Category Archives: Art

Laguna Beach Festival of Arts

08/12/2012 – 2:41 PM

(1) Tiffiny and I (2) Joe, Jennifer, Chelsea (3) Allan (4) Jennifer, Chelsea, Joe, Jeff at the screen printing station (5) Joe and Jeff

On Sunday, August 5, I attended the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach with some friends, namely Allan, Tiffiny, Chelsea, Jennifer, Jeff, and Joe. It was a good day filled with looking at art, making art, and enjoying the beautiful Southern California beachside weather with good people! Some day soon, I’d like to see the Pageant of the Masters show, held at the same venue. The Pageant of the Masters seems like it would be an inspirational and relaxing activity where we could bring picnic supplies, sit on the grass, watch the show, eat, and be merry!

If only Laguna Beach wasn’t nearly an hour away, I would love to find myself hanging out in this area once again. It’s difficult to do so on the weekdays seeing as I work all the way in West LA (Santa Monica) now. Granted, the drive to Laguna Beach via 405 S is definitely a lot better than the drive to the west side (Santa Monica) via the 405 N – mostly due to the fact that the 405 S drive to Orange County is relatively sans traffic.

Forgive my random ramblings in the previous paragraph; I guess I’m just missing the Orange County area quite a bit.

Tags Allan Chiou, Art, Chelsea Cullen, Festival of Arts, Jeff Hua, Jennifer Han, Joseph Siu, Laguna Beach, Me, Orange County, Tiffiny Tran | Comment (0)

Art Fashion Museums

MOCA Pacific Design Center Opening Engagement for “The Total Look”

03/04/2012 – 11:27 PM

This past Friday, March 2, I had the privilege of attending the members’ only opening engagement for “The Total Look: The Creative Collaboration Between Rudi Gernreich, Peggy Moffitt, and William Claxton” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Pacific Design Center location on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood.

The line to get in was absolutely horrendous! We got in line at about 7:45 PM and did not get inside the museum until probably about 8:30-8:45 PM. At one point, people in line were even worried they wouldn’t be able to get in before closing. Fortunately, a security officer was walking around and alerted the crowd that they would in fact be able to get in as the museum/museum staff had decided to extend the event in order to accommodate all guests.

This metal neck piece was one of my favorite parts of the featured pieces. Granted, I wasn’t too much of a fan of the dress as a whole – perhaps the mannequin did not do this outfit justice, I still absolutely loved this collar and how this one metal piece was basically keeping that entire dress on the mannequin’s body.

Each and every one of the late Rudi Gernreich’s pieces were amazing. I could see myself wearing each and every one. I’m personally a huge fan of sixties/mod fashion, and Gernreich’s designs are iconic of that era. The late William Claxton’s photographs of Peggy Moffitt in Rudi Gernreich’s pieces were, in my opinion, unique, interesting, and well thought out. Claxton, Gernreich, and Moffitt definitely complement one another, and through this exhibit, you an see why they worked together for so many years before. One of the most interesting visuals in the exhibit was a video montage of Claxton’s photoshoots with Moffitt. You could tell how comfortable she felt posing for his camera and how easily she would let herself go (i.e. dancing, jumping, etc.) in order to get fun and interesting shots.

I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Peggy Moffitt herself, in the flesh, and taking a photograph with her! It’s a funny story, really. I had noticed her and said, “Wow, how cute! That lady dressed up to look exactly like Peggy Moffitt… Wait, isn’t that? That’s her, isn’t it?!” And yes, in fact, it was none other than the model herself. A small crowd had started to gather around her, so I was lucky to sneak in a photo op. with her. Please ignore my bangs – I wish I had time to fix them, but I was just too nervous and worried I’d miss the opportunity to take a photo with her! I love her immediate “model pose” as this photo was snapped. It must come so naturally for her – “what a pro!” Ah, this was definitely the highlight of my evening!

Peggy Moffitt’s outfit was absolutely adorable and very retro! I found it amusing how she manages to do her hair and make-up exactly as she had it in her old photographs to this day. Loved the clutch – note the piece where you’re supposed to slip your fingers through to hold onto it (at least, that’s what I believe it’s for). Anyone know the maker of this clutch, by the way?

This was definitely one of the more interesting opening engagements I have attended. I enjoyed the photographs, the designs, the model – everything just seemed to come together so well!

You can read more about the exhibit over at the MOCA website. If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area or close by, I definitely recommend for you to check out “The Total Look!”

Tags Art, Beverly Hills, Fashion, fashion design, MOCA, Model, Museum of Contemporary Art, Pacific Design center, Peggy Moffitt, Rudi Gernreich, The Total Look, West Hollywood, William Claxton | Comment (1)

Architecture Art Friends Museums Street Art

Downtown Los Angeles Landmarks

04/16/2011 – 11:40 PM

The weather was great, and I had been wanting to visit Angel’s Knoll, home of the bench on which Tom and Summer sit in (500) Days of Summer. Enter our quick tour of Downtown Los Angeles Landmarks.

