes.
This exhibition features both famous
and lesser-known artists, and includes
works by Andy Warhol (1928–1987),
Garry Winogrand (1928–1984), Dianora
Niccolini (b. 1936), Stephen
Shore (b. 1947), and Jerry Uelsmann
(b. 1934).
The shift from photojournalism to
art photography was due to a variety
of factors, including the rising cost of
ink and paper, which effectively put
an end to weekly picture magazines
such as Life and Look. In addition,
students were graduating with advanced
degrees in photography, while
simultaneously museums, galleries,
and critics were giving greater attention
to art photography. Likewise, the
field was impacted by the growing
influence of the Society for Photographic
Education (1962) and the
Visual Studies Workshop (1969), both
founded by Nathan Lyons (1930–
2016) at the George Eastman House—
the world’s oldest museum devoted
to photography. New approaches,
such as the highly influential 1966
book The Photographer’s Eye by John
Szarkowski (1925–2007), explored
issues related to seeing and making
photographs. Indeed, art photographers
from the 1970s were largely
preoccupied with the self-referential
image, one that acknowledged and
was ironically aware of the history of
photography.
More Than Retro: Art Photography
of the 1970s is drawn mainly from the
museum’s collection. https://mfastpete.org/exh/retro/
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Note:
Be sure to send season schedules
for 2022 to westcoastwoman@
comcast.net
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FEBRUARY 2022 WEST COAST WOMAN 13