Yes, our first stop was Angel’s Knoll. THE bench even has a plaque on the back indicating its the one used in the (500) Days of Summer movie!

The famous Angel’s Flight is not far from Angel’s Knoll. Across the street is the Grand Central Market. On the walk from Angel’s Knoll to Angel’s Flight, there was a little taco stand. Reycel and I were hungry for a snack, so we bought some food from there. We didn’t realize we were so close to Grand Central Market! We should have just bought food there. Oh, well.

I was so hungry, I started eating my burrito while crossing the street to get to Grand Central Market.

Continuing our trek through Downtown Los Angeles, we spotted many art installations in front of buildings.

We arrived at the Richard J. Riordan Central Library. I love the quote at the top of the building: “Books alone are liberal and free. They give to all who ask. They emancipate all who serve them faithfully.”

Across the street from the Central Library is Bunker Hill. We decided to go up the elevator and check out the buildings at the top.

The view from the balcony of the Citibank building looks pretty cool. I love how you can see all the architecture that makes up Downtown Los Angeles – both new and old.

I tried to be happy with the sun shining above me, but I just ended up making an angry face. ;]

We tried to go to the MOCA store, but it was unfortunately closed. I was very sad – we had just missed it by five minutes! The MOCA store on Grand Avenue closes at 6:30PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

It is very interesting what people consider art these days. Pictured above is an art installation just outside the MOCA store. Pictured on my face is what I thought of this particular art piece.

Just down the street from MOCA on Grand Avenue is the Walt Disney Concert Hall. I have never been inside this building, but I do hope to see a concert there someday soon.

Not pictured but part of our LA trek is Pershing Square and other random buildings we found along the way.

We finished up our Downtown Los Angeles trek pretty quickly and decided to head on over to Little Tokyo and see what the crowds were up to for the Art in the Streets preview night. We’ll have to visit Downtown L.A. again soon and do a more detailed tour of all the landmarks, most definitely!

The wall of the Geffen Contemporary featured street art by Blade. Outside of the museum, people were setting up another art installation. I have no idea who the artist is, but the slogan, “Desire. Obtain. Cherish.,” is pretty cool. There were free stickers too. I dig the giant spilled ice cream cone.

BeiBei was busy during the day and did not join our downtown trek. However, she did join us for dinner at Jazz Cat! She and I had been craving Jazz Cat/some type of shabu shabu all week!

I cannot wait to see the Art in the Streets exhibit. I regret not joining as a KCRW member so I could have had access to the preview night. I also want to plan another more-detailed Downtown Los Angeles trip. It’s all a matter of time, really, and unfortunately, free time is what I am lacking. Perhaps this L.A. trip will be postponed until the summer time, but Art in the Streets will definitely be happening in the latter part of May.

Tags (500) Days of Summer, Allan Chiou, Art, BeiBei Chen, Downtown LA, Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Reycel Reyes, Street Art | Comment (0)

Birthdays Food Friends Life Me People Restaurants & Cafes Street Art

Birthday Weekend Recap

03/10/2011 – 1:34 AM

My birthday recently passed. (I’m now 24!) It was on Monday, March 7^th. However, the festivities surprisingly began last Friday at work!

My co-workers surprised me with this huge birthday cake with a cute caterpillar on it! The cake was so heavy, in the first photo, you can actually see it in dipping in the center from lack of support. I could barely hold that thing up!

Jacob and Jeremy really loved that cake.

The cake apparently wasn’t the only surprise. They had apparently pitched in together and purchased this Comme des Garcons wallet I had been wanting. I was almost going to splurge on it for myself that week too; good thing I didn’t! The box was actually wrapped in a reddish wrapping paper, but I had taken the photos post-unwrapping. Needless to say, that is currently the wallet that can be found in my purse.

BeiBei was our master cake slicer.

Jacob loved his slice.

Stas was… apathetic?

The cake made Mark Jones happy. :]

Jeremy just really wanted to eat it.

Franklin was the one who apparently picked out the caterpillar design!

Ji didn’t want cake…

…but Allan sure did!

On Saturday, as a little birthday get together, a few of us went to Shabu Shabu House in Little Tokyo to indulge in some delicious shabu shabu. Specifically, BeiBei, Jona, Allan, Tony, Ji and his gilfriend (Jen), Jeremy, Lamonda (Jeremy’s girlfriend), Nick (Jeremy’s friend), and Jacob were there.

Allan is a “hipster.” (Jeremy decided to steal this sticker off some undies at Victoria’s Secret during his visit to the mall earlier that week and gave it to me)

Jeremy looks more appropriate to wear the “hipster” sticker though. Sunglasses indoors — totally hipster.

Tony got me this Android special edition collectible!

After chowing down on our shabu shabu and walking around Little Tokyo a bit, BeiBei, Allan, Jona, Ji, and Jen proceeded to my house. Ivan came to join us too! We sang karaoke until the wee hours of the night. Okay, maybe not that late. I suppose we wrapped it up around 1 A.M. It would have been a lot of fun if the others had joined us as well, but it was still an excellent way to end the night!

On Sunday, Allan, An, and I decided to hunt down the last surviving piece from Banksy’s recent work in Los Angeles – the “Foreclosure” piece. I wish it weren’t covered with Plexiglass, but I suppose the owner of the building wanted to preserve the piece. It certainly does take away from having good photos without glare or reflections though. There were a few people who had also decided to stop and take photos of the piece while we were there.

Spotted a random Diglett and a mushroom in the vicinity!

After finishing up at the Banksy spot, we headed toward the Magic Kingdom – Disneyland. We did not reach our destination, however. Hindered by hunger and the forthcoming rain, we decided to search for a place to eat dinner. An had this craving for fish & chips. Using my trusty Android phone, I found a superb British pub (four stars on Yelp) in Fullerton whose best dish was none other than fish & chips! Enter The Olde Ship.

An and I both ordered the tomato basil soup as a starter.

Allan had the clam chowder.

For his entrée, Allan ordered the chicken pot pie.

An and I ordered the same thing again! Fish (haddock) & chips.

An was really happy he got his fish & chips.

I only ordered hot water as my beverage and asked for some slices of lemon to put in it, but let me tell you, this was such a delicious drink. Who knew hot water + lemon could be so satisfying?

Needless to say, we all found our meals quite enjoyable. An absolustely loved the place. I’m sure we’ll be back again sometime in the future!

Monday rolled by – my actually birthday – but unfortunately I was sick with a sore throat and the chills. I was feeling a bit off on Sunday already, thus the reason behind ordering the hot water and lemon at The Olde Ship, but I didn’t think I’d be sick enough to have to stay home all day the next day. I did, in fact, stay home from work on Monday. I spent my birthday working from home while drinking hot tea and Theraflu. I’m not complaining though; it was definitely a relaxing day, sans the discomfort of being sick and feverish. And at least I had an excellent birthday weekend, thanks to all who made it enjoyable.

I went to work on Tuesday, and Morgan stopped by after she got off work to surprise me with an awesome birthday balloon and cute mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes in Manhattan Beach!

These cakes are so cute, and delicious too!

Overall, I had an excellent 24^th birthday. I’m grateful for all my friends and family who greeted me and helped me celebrate. It didn’t even bother me that I was sick on my actually birthday, really. I had enough fun over the weekend to last me for quite some time.

I really wish I didn’t look so tired in my photos. I should probably try to sleep earlier on a daily basis. Maybe that will help out my immune system too. I’ve been sick so often this past year. I suspect it may be a combination of two things: working indoors for long hours without any fresh air (in contrast to all the fresh air I had back in Berkeley during college) and sleeping late. With that said, I take my leave. Good night!

Tags Allan Chiou, An Ly, Art, Baked Goods, Banksy, BeiBei Chen, Birthdays, Comme des Garcons, Food, Franklin Tseng, Friends, Jacob Finn, Jeremy Nissen, Ji Lim, Me, Morgan Velarde, My Birthday, People, Shabu Shabu, Stas Freidin, Street Art, Tony Huynh | Comments (3)

Art Museums Outdoors & Recreation Scenery

Sturtevant Falls & LACMA

02/23/2011 – 1:25 AM

Since Monday was President’s Day, I had a day off work. Turned out to be a pretty eventful day!

Some time shortly after noon, I went on my first ever hike! We began at Chantry Flat, within the Angeles National Forest, in Big Santa Anita Canyon. Destination: Sturtevant Falls.

Along the trail, we saw these ducks taking an afternoon nap! Male and female mallard ducks – the mister and the misses.

I thought this sign was rather morbid. I love it! Funny, dark humor, straight to the point.

Alas, Sturtevant Falls! It was very cold around the falls, especially when you could feel the mist from the water.

Nature is beautiful.

Hiking back, we found that this duck couple was busy having their afternoon snack!

And here we have the trails.

I was glad to discover that my hiking stamina is pretty good, although this particular hike was a short and easy one. I didn’t even break a sweat! The hardest part was the hike back, which consisted of a lot of uphill trekking, but it was definitely not bad at all. Table tennis and wushu has paid off! Now I’m ready and excited to try out some harder hikes.

Following the hike and a brief afternoon breather, we proceeded to LACMA. A perk of President’s Day being on a Monday is that LACMA observes Target Free Holiday Mondays. Entrance to the museum was absolutely free, given that you still have to pay for parking, of course.

Outside the museum, there is currently this awesome art installation, “Urban Light” by Chris Burden.

Inside there were many art installations, including this one of giant billiard balls.

…and this one of a giant comb.

“Urban Light” is even more amazing at night.

One of the current exhibitions is “Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700–1915,” which will be at LACMA from October 2, 2010–March 27, 2011. I was extremely excited to discover this was on exhibit during our visit! I absolutely love vintage European fashion